VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Winnipeg Riot!: CD
Like most Americans, my knowledge of All Things Rock in Winnipeg starts with the Guess Who, middles with the Stretch Marks, and ends with Propaghandi, with not much (actually, with nothing) in between. And, inasmuch as i’d like to co-opt this review to point out the fact that the Guess Who—especially their early work from the ‘60s—are a fairly underrated band in today’s Rock Forefather Pecking Order, the more pertinent facts of the matter seem to indicate that, quite off American (and potentially even Canadian) radar screens, Winnipeg has, by all indications, served as a merrily festering pus lump of punk/rock/rock/punk carnage. If the liner notes can be believed (and why can’t they?), Winnipeg is essentially Manitowoc or Kenosha on a Saturday night, but 24/7—beer, brawls, and punk, not necessarily in that order (actually, i take that back. Necessarily in that order). I assume this CD serves sort of the same purpose as balcony seats at a GG Allin show—i get an OK view of the situation, but am in no danger of getting anything yucky on my shirt—and, truth be told, it’s pretty decent for the first seventy-five to eighty percent Things start wobblin’ off into unlistenability towards the end, but i can actually say that i think, with Winnipeg Riot!, civilization has turned the corner whereby i am actually somewhat interested in listening to compilations again—something that i don’t believe has been the case since about 1982. Go to Fargo, hang a right. Yep. BEST SONG: Hot Live Guys “Robbin’ A Bank” BEST SONG TITLE: The Surfadelics “Flux Capacitor” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: “Yes, it’s real blood.” –Rev. Norb (Dionysus)