Big Boys - Where's My Towel / Industry Standard

Written by GE 138.

When I saw that this was being reissued on 180 gram colored vinyl, I immediately rushed to the website to put my order in. After weeks of waiting it finally arrived, no worse for wear from baking in the 180 degree Vegas sunlight for who knows how long. Thanks jack ass UPS guy! Anyways, after letting it get accustomed to the cooler indoor environment, I slapped this beautiful piece of thick, white, vinyl on the ol' turntable and was just taken back to the days of Lore, long gone by. I love the Big Boys.  This record is amazing. Following up their stunning debut release, which was one half of the Live At Raul's LP they shared with fellow Texas rabblerousers The Dicks, with this colossal collection of music was a ballsy move that payed off well for the band. The music on here is all over the place - part Funk, part New Wave Art bullshit, part Rock 'N' Roll and 100% Punk Rock all the way through. The sound on this reissue is nice and thick and fat. Chris Gates bass work just thumps and throbs from the speakers, and Tim Kerr's slinky, crisp, frenetic guitar work is still just as impressive sounding as it ever was. The drumming on here is actually pretty dark stuff, prodding and lumbering along in a manner very reminiscent of what Budgie from Siouxsie And The Banshee's was doing at the time, and Biscuit's vocal work on here is astonishing - going from the fast and furious call and response of a song like Security or Advice, to the mournful, impassioned delivery on Complete Control is impressive - especially considering he finished the vocals for this record  in 1 day, all while sick with a 104 degree fever. All in all, it took 3 days to record, mix and master this album, and you'd never know it by the music on here. The material is miles ahead of what anybody was doing at the time, and the Big Boys were doing all of this musical creativity in Austin, TX., which, in the early 80's, was not as nice a place to live in as it is today. RednecKKKville, that's all I'm saying. Anyways, the miracle workers at Light In The Attic records have put together an impressive looking package for this reissue project. It's now a gate fold LP, it comes with the original lyric sheet, plus a brand new insert that was put together by Chris and Tim. There's a cool sticker included, as well as a download card, and it's just great to see the obvious care and love that was put into this release, because it definitely deserves it. Long out of print, not available on CD, get your copy of this Big Boys classic and remember a time when Punk was Fun Fun Fun and without all the rules and regulations that are so prevalent in it today. An essential release to own. The term 'Skate Rock' was invented for these guys. Give this album a listen and hear why it was. Now go write your own review! :-)

Available from Light In The Attic records, which you can go to by clicking here.

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