Back from the Grave, Volume 1

[1][2][3] In keeping with all of the entries in the series, and as indicated in the subheading which reads "Rockin' 1966 Punkers," this collection consists of songs which display the rawer and more aggressive side of the genre and are often characterized by the use of fuzztone-distorted guitars and rough vocals.

[4] The packaging also includes photographs of the bands, and the front cover features a highly satirical cartoon by Mort Todd depicting a revivified "rock and roll" zombie who, along with his macabre cohorts, has just emerged from the grave to "bury" all specimens of supposedly "heretical" pop and progressive music which have come to prominence over the years, such as disco music and MTV.

"[4] The set closes with the unlikely inclusion of the song that, in the Words of Jeff Jarema, is "in the tradition of the Stooges and MC5...another 1970 punk classic," "Ghost Power," by the Cords, a group made up of real-life Franciscan friars, who in the spirit of Vatican II decided to play rock & roll as a way to attract some of the younger generation to consecrated life.

This new CD is a part of a new Back from the Grave sub-series of CDs which attempts to more faithfully replicate the song selection original LPs, bringing the series for the first time into multi-media coherence.

Like the LPs, the packaging features well-researched liner notes written by Tim Warren which convey basic information about each song and group, such as origin, recording date, and biographical sketches.