Crown Court is one of the hottest things going in the Oi! world right now. This is some really raging traditional London Oi! with a bit of a modern edge to it. After downloading their three song "Trouble From London" demo last year, I was hungry for more. I had no idea this was coming out but ran across it in a distro, and it does not disappoint. As far as I know, this is their only vinyl release to date. This is a fantastic release, so if you run across it don't hesitate to pull the trigger on it. I don't know all the pressing info for it, but this copy is #155/300 on black vinyl.
Suede Razors are a Bay Area side project of sorts with members of Sydney Ducks, Harrington Saints and Hounds & Harlots. They definitely lean more on the side of pure rock and roll than Oi! They remind me alot of Reducers SF or The Real Kids. The "Here She Comes" single is their debut and my favorite of the two. This version is on red vinyl and out of /200. The title track on this will get stuck in your head all damn day, so proceed with caution!
Here is their third single, "Boys Night Out" on clear vinyl out of /150. This recording sounds a little more polished, and with that a little less raw. I missed out on their second single, "Bootboy Anthems" which sold out extremely quick. Either way, I'm excited about this band and I won't be missing out on any of their future stuff. Although not an elite Oi! group like their cousins in Sydney Ducks, Suede Razors are nothing to shake a stick at.
Yes, I'm still alive and I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in forever. I've had alot going on that has made this blog low on my list of priorities. Anyways, here is probably my favorite release of 2014... "American Strike" by Brooklyn NY's MISSIONARY. This is pure 86 Mentality Oi/USHC worship, and they just are doing it better than anyone else right now. I feel really happy a snagged a clear copy out of /100 while I still could! And props to Utopia Banished for giving me the heads up, unless I would have slept on this.
Templars have always been one of my favorite bands, and always will be. As a youngster I once drove 8 hours each way just to see them play. A few years back
when TKO Repressed the class "Dans Les Catacombs Du Studio de L'Acre"
collection by the Templars, I was all over it. I was then able to snag
the test pressing for this release, with the black and white sleeve. It comes on black vinyl with plain white labels.
The "Band Edition Test Pressing" had a red and white cover, and wasn't really a test pressing but more of a band only alternative cover. It came on the the clear vinyl with red and white black splatter which was the limited version out of /200 for the main release. There was also a bunch pressed on black vinyl for the main release.
The top left is the original pressing on Vulture Rock (clear vinyl), Top right was the main release, it is not shown that well in the picture but its like shiny tin foil front cover. Then the two test presses on the bottom. Make sure to check out the original pressing from my 50th post...
I saw this get posted on Facebook a while back as being up for sale. Apparently I've been living under a rock because I thought it was a repress of their first LP with new album artwork. I ordered a copy from my phone and went on with my day. I later realized it was in fact a brand new LP from the Stranglah. Doh! Glad I got my hands on a copy because as expected these sold at real quick. As far as I know, they followed the same recipe as their debut LP and released these all on black vinyl.
After ordering it, I scoured the internet for a free download and started listening right away. For some reason I was not as impressed by this release as their debut LP. Something about it sounded flatter than their older stuff. When I got the LP, I listened to the actual record several times and realized the digital copy I have is just not that good of quality compared to the real recordings. It gave me a sour first impression, but on further listening I have fallen in love with this record. It is without a doubt more "Oi!" than the last record, which is fine by me. I don't know if this record will live up to the same hype as their debut LP or which will stand the test of time better, but to me it's apples and oranges with both of them being fantastic.
As evident in my second post ever on this website, I am a huge Reducers SF fan. Reducers SF are West Coast Oi!/Punk rock legends that have been mostly dormant over the last decade. I grew up on this band, and would go see them all the time. They were a huge influence on me to say the least. When Pirates Press records had their 10 year anniversary weekend, they announced a Reducers 20 year anniversary box set (Has it been that long? Jeez...). It came in a nice silver box with all three of their albums and a brand new "B Sides" style collection LP which I was thrilled to get.
There was three pressing versions, with a total of /500 pressed. TKO Records had the most limited press out of /50 with all of the records on gold vinyl. Revelation had the largest pressing with /350 and each record on a solid different color (blood red, bronze, royal blew and piss yellow). I opted for the over the top Pirates Press version out of /100 but by far the most unique.
Here is their debut LP (1999) and my favorite of their work. This is arguably one of the best Oi! releases ever made, a total classic. This version comes on "Bronze and Black A-Side with White & Beer Splatter vinyl B Side".
Here is the bands second release, "Crappy Clubs and Smelly Pubs" (2001). Many consider this is their best work, and this is also considered a classic Oi! album. I absolutely love this album and it has my favorite Reducers song on it (Empty Bottles). Also I love the nod to the Randumbs on here with a "Our Noise" cover. For those of you not familiar with the Randumbs, they were a really fast and angry punk band and the Reducers took the song and made it way slower and catchy, and they sound nothing alike. It's awesome. Randumbs version comes in at two minutes, Reducers version comes in at three minutes and twenty seconds. This is on "Royal Blue and White A side with Gold, Royal Blue, and Black Splatter B-Side vinyl".
On a side note I was lucky enough to go to the record release show for this album at the Pound in SF. Unfortunately, my 14 year old ass got beat up in the parking lot after the show. Oh, the good old days!
"Raise Your Hackles" was their latest release (2006). This is a good solid release, but I guess I never had the same love for it as it's younger brothers. Looking sharp on "Yellow and White A side with Gold, Yellow, Red, and Black Splatter b-side". This is probably my favorite looking pressing of the bunch.
