All The World Must Know About Death

I only recently discovered the band Death. What I mean by recently I mean is last year in 2009. I heard about them from a friend who told me I should really listen to some great new old music. I kinda of shrugged it off because his musical influences were Hardcore and Punk. Nothing against those two genres, but I am sure I heard most of this stuff in my younger years. In a way I thought I out grew it as well. I still listen to some of it an love it, but most of it has been been the same way. He handed me this CD. Death, ...For All The World To See. I was reluctant to pick it up. I said to him that I would give it a listen. I also picked up the newest Wire magazine. The first thing I did was put the CD in the car. Not know the really great review of Death was in the issue I bought. As I drove away from the store I was in shock how this sounded so great and everyone back in 70's totally did not get it. It was jaw dropping and required more then one great listen. Even though it was less then a half hour in length. It was amazing. These guys evoked Bad Brains and other bands that I used to listen to when I was younger. I mean you hear moments of The Stooges and MC5. It was great and I am glad he told me about this.

When I got home I called my friend to thank him for turning me on to this short but awesome CD. I asked him if there was anymore to listen to. He told me I am holding their only release. Well it was amazing and I wanted more. I think If I could wear out the grooves of a CD I did. This CD was played all the time. I even told my friend about this. They thought I was crazy as always. But this is not to be missed. The review below will tell you more then I know, but it is a great listen. Enjoy!



Every time a reissue of a remarkable, lost record comes out, it’s difficult to resist the temptation to compile an amazed laundry-list of bands it mysteriously prefigures. Death’s …For the Whole World to See provokes such a response. Some licks sound like Husker Du. Some quivery vocals evoke H.R. of Bad Brains.

But better, perhaps, to view Death’s seven-song oeuvre as the logical bridging of a lacuna rather than a before-its-time aberration. Of course it makes sense that, in mid-’70s Detroit, three black brothers (Dannis, Bobby and David Hackney) might have gotten as into the Stooges and MC5 as into Funkadelic, that they might have synthesized the sounds of FM rock radio just as their white peers ransacked soul and funk. The Hackneys released a single, recorded and shelved an album, and then moved to Vermont with their family. They morphed into a reggae band. Time passed. The EP slowly acquired a cult record-collector following. Tapes were unearthed, and here we are.



Death’s music falls somewhere between ’70s hard rock and the more stripped-down, straightforward garage rock one might deem proto-punk. Obviously influenced by Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, most of their songs span multiple parts and time signatures. “Let the World Turn” even features a drum solo. With the exception of that song, a reverby slow-jam, the album stays uptempo. It’s replete with wonderful, memorable moments, like “Freakin’ Out,” which mixes a classic-sounding garage riff with an unexpected chorus that sharply repeats the title phrase over a snare beat. “Rock-N-Roll Victim” avoids hard-rock cliché by augmenting the drums with hand claps.

There’s not a bad song in the bunch, but the songs from Death’s only official release are the clear highlights on …For the Whole World to See. “Keep On Knocking” is a simple, catchy rock song that gets all the elements right, particularly Bobby Hackney’s urgent vocals and David’s spot-on guitar solo. “Politicians In My Eyes,” the EP’s A-side, is masterful. Form meets content as Bobby alternately spits out and wails lyrics decrying hypocritical politicians. David’s guitars and Dannis’ drums, similarly, sound angry, accusatory. Fiercely energetic, it sounds so rooted in such a particular time and place that it has a kind of canonical familiarity, like something that’s been played on the radio for years. (Talya Cooper)



I hope that was helpful. Like all my posts this is required listening and since they are coming to this area twice, once this summer in New York City and this fall in Boston I figure I would tell you about it. I hope you, like myself will listen to this again and again. Have fun with this and tell all your friends.