The Rezillos & Shake - The (Almost) Complete Singles Collection

Picture of Fay and Eugene from the Rezillos' 2012 Los Angeles show, which I had the pleasure of attending. I stole it from L.A. Weekly, whose gig report was written by one "Falling James" - not the one from the great Leaving Trains, surely?

The Rezillos' quintessential debut album "Can't Stand the Rezillos" was released twice in the CD age. The first time it was in the guise of a 28-track compilation on Sire, containing the album plus its live follow-up "Mission Accomplished... But the Beat Goes On" (sans final track, "Destination Venus") and a non-LP single, "Destination Venus/Mystery Action". I guess budget considerations made for the omission of this final live track, along with all the other 7" releases the band did during their original run; or maybe the record company didn't believe there would be enough buyer interest to justify releasing a double CD of Rezillos material. For what it is, that collection is a perfect distillation of the Rezillos' output on one disc; however, the more recent reissue on DBK Works is just shameful, as it only gives you the original 13 tracks that made up the album, and no bonuses whatsoever. I'd understand if it were a vinyl reissue which sought to reproduce the album in its original form - but releasing a 38-minute CD when there's a wealth of great stuff which would fit on the disc perfectly, and which was never, ever, released in any form except for the original singles, that's just offensive. Here, then, is a collection of all the Rezillos '70s singles (except for the one included on the widely available Sire compilation), plus the missing live version of "Destination Venus". All tracks are just amazing, which shouldn't surprise anyone who has heard this wonderful band before. As for the second part of the archive, it's more rare and more interesting, perhaps, but not nearly as great. It features the whole recorded legacy of Shake, a band led by exiled Rezillos guitarist Jo Callis, and featuring various others former Rezillos, if I'm not mistaken? As far as I know, the singing part of the group went on to form the Revillos, and the musicians made up Shake, but I could be wrong - check teh Internets for more accurate data. The best thing Shake recorded is probably the 1979 Peel session, and it's also the earliest of their recordings, but I put it at the end because of its poorer sound quality. To my ears, these songs sound like Rezillos tracks with weaker vocals (one of them, "Teenbeat", actually IS a Rezillos song), a bit too much repetition and much less charisma; however "(But) Not Mine" is quite a nice addition to the canon. I also seem to hear a lot of the Buzzcocks here (why do I always start typing "Buttcocks"? is it a typo or a deep problem in my psyche?), however as their career progressed, so did their music - away from punk rock, of course. I can't get much enjoyment from their latter two singles, but then again, Jo Callis went on to worldwide fame and fortune after joining The Human League for their ubiquitous smash "Dare", so let's not allow history to judge on this.

Track listing:

1. The Rezillos - I Can't Stand My Baby (2:36)
2. The Rezillos - I Wanna Be Your Man (1:59)
3. The Rezillos - (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (2:56)
4. The Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack (3:07)
5. The Rezillos - Top of the Pops (3:13)
6. The Rezillos - 20,000 Rezillos Under the Sea (3:18)
7. The Rezillos - (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (live) (4:02)
8. The Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack (live) (2:40)
9. The Rezillos - Twist & Shout (live) (2:09)
10. The Rezillos - Destination Venus (live) (4:15)
11. Shake - Culture Shock (3:44)
12. Shake - Glass House (3:45)
13. Shake - Dream On (3:21)
14. Shake - (But) Not Mine (3:48)
15. Shake - Hidden Track (1:06)
16. Shake - Invasion of the Gamma Men (3:44)
17. Shake - Night by Night (3:01)
18. Shake - Woah Yeah! (3:54)
19. Shake - Sinistrale (4:43)
20. Shake - Dodo Boys (2:45)
21. Shake - (But) Not Mine (Peel Session) (3:46)
22. Shake - Glass House (Peel Session) (3:34)
23. Shake - Night by Night (Peel Session) (3:14)
24. Shake - Teenbeat (Peel Session) (3:26)

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