Belvedere Jehosophat - Thursday, 23 September, 2004 - Print Version
Dedicated with much love and much respect to [-o-].
Though the title suggests that this is a "best of" album it is in fact a collection of b-sides, singles and rarities.
I only point this out because I’ve read several reviews stating that Crass are sell-outs for having a "best of" CD.
Moreover, I only point that out to show the extent to which human intelligence has fallen into disrepair.
Several of the songs already exist in different versions and I think it would be prudent to mention them.
"Asylum," that vitriolic two-minute denouncement of religion and Christ that first appeared on The Feeding of the 5000 has been expanded to just over six minutes and is now called "Reality Asylum."
There is an early, early version of "Major General Despair," that would later appear on the Christ - The Album album, resembling that later song in name only.
(In fact, that first version and another song, "Angela Rippon," were the first few songs released by Crass, and, like the first few songs released by most punk bands, they sound primitive, only hinting at the genius that Crass would later achieve.)
There are earlier versions of "Do They Owe Us a Living?" and "Rival Tribal Rebel Revel," which would later appear on Feeding of the 5000 and Christ - The Album respectively.
Both these songs are slower than and not as aggressive as the other versions and suffer for this fact, but they’re still pretty enjoyable.
The later half of the album contains about eight songs condemning the English involvement in the Falklands war.
When news of the war first broke out Crass hurriedly released a Flexi single of "Sheepfarming in the Falklands," and followed up their assault with a series of singles severely denouncing Thatcher’s government.
Some of the songs are absolutely savage in their indictment and, I guess, not surprisingly news of the songs made it to the House of Commons.
Still, I can understand Thatcher being pissed off. It’s not often that a bunch of social reprobates has the gall to ask, "How does it feel to be the mother of a thousand dead?"
Legal proceedings against the band were quickly started and, when it became obvious that they were being grossly bungled, they were just as quickly abandoned.
In amongst these are a pair of longer avant-gardeish type songs, the inclusion of which isn’t that surprising given that Crass always had an experimental, artistic streak about them-that is, they did what most good punk bands did, they pushed the boundaries.
The album finishes up with a live version of "Do They Owe Us a Living?" It’s actually the last song they ever played live, which took place at a miners’ benefit in Aberdare, Wales, and it’s a testament to the incredibly sloppy and powerful shows Crass were capable of putting on.
The centrepieces of the album, however, are the songs "Bloody Revolutions" and "Big A, Little a."
"Bloody Revolutions," a rejection of violent revolution, warns that those content to use violence to force a revolution will quite happily use violence to keep the power that they’ve just attained.
And, in "Big A, Little a," Crass explores the idea that "there is no authority but yourself," beginning by a mocking several different groups, the church, the Queen, Thatcher and so on and ending by insisting that we are the ones who have to create the lives we want to live.
The CD comes with a nice little box-type packaging and a surprisingly thick booklet which has all the lyrics to the songs and a rather extensive history of the band, written by Penny Rimbaud, Crass’ drummer, including why they felt the need to break up after 1984.
It’s actually a pretty interesting read, as are any of the other books that Penny Rimbaud has written.
The CD looks like this:
I suggest, though, that you get this last; get Stations of the Crass first, it’s not the best, but it’s a fine introduction.
Also, "Smash the Mac" is as good as anything that Crass has ever written.
here, exile or solitude, among these listless and convulsive madmen who danced to die
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