Slaughter and The Dogs
Do It Dog Style

"Jeff Winston was talking on the phone with his wife when he died." These are the opening words of "Replay" by Ken Grimwood.

In "Survivor" by Chuck Palahniuk, the first page is numbered 289. As you continue reading, the numbering decreases, concluding with 1 on the last page of the book.

If you want to start from the end, try Slaughter And The Dogs. You will always have time to discover punk '77 through the usual Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Clash. Because to truly understand something, you have to get your hands dirty, just like Slaughter And The Dogs did.

The band of Mick Rossi (guitar) and Wayne Barrett (vocals) had the same concept of music as the Damned ("We Don't Care"), just a bit faster. From their name alone (a tribute to Bowie and Ronson records), they do not renounce the past, ending up looking like a glam version of the Dead Boys, or if you prefer, secularized Rolling Stones ("Keep On Trying").

This debut of theirs (year of grace 1978) runs on gasoline, and by the third track ("Boston Babies"), we are already faced with a classic.

In "Since You Went Away", they borrow the intro from "Black Diamond" by Kiss, while "I'm Mad" is the song that Eagles Of Death Metal would like to write.

Three covers on a single album are too many for anyone, but I am convinced that upon hearing their "Who Are The Mystery Girls", Johnny Thunder would be pleased, if only he were not at REST. In "Dame To Blame", the English band plays on Radio Birdman's home turf, in "Where Have All The Boots Boys Gone" they pay a visit to the Germs, but despite the difficulty of the commitments, they do not come out defeated.

This CD is fantastic and once again we must thank the folks at "Captain Oi" for buying the rights from the uninterested Decca and putting it back on the market, despite having spoiled their average of 16.3 bonus tracks per record by adding only two excellent b-sides ("Johnny T." and "Come On Back").

 RATING 8 and 1/2