V/A - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie: Reinterpreting Black Flag
Rating
RIYL
Black FlagJohnny Cash
Patsy Cline
Release Date
04/27/2010
Label
Secret Life of RecordsTracklist
1. Rise Above2. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
3. Six Pack
4. Nervous Breakdown
5. In the Jailhouse Now
6. Thirsty and Miserable
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Rarely do press releases ever convey a completely accurate sentiment when describing a hot new band, or the latest compilation disc for this or that genre of music; usually they’re fluffed with over-zealous adjectives and “yeah right” ranking proclamations. Imagine, if you will, my surprise after deciding the time was nigh to write a proper review after spinning Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie for roughly the 12th time and I reread the accompanying press junket. Word for word, they nailed this funky little disc’s sonic description. Using comparisons that name drop artists such as Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and a few others, they were hitting it on the head. It’s not really much of a disc for the diehard Black Flaggers, but for those who’ve moved on musically or would’ve never touched punk rock with a 10 foot pole to start with.
GGG would probably not rate on anyone’s radar as a legitimate re-imagining, given how far that imagination runs, if it didn’t feature some very noteworthy names attached to its creation. Looking at the list of participants, you have Black Flag vets Dez Cadena, Kira Roessler, and Keith Morris along with Mike Watt of the Minutemen, Joe Baiza of Saccharine Trust, and a handful of others. Knowing that this album featured some of the people that contributed to the legacy of sound paraded by Black Flag and its peers, I have to say that my own curiosity piqued and my mind was a little more opened. As I hinted at earlier, this term “re-inventing” is an understatement when applied to the action performed on these songs. The lyrics may remain the same, but that’s about where the similarities to the original versions stop.
The songs range from the surf-rock sounds of “Rise Above” to a version of “Nervous Breakdown” that would likely pass off as a blood relative to Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” they’re so similar. Having two of the songs being performed vocally by Kira furthered the variety on the EP, as her voice was a nice contrast to Dez’s. The only other vocalists on the album are Keith Morris and Peter Case performing a rockabilly cover of “In the Jailhouse Now” together. The inclusion of this song rather baffles me other than it fits the vintage rock/country vibe of the five Black Flag songs. I personally would’ve thought another BF classic would’ve been in order when you’re dealing with 6 tracks on the whole release. (“White Minority”, “Fix Me”, or “T.V. Party” would’ve been my choices). The remaining selections are a breathy, showgirl-fashioned “Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie”, a honky-tonk rendition of “Thirsty and Miserable”, and, my favorite, the country-boogie version of “Six Pack”.
Ultimately, if you are/were a Black Flag fan with an open mind, this EP warrants a listen just to hear some of the artistic liberties taken. I would be surprised if many followers of BF actually broke this album out beyond the first go-through unless they are truly a fan of a very eclectic mix of musics. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if some fans of the 50-60’s country/rockabilly scene ended up loving this disc. It’s fun, playful, and the musicianship is more than adequate. I doubt any of the newfound fans would ever pick up a Black Flag album and give it more than one listen themselves, equally out of curiosity. In light of that, I don’t think it successfully accomplished is goal of being a true cross-over; the two camps are just too dissimilar for anyone except the truest of all music fans to bridge a gap in their collection.
--Jeremy Deal
Comments
Minnesota
I am a Black Flag fan and just couldn't get into this at all. The genre of the covers doesn't appeal to me much, and even knowing these were covers of a band I like, I had zero connection to them. It's too bad too, because I like seeing crazy stuff like this.
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