I was most excited to get this out of everything. First thing I did was rip this thing open to get the digital download of this. Getting a download of Reducers covering "Situations" and "Last Train to Dagenham" is worth the price of admission for this box set alone. All of this stuff was either unreleased or incredibly rare, so I'm thrilled to get my hands on it. It comes on "Red and White A side with Red and Silver Splatter B side."
Looking good Reducers! Great job Pirates Press, and thanks for bringing one of the Bay Area's best Oi! bands to the fore front for a new generation to enjoy.
Canada's Bishops Green is quickly becoming the premier Oi! band in the scene. Their has been an incredible buzz around their recent releases. They have been the topic of many discussions in the Oi! and punk scene, and rightfully so. At first I didn't like this release as much as their debut LP, but this has totally grown on me and I just can't stop listening to it. This is some seriously great Oi!, it is not generic at all and is refreshing as hell. I still do prefer their self titled debut release, because it was overall darker record. Either way, this is a must own for any Oi! fan.
I believe this is the 2nd press. It is out of /250 and it listed as "Double Mint / Swamp Green with White, Kelly Green, Coke Bottle Green Splatter Vinyl". Pirates Press got creative with that one, but this is one of the most impressive looking slabs I have ever seen. With the embossed cover and gate fold to boot, Pirates Press went all in on this one.
When this release first came out, I missed out on the limited white version on Quality Control. Bummer. But, I knew it was coming out on Painkiller so I did not want to miss out on the limited "camo" vinyl out of /200. The day they put up pre orders, they did not give an option to select camo vinyl. I ordered it the same day it came out, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped I'd get the limited version. Weeks go by, and I see a posts on Skull Fucked and Utopia Banished with the limited version, and pictures of a beautiful green marble vinyl. A few weeks later mine finally shows up, I peek inside and sure as shit I got a black copy. Disgruntled and feeling rejected, I put it back away and put it in my "needs pictures" pile.
Time goes by and I see Mike posts his copy, which reveals a really dark looking version of the camo green. I instantly ran up stairs to check mine, and was thrilled to see that I did get the limited version. It just looks like shit. About the release... This is a excellent record. I would dare to say this is Violent Reaction's best stuff yet, because they went more Oi! on this record than any of their previous releases. I can't wait for these guys' LP on Revelation.
Vinyl Noize once proclaimed this record as the "Chung King of Oi!". Here is the Templars "Poor Knights of Acre" Bootleg EP. Although I would hardly call this the Chung King of Oi!, or even the Templars most sought after record, it is without a doubt considered a classic and a must own for any Oi! collector. The Templars are one of my all time favorite bands and one of the bands I aggressively collect. In fact for my 50th post I dedicated it to the Templars, as well as some of my first posts ever. I am now realizing I haven't even posted a quarter of my Templars collection, and that is something I will need to remedy soon.
Here is one of the pieces of vinyl that I've owned the longest, and some of my most cherished pieces. When I was a kid, Sacramento's Pressure Point were my heroes. Their music really meant everything to me and they helped shape my life. I think I saw them for the first time when I was 12 years old, and being so inspired by their music and Mike's stage presence. I remember talking all kinds of shit in between songs (as he still does) to get people all pumped up. It was definitely more than alot of the punk music I was getting into at the time that didn't have a great deal to say. This split with United Blood was always one of my favorites with the original "Boots n booze" and a "Police on my back" cover. It's amazing to me that Pressure Point is still around like 20 years later, and still tearing it up.
United Blood's side is classic in it's own right. The song "Crossfire" will always be a Bay Area classic. Their singer Orlando was quite the character. I remember him always wearing these little dark glasses with tiny lenses and being super loud and boisterous. He was really loud and boisterous, and if someone was watching a band up front he would go up and start grabbing you and shaking you around and shit if he was into the band. And I also remember him doing alot of pirate impressions. Does anyone know what happened to him? I know he also played sang for Intrepid AAF who ruled as well.
My versions on black and I don't really know if they had any other pressings. Cold Front Records 1998... Wow. Haven't heard from them in a while.
Love the Big Chuck artwork. I was tripping on the "Big Chuck MHS 97" signature.
We also have the Pressure Point and The Randumbs split that came out in 1999. This is also considered an Oi! classic and a must own. The Randumbs were an awesome band that I don't think fully got their due because they were playing with so many other awesome bands at the time. There was alot of competition with that late 90's TKO Records crowd.
Pressure Point's "Chaos" cover was definitely the star of the show on this.
Also on black vinyl, and I don't know the pressing info on it either. All I know is that I have played the fuck out of that Chaos cover over the years, haha. I had to put it on to make sure it still plays. Posting stuff like this really makes me reminiscent and reminds me of a time in my life that is gone and will never come back. Yeah, I still get to relive that same feeling that first got me into this music all the time with all the new bands carrying it on and even the old ones that are still playing. However, I still miss the "Good old days" and everything that came with it... especially the music.
Here is "There's Lies, Damn Lies and There's the... The London Diehards". An English Oi! band with quite the following. This cockney Oi! takes you back to the Golden Years of traditional English Oi!, and sounds more like it comes from the mid 80's than recently. This is a solid release with some good old sing along Oi! However, I will not be listening to this as frequently as some of the current top tier Oi! like Sydney Ducks, Maraboots, and Cold Stare.
This copy is on yellow vinyl limited to /100, and comes with a hand numbered poster: #93/100.
