Curse Of The Easily Amused
Liberation Hall, 2022
9/10
Listen to Curse Of The Easily Amused
A legendary San Francisco outfit spearheaded by Fritz Fox alongside Sue White and Sally Webster, as The Mutants the trio all sing across art-punk songs that are full of energetic and rowdy song craft.
They formed in 1977, and by the early ‘80s they had an EP, compilation track and album under their belt. The 14 tracks here have all been remixed or sourced from the original tapes, and 8 of them have never appeared on CD or vinyl before. No overdubs were used, either.
“Party!” starts the listen with bouncy bass lines and scrappy drumming in the conversational singing, and “Odd Man Out” follows with thumping drums from Dave Carothers as the 3 vocalists bring both grit and melody to the timless punk rock climate.
Elsewhere, “Too Much Too Soon” showcases Paul Fleming’s strategic bass playing in the anthemic delivery, while “Insect Lounge” puts Charles Hagan on bass amid Brendan Earley and John Gullak’s searing guitar work in the sing-alongs.
Moving towards the end, “Missing In Action” finds itself in New Wave areas and recruits Ken Kearney (guitar), Jim Hrabetin (guitar) and Zippy Pinhead (drums) for the hypnotic, post-punk spirited demeanor, and “Tribute To Russ Meyer” exits the listen with a slow burning, crunchy rocker that brings in raw vocals later on, and has an incredible sound quality.
The Mutants still play today with 4 of the original members present, and this collection serves as a great introduction to their retro-punk ways and is a must for the diehard fan.
Travels well with: Professor And The Madman- Live At The 100 Club; Foxy- Can’t Stop Us