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Rating: Simply amazing...
An extremely strange character, bizarre is an adjective that fits perfectly in his case, this hippie-freak stands out by playing pacifist and anti-prohibitionist rants on the corners of his neighborhood, in the underworld of New York; precisely that Lower East Side which he adopts as a moniker for his loyal traveling companions, Billy Joe White (guitar and vocals) and Harold C. Black (tambourine and vocals). David Peel and company release their debut "Have A Marijuana" in 1968 (Elektra), recording it live right on the streets of the Big Apple, thus sounding absurd in its extreme "no-fi," but which foreshadows what will be the supreme masterpiece of the group a couple of years later, in the meantime expanded to seven members complete with bass, drums, organ, and soprano sax.
"American Revolution" (Elektra) sees the light in February of 1970... and does not go unnoticed. It instantly becomes the new Manifesto of the American Hippie Counterculture, so much so that the group is taken under the protective wing of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who in 1972 will release the third magnificent act of this crazy character, "The Pope Smokes Dope" (!!!).
But back to us. Until now, everything is in place, the period is right, the place is New York, where everything and its opposite could be born at any moment and any corner... what doesn't add up is the fact that listening to this record without biographical notes, one can't help but think of being in London during the 1976-77 biennium. The debut of the Clash simply pales in comparison to "American Revolution," so much so that a good half of the Strummer and Jones record is locked in the street-punk of the initial "Lower East Side," where the attitude, the anger, the melodies, the singing... I repeat, are amazing!!! A brief interlude, and we are catapulted into "Legalize Marijuana" where a reggae-punk monstrosity is the vehicle with which Peel’s voice seems to mock Strummer, Johnny Rotten, Joey Ramone, and Dave Vanian all at once... not to mention those who came after. "Oink, Oink" is a pure divertissement against police repression, where once again one is left astounded by the constant ""references"" to the Clash with Rotten on vocals, high on ether. "I Want To Get High" is pure and crystalline pub-rock to which Sham 69 or Buzzcocks, I believe, have frequently lent an ear, and "I Want To Kill You" in just over four minutes blows away without regrets "The Call Up," "Police On My Back" and "Bank Robber" by the Clash... I know I'm repetitive, but Peel and company have literally torn apart one of the most heroic bands in history.
"Girls, Girls, Girls" talks about sex, as the Beach Boys would have if they were ugly, dirty, and rotten; Richard Grando's sax is moving as it duets with Peel's voice on the martial stride of "Hey, Mr. Draft Boar," proto-punk down to its core (just to dismantle someone else, even X-Ray Specs contributed very little... to the evolution of punk) leading us to the splendid mystical ballad that is the final "God," where the guitar becomes acoustic and soft to accompany the lament Peel directly addresses to the Almighty with a sharp sarcasm that earns him a direct excommunication... not even a yellow card.
...simply amazing.
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