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7"
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MR 7347EP
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Just under two minutes of music cooked with Farfisa and 12-string guitars were enough for The Avengers to become a garage legend worldwide. Their 1965 anthem counts numerous appearances on -- sometimes shady -- compilations since the 1980s and we are now happy to present it on a 45, backed with its original B-side for the first time. The band was formed in Bakersfield, California, and by 1965 they had gained much local notoriety due to the airplay of their records and the fact they got banned from playing at high school affairs... "Be A Caveman" was the band's second release, originally on Star-Burst Records. In time, the group would open for the Beach Boys, Raiders, Mamas & Papas, and Animals at various big shows, but the Avengers would remain a big fish in a small pond. First time 7" single reissue.
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7"
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SV 156EP
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2022 repress. "Few first wave California punk bands burned as brightly as The Avengers. Formed in San Francisco during 1977's Summer of Hate, they swiftly ascended to the top of the West Coast scene and earned the coveted support slot for The Sex Pistols' final concert in January 1978. The Avengers' frenetic performance at Winterland made quite an impression on Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who offered to record the group. From the Jones produced sessions, 'The American In Me' remains an unmistakable anthem. Embodying the punk zeitgeist, singer Penelope Houston fiercely declares, 'Ask not what you can do for your country, what's your country been doing to you.' The original White Noise EP version of 'The American In Me' is paired with 'Uh-Oh,' featuring Jones on piano and bravely demonstrating Me Too sentiments four decades earlier. Comp-only track 'Cheap Tragedies' closes this reimagined lost-single set. The American In Me perfectly captures The Avengers' dynamic power -- frustration, style and passion forged into some of the most pivotal sounds of punk's formative era."
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7"
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MR 7286EP
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"Then we talked to a couple of bands, such as the Avengers, who were very popular at that time. I had gotten to known them with the Screamers because we played at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco a couple of times with them, and they seemed to be real kindred spirits. . . . The Avengers was the most popular Dangerhouse release." --David Brown
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LP
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SV 077LP
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2023 repress. "In the late '70s, The Avengers established themselves as one of the US's preeminent punk bands. Fusing incisive guitar hooks, explosive rhythms and adolescent venom, the group forged some of the most in-your-face songs of the era. Their live shows were legendary, playing up and down the West Coast and even blowing Sex Pistols off the stage at the latter's final performance. As Byron Coley writes in the liner notes, 'Of the best bands of San Francisco's first wave in 1977, The Avengers were by far the coolest and youngest sounding. They roared without irony, as though this were indeed Year Zero (and, for a moment, it was), with history being overwritten by the new. The honesty of their belief was carried by their sound. And it was convincing!' Originally released in 1983, four years after the band's dissolution, The Avengers' self-titled LP is often referred to as 'The Pink Album' for its magenta-hued cover design. Frontwoman Penelope Houston's iconic voice and razor-sharp lyrics resonate on anthems 'We Are The One' and 'The American In Me,' while penetrating ballads like 'Corpus Christi' reveal a truly out-of-body euphony. The Pink Album remains The Avengers' definitive statement -- collecting their classic Dangerhouse EP, sessions recorded with the Pistols' Steve Jones and a half-dozen revelatory demos. While much has been written about The Avengers in the past three decades, rock critic Greil Marcus puts it succinctly, 'The word I always come back to is mystical, and that remains almost theirs alone.'"
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CD
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SV 077CD
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2021 reprint. "In the late '70s, The Avengers established themselves as one of the US's preeminent punk bands. Fusing incisive guitar hooks, explosive rhythms and adolescent venom, the group forged some of the most in-your-face songs of the era. Their live shows were legendary, playing up and down the West Coast and even blowing Sex Pistols off the stage at the latter's final performance. As Byron Coley writes in the liner notes, 'Of the best bands of San Francisco's first wave in 1977, The Avengers were by far the coolest and youngest sounding. They roared without irony, as though this were indeed Year Zero (and, for a moment, it was), with history being overwritten by the new. The honesty of their belief was carried by their sound. And it was convincing!' Originally released in 1983, four years after the band's dissolution, The Avengers' self-titled LP is often referred to as 'The Pink Album' for its magenta-hued cover design. The Pink Album remains The Avengers' definitive statement -- collecting their classic Dangerhouse EP, sessions recorded with the Pistols' Steve Jones and a half-dozen revelatory demos. While much has been written about The Avengers in the past three decades, rock critic Greil Marcus puts it succinctly, 'The word I always come back to is mystical, and that remains almost theirs alone.'"
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7"
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SV 006EP
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"Their second 7" packs a 1-2 punch that tears through the Stones' classic and unleashes the menace that was only hinted at in the original. The B-side 'Thin White Line' is a musical punch in the gut with the pay-off of lead-singer Penelope Houston's excellent 'Don't talk about the blood running down my chin' lyric." Black vinyl version.
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7"
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SV 007EP
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"'Teenage Rebel' remains the anthem for every disaffected youth on the planet. Not included on the infamous Pink album, this song is a two-minute package of pure adolescent vitriol. Backed with 'Friends of Mine,' a declaration of solidarity for the punks of San Francisco. Recorded in 1978 at the famed Iguana Studios on Folsom Street." Black vinyl version.
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7"
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SV 005EP
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"The Avengers emerged as one of the best bands from San Francisco's first wave punk scene in 1977. Their first 7" remains an essential artifact of punk rock in the late '70s. Originally released on the seminal Dangerhouse label, the EP's three tracks feature visceral sonic attacks, lyrical manifestos of self-reliance, and classic anthemic choruses. Cover photography by Marcus Leatherdale on two unique picture sleeves - the rare 'crucifix' and 'target' designs." Black vinyl version.
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