Spiral Scratch [EP] [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
First Time this Classic 1977 EP is Available on CD. Also Includes Extra Artwork.

Tracks:

Breakdown(3rd Take No Dubs)
Time's Up(1st Take Guitar Dub)
Boredom(1st Take Guitar Dub)
Friends Of Mine(1st Take Guitar Dub)

Customer Reviews:

Not old enough or cool enough to remember it when it came out..........2006-02-07

...but I do remember the musical desert of FM radio in the 80s and it's hard to believe things could have backslid so far after such a great burst of jagged, forward-thinking noise.

Sure it's only ten minutes long, but it packs the whallop of an album. Absolutely worth every penny.

Ba-dum ba-dum.

can't beat it.......2005-03-26

This ep contains the best ten minutes pure punk explosion you will find anywhere. This is much more relevant and potent than what the Buzzcocks did after Howard Devoto left (or what he did in Magazine for that matter). I like the Buzzcocks and Magazine quite a bit, but this is the best release to ever come out of this camp of artists. It's incredible that this was released before Never Mind the Bullocks, the Clash, or Damned Damned Damned. British punk begins here, and even though this is only ten minutes long, it is better than any of those full lengths. (I can't believe I just said that Spiral Scratch is better than the first Clash album, but it really is.)

Time's Up!.......2002-08-05

Well, I HAVE the original - first issue - vinyl of this and it still just about plays! It represents the 'improvisational' attitude that punk was really all about all those years ago, the 'anyone can do it' attitude, as David Byrne later said.

This home made EP is simple, sardonic and just perfect. If you can, check out the 'Time's Up' album, originally only available on bootleg. They are both great examples of punk before it became a designer fashion and not forgetting the Buzzcocks' debts to the Troggs and Captain Beefheart.

As good as I remember........2001-05-12

I had an original rare vinyl copy of this back in '76. I don't know where it vanished to, but it would be worth a small fortune right now. (Long but noisy pause to bang head on wall. And scream loudly!!)I got this as a present recently and was relieved to hear it IS as good as my memory tells me. What I had forgotten was how unhinged Mr Devoto sounded. And the lyrics had me in stitches. (I mean, "Berdum-Berdum..."?)

Whatever, it's brilliant. Get it & get a strong whiff of the original AND best true punk movement at its genesis. Classy (and classic) stuff.

Classic EP available at last!.......2000-07-10

I was too late in trying the buy the original limited edition EP in 1977 and have been looking for a copy for 23 years! When I found the CD on amazon I immediately ordered a copy. Whilst waiting for the CD to arrive I was worried that my recollection of the music might be clouded by time and rose-tinted memories.

Well, I have just listened to Spiral Scratch and the wait was well worth it. The first chords of Breakdown immediately woke me up and within seconds I was dancing animatedly around my hotel room. The raw energy that was so typical of the early punk days came back to me and I was immediately immersed in the music. Devoto's voice has that edge that singers just do not have these days, and the sheer abandonment of the bands' music shines through.

Those that are not familiar with punk music should buy this EP and see why punk took off so quickly in the late 70s. Spiral Scratch is uncomplicated music, and is probably the best session that the Buzzcock's did in their career. The guitar riffs in Boredom have not lost their hypnotic lure over the years and really remain the sound most associated with the band.

The fact that the EP only has four tracks should not put people off. Any more tracks would have possibly diluted the music and the impact it made.

This is the definitive early punk CD and the Buzzcock's best work. Buