180g virgin vinyl pressing! Rhino gives us an exact repro of the Dead Boys' debut, originally released in 1977 on Sire. Forget the band name, album title and cover - it's the first chords of this album, the intro to "Sonic Reducer(1)," that lets you know you're in for some shit. After that initial gut punch and some swirling fx, the whole band jumps you in a back alley, assaulting you with sloppy distorted riffs while Stiv sermonizes: "I don't need anyone, don't need no mom and dad / Don't need no pretty face, don't need no human race." Dead Boys formed out of the ashes of another great band (Cleveland, OH's Rocket From The Tombs) and even though they rose out of the NY punk scene, their sound always had a little weirdo outsider flair. Aside from the infamous "Reducer," check out: "Not Anymore(2)," "Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth(3)," "High Tension Wires(4)," "All This And More(5)." 10 tracks total.

reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red