Blight – Detroit: The Dream is Dead CD
Touch and Go Records
In the early 1980′s, Touch and Go Records put out some really great punk records from Midwest hardcore bands. Negative Approach, Necros, Meatmen and The Fix singles have become legends in the minds of hardcore punk record collectors, but there were a few singles the label did that kind of got overlooked and I felt never really got their just due, and the Blight 7″ is among them.
Blight was a short lived band formed in the ashes of The Fix. Some of the members decided to start jamming down in their basement and were looking to branch out from the rather strict confines of hardcore. Their clangy, white noise laden, industrial inspired punk rock had more in common with Flipper and Throbbing Gristle than it did with their former band, or the band that Blight’s newfound singer, Tesco Vee, came from – The Meatmen. The songs were sometimes repetitive, off-kilter, wailing, and even sometimes irritating. It was an acquired taste (one which I appreciated) and they weren’t exactly met with open arms from the closed minded hardcore crowd they were once catering to in their other bands. They put out one 7″ in their time together and played only a few shows, most of the time was spent in their basement wailing away and thankfully recording some of the results.
This CD collects everything the band recorded and could find 23 years after their demise. The first four songs are the 7″ and they sound great, even better than they did on the original vinyl. The five songs that follow it are all songs that were recorded at the same sessions that were on the 7″ but were never released until now. Two songs from their 4-track demo follow. These were recorded four months prior to the 7″ sessions and are rougher versions of “Blight” and “Be Stupid”. The disc ends with a 16 minute live set of the band in Detroit in 1982 at a show they opened for the Dead Kennedys. It is a little raw but quite listenable and its pretty amazing they had the foresight to record it at the time. It features every song they had, which are the nine tracks that they had recorded at the time of the original 7″.
The packaging is really well put together. There is some very interesting liner notes from the guitar player, Steve, as well as some from Tesco Vee. Also there are liner notes pertaining to every song in the track list which were quite amusing. A few flyers and the lyrics to the 7″ are also included. As someone who has such a huge love and respect for this old punk rock that I grew up on and changed my life, I am always glad when something like this CD comes along that helps preserve such an important nugget of the past, and done in such a quality package. I give this one a big thumbs up and its well worth picking up, especially if you overlooked it when it first came out like many have, you may find that you appreciate its uniqueness a whole lot more now.
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Note: This is to also celebrate the fact that this fall is Touch and Go’s 25th year anniversary!
My copy of that 7″ has like 6 or 7 songs on it… it seems weird that they would only include 4
I was going by memory, which isn’t always that good, I didn’t pull out my copy of the 7″ to count the songs so its just my forgetting how many were on the original, not them omitting something.
I still have to wonder why T&G reissues Blight, but not the Necros or the Fix.
No vinyl?
The FIX re-issue is next..Necros cant come out because Barry doesnt want it to
awesome! the FIX are amazing!!!!!!!
Why doesn’t Barry want those records out?
No clue-Guess he doesnt like free money every 6 months from the most honest record label in the world Touch & Go!
Strange – all those records have been bootlegged. You’d think the members of the Necros would actually like to receive the money from the music they made instead of seeing it go to bootleggers.
Ticket On-Sale Date and Additional Bands Announced for the Touch and Go
Records 25th Anniversary Celebration at the 10th Annual Hideout Block Party
* 14 bands added to the lineup
* Tickets go on sale Friday, June 16 @ 10AM
As previously announced, 25 Touch And Go bands will be performing on
September 8, 9 and 10 as part of the Touch And Go Records 25th
Anniversary Celebration at the Hideout’s 10th Annual Block Party. In
addition to the nine previously announced bands, Touch and Go Records
and the Hideout are happy to welcome the following bands to the lineup:
Newly Added Bands:
!!!
The New Year
Three Mile Pilot
Pegboy
The Ex
Quasi
Girls Against Boys (all original members)
Seam
Killdozer (all original members)
The Shipping News
Man… or Astroman? (all original members)
Supersystem
Negative Approach (featuring John Brannon and OP Moore)
Uzeda
Listing of all bands announced so far (23 of the 25 bands):
!!!
Three Mile Pilot
Negative Approach (featuring John Brannon and OP Moore)
The Black Heart Procession
The New Year
Calexico
Pegboy
CocoRosie
Pinback
Didjits (all original members)
Quasi
Enon
Scratch Acid (all original members)
The Ex
Seam
Girls Against Boys (all original members)
Shellac
Killdozer (all original members)
The Shipping News
Ted Leo + Pharmacists
Supersystem
Man… or Astroman? (all original members)
Uzeda
More bands will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the 25th Anniversary Celebration go on sale Friday, June 16
at 10:00 am Central. Three Day passes will go for $35. All of the
profits from ticket sales will be donated to the following Chicago
organizations: Tuesday’s Child, Literacy Works, and the Thomas Drummond
Elementary School.
For more details and updates on the 25th Anniversary Celebration, make
sure to visit the official website at:
http://www.touchandgorecords.com/links/tg25/
There you’ll find ticket information, lineup details, answers to
frequently asked questions, and more. Visit the site regularly for
updates and new band announcements.