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LP
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SV 178LP
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"The legend of San Francisco's CRIME looms large among punk aficionados the world over. Formed in the mid-1970s, the band's dual-guitar sound, confrontational image and sleazed methodology still serve as inspiration decades later. With only a handful of singles released during their active lifespan, CRIME's legacy grew significantly as archival recordings began to trickle out in the early 1990s. Of all these excavations, San Francisco's Doomed was one of the first and certainly one of the most powerful. Culled from two studio sessions from 1978 and 1979, San Francisco's Doomed captures the frenzy of CRIME's sound in a fittingly loose, devil-may-care framework. The 1978 session is a gloriously unpolished assault of classic, gutter-level punk with vicious live set staples like 'Feel The Beat' and 'Piss On Your Dog' taking marquee placement over the more well-known singles tracks. The 1979 session finds CRIME taking aim at the so-called new wave, augmenting their attack with ripped odes that bear the direct influence of science fiction and rockabilly on the group. Few recordings from US punk's first wave match the raw intensity heard on San Francisco's Doomed. As Michael Stewart Foley writes in the liner notes, 'Unimpressed with the once idealistic counter-culture and all the bands associated with it, CRIME declared itself San Francisco's First And Only Rock 'N' Roll Band. Dressed in police uniforms and driving sonic ice picks through listeners' eardrums with the volume cranked past 10, they looked more like a street gang that might take your wallet and slash your face with a switchblade just to watch you bleed. But despite the band's best efforts to stand apart, CRIME could have come from nowhere else, at no other time.'"
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2X7"
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SV 160EP
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Includes DVD. "One of the most savagely cool and confrontational punk acts in history, CRIME famously dubbed themselves 'San Francisco's First And Only Rock 'N' Roll Band.' This inflammatory claim was supported by unpredictable live shows that often ended in riots. In 1978, film producer Larry Larson captured CRIME in their natural habitat, the dimly-lit nightclub Mabuhay Gardens. They looked and sounded more severe than anyone in San Francisco was ready for. The footage sat dormant for decades, until now! Edited and directed by Jon Bastian, the recently completed movie features archival live performances and unruly behind-the-scenes straight from the original 16mm color film. A vital document of the group -- Frankie Fix, Johnny Strike, Ron The Ripper and Hank Rank -- as well as North Beach's sordid scene: parading punks, square thrill-seekers and Fab Mab promoter Dirk Dirksen's provocative emceeing. Superior Viaduct presents this first-time release of the 35-minute movie on DVD and double 7" of its soundtrack. Feel the beat -- it's CRIME time."
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7x7"+CD BOX
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MR 7262EP
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Despite having independently released the first punk rock single on the US west coast, Crime's legend has never spread beyond a comparatively small but extremely adamant cult. The fact that they only released three singles during their existence is certainly a factor in the lack of recognition afforded them. Probably more significant is the fact that Crime's music and image set them apart from what soon became discernable as the typical punk rock scene. The amphetamine blues lead guitar bursts that responded to the vocal lines in nearly every song, as well as the frequently dispassionate vocals, set them apart from the bandwagon-jumping art-schoolers (who were all too often devoid of rock and roll attitude), as did their carefully cultivated look and their anti-social attitude. Crime compiles the complete recorded legacy of the band fans have come to refer to as San Francisco's first and only rock and roll band. It includes three facsimile reproductions of Crime's original singles and four more 7"s featuring ten tracks recorded from 1977 through '79 and unreleased at the time, among them a "Be Bop a Lula/Peggy Sue" medley unavailable elsewhere until now. The records are accompanied by a 20-page booklet with an extensive band interview by Michael Lucas, photos and memorabilia, plus a special text written by film director and Crime fan Jeff Feuerzeig (The Devil and Daniel Johnston). Includes a CD with all 16 tracks.
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LP
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SV 050LP
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2023 repress. "San Francisco's first and only rock 'n' roll band, Crime loomed over the entire Mabuhay Gardens scene with their blistering 1976 single 'Hot Wire My Heart.' The group's loose, damaged rock 'n' roll was as immediate as it was controversial. They were punk by any definition, yet shunned the label with a guttersnipe sneer. Their meticulously cultivated aesthetic of S&M graphics and police uniforms produced some of the era's most indelible imagery. One of their finest moves was playing in the San Quentin prison yard. Formed by guitarists / vocalists Johnny Strike and Frankie Fix, Crime enlisted bassist Ron the Ripper and drummers Ricky "Tractor" Williams (later of The Sleepers), Brittley Black and Hank Rank. Joey D'Kaye later joined on keyboards and bass duties. For the first time, this LP release collects the sick energy of Crime's three singles along with nine previously unreleased studio recordings from 1976 to 1980. The visceral churn and unwieldy leads on tracks like 'Frustration' and 'Piss On Your Dog' make Murder By Guitar the definitive statement from this prescient American underground band."
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