The Collection
Rave On, 2019
10/10
Listen to The Collection
A remastered discography disc that collects all 24 of their tunes, tracks 1-12 includes the 1978 debut album Radioactive, while tracks 13-24 give us the unreleased Reptiles In Motion, where guitar legend Mick Ronson is present.
“High Society” starts the listen out with gritty rock’n’roll that’s full of power-pop sensibilities and proto-punk ideas, and this extends to the New Wave nods of “Stop & Go”, as well as anthemic and rowdy punk rock of “Kill Me”. A late album highlight here is the rhythmic and groove friendly “Close Inspection”, where frontman Roger C. Reale shows us just how versatile he is.
The unreleased album leads with the rugged power-pop of “She’s Older Now” and it’s immediately apparent that the band’s formula has been refined for what would have been their 2nd album. The melodies are more meticulous, the landscape more calculated and the songwriting still loose and raw, but with a more mature demeanor. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they added 2 guitarists, too.
Elsewhere on the back half, “Radioactive” flows with a pulsating restraint in the retro-rocker, while “I’m In Distress” drives with an incendiary energy that legends like The Buzzcocks and The Ramones built their fame on. Late in the listen, “Back It Up” bounces amid a playful spirit you could dance to, and “Rock It To The Kremlin” ends the listen on a guitar driven rocker that’s pure power and melody.
The Rue Morge band consisted of G.E. Smith, Jimmy McAllister, Hilly Michaels, and Mick Ronson and together with Reale’s iconoclastic vision of rock’n’roll, these 24 tracks leave an indelible mark on the first listen. Hell, I don’t think it’s an overstatement at all to suggest that these 40+ year old tracks sound better than most music being made today.
Travels well with: New York Dolls- Too Much Too Soon; MC5- High Time