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Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats to Reissue Vol. 1 Oct. 13

I’ve never heard Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats‘ first album. 2010’s Vol. 1 has been in my YouTube recommendations for years now, but I’ve blatantly refused to take it on — my position being that if I’m going to hear the super-limited, one-time-only release that started off one of the most landmark UK acts of this decade, I was going to do it right. The physical pressing. I didn’t even let it play when I grabbed the embed code to put it at the bottom of this post just now. And, well, as you can see in the PR wire info below, there were CD-Rs 30 made, and when I interviewed founding guitarist/vocalist Kevin R. Starrs back in 2015, I failed to ask him for one, so that was pretty much out. There you go. To this day, I’ve never heard Vol. 1, thinking maybe I’d run into it properly at some point or another.

Rise Above Records is about to make that much easier to do. The label that has stood behind the band since it stepped up in 2012 to issue their 2011 breakthrough, Blood Lust (discussed here), along with the subsequent offerings, 2013’s Mind Control (review here) and 2015’s The Night Creeper (review here), will oversee a first official pressing of Vol. 1 on Friday, Oct. 13, with a new mix and master by Starrs himself. It’s been kind of a quiet year for Uncle Acid so far, at least relative to the amount of touring they did in 2015/2016, and as such a perfect opportunity for the band to recount their beginnings to what’s now a vast and global audience. Myself included.

From the PR wire:

uncle-acid-and-the-deadbeats-vol-1

Rise Above Records To Release Uncle Acid The Deadbeats’ “Vol 1” Friday October 13th

First released on Friday February 13th, (40 years to the day after Black Sabbath’s debut LP), “Vol 1” was the first efforts of unknown songwriter, Kevin Starrs. Pressed in small numbers for a non existing fan base, the album took several months to shift all 30 CD-R copies and provided a small platform to fund its follow up, “Blood Lust” (2011).

Recorded on a tight budget of stashed dole money and with little knowledge or regard for conventional recording techniques, the chaotic results speak for themselves;

Distorted vocals, out of tune harmonies, ragged musicianship and everything pushed to the red. The clatter of mic stands falling over mid performance, the rustling of lyric papers, the missed key changes and flubbed lines. Everything you would want to avoid is here. Self-funded, self-recorded and self released to a fanfare of silence, “Vol 1” was a true D.I.Y. effort from start to finish. No great ambition, no target audience, no press support. Just a collection of songs for anyone who would listen. With it’s mix of budget horror lyrics, Everly Brothers obsessed harmonies, downer rock riffs, overly long guitar solos and bizarre high pitched vocals, “Vol 1” had very limited appeal outside a small group of underground fanatics.

In the years following, the album became something of a cult curiosity. Despite the shoddy work of bootleggers and impatient collectors, Starrs refused to re release the album until he could work on its remix and oversee the mastering. “It was a D.I.Y project from the beginning so I wasn’t going to give it up and let someone else mess with it. I also wasn’t going to cash in on something for the sake of it. I wanted it to sound the best that it possibly could. The record deserves my full attention, so with no new album to distract anyone in 2017, it was the perfect time to work on it and release it on CD and Vinyl. It can stand on its own… flaws included.”

So here it is, “Vol 1” in all its ragged glory… finally mastered and mixed for this release.

Enjoy.

“Vol 1” Track Listing:
1. Crystal Spiders
2. Witches Garden
3. Dead Eyes of London
4. Lonely and Strange
5. Vampire Circus
6. Do What Your Love Tells You
7. I Don’t Know
8. Wind Up Toys

https://www.uncleacidband.com
https://www.facebook.com/uncleacid/
https://www.facebook.com/riseaboverecords/
http://www.riseaboverecords.com/

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Vol. 1 (2010)

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2 Responses to “Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats to Reissue Vol. 1 Oct. 13”

  1. N says:

    That’s noble of you to only listen to a physical release. You won’t be disappointed. Seriously great songs on that record.

  2. Robb says:

    Thank God they’re releasing this one properly. Unlike you JJ I was weak and had to listen to it on youtube. The album from start to finish is something special for sure. You can tell that Kevin Starrs had some great idea’s for this record. Can’t wait to hear it remixed.

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