Subhumans: EP-LP (remaster) / From The Cradle To The Grave (remaster) / 29:29 Split Vision (remaster)

Southern Records tackle the back catalogue of UK Punk collective Subhumans with the release of three remasters. Taken from the original analogue tapes they offer poster inserts, digi-pack booklets and improved versions of the original artwork. Formed in 1980 Subhumans came along in the second wave of Punk and issued five full length albums and a host of EP's on their own Bluurg label before splitting at the end of 1985 and vocalist Dick Lucas went on to form Citizen Fish. The inevitable Subhumans reunion came about in 1998 and the band have toured sporadically since then also releasing a new album in 2007.

To better appreciate these albums it is necessary to have an understanding of the time in which they were conceived. This is a band that lived in the shadow of the Cold War, lengthy unemployment, the miners strike and the lyrics often reflect this, also tackling subjects as religion, greed, corruption, materialism and vivisection. EP-LP is a collection of their first four EP's and whilst not particularly distinctive or groundbreaking it captures the raw energy of a band in its formative stages as Lucas rails against authority the band keep a solid backline. Highlights include 'Peroxide', 'Religious Wars' and 'Work Experience'. From The Cradle To The Grave originally came out in 1983 and it is the astonishing seventeen minute title track that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Subhumans were evidently a band that were about far more than the three minute standard Punk blast as this epic takes you on a journey from birth to death; the unfortunate subject being frightened at youth by school and religion before conforming and joining the army and then the realisation that the whole process will simply start anew. Almost a prog-punk hybrid of sorts and the one song that really sets them apart from their peers. 29:29 Split Vision was the final release from the Subhumans first period and shows their development into a slightly more refined outfit on the likes of the eight minute ska-influenced 'Worlds Apart' and the ironic 'Somebody's Mother'. Perhaps shocked by this new found maturity the band then promptly broke up for more than a decade.

Subhumans never made as much of an impact of bands like The Clash or, at the opposite end of the Punk spectrum, Crass but what they did they did well. Older fans will delight in the attention to detail of the remastered process and for newcomers this is a great introduction to anyone seeking the raw angst of pure 80's Punk.

Track Listing
29:29 Split Vision
1. Dehumanisation
2. Heroes
3. New Boy
4. Somebody's Mother
5. Think For Yourself
6. Time Flies...
7. Walls of Silence
8. Worlds Apart
EP-LP
1. Parasites
2. Drugs Of Youth
3. Animal
4. Society
5. Who's Gonna Fight In The Third World War?
6. Human Error
7. Big City
8. Peroxide
9. Reason For Existence
10. Cancer
11. Religious Wars
12. Love Is ...
13. It's Gonna Get Worse
14. Work Experience
15. Evolution
16. So Much Money
17. Germ
18. Not Me
From The Cradle To The Grave
1. Intro
2. Forget
3. Waste Of Breath
4. Where's The Freedom?
5. Reality Is Waiting For A Bus
6. Us Fish Must Swim Together
7. Wake Up Screaming
8. Adversity
9. Rain
10. From The Cradle To The Grave

Added: June 14th 2009
Reviewer: Dean Pedley
Score:
Related Link: Band MySpace
Hits: 2435
Language: english

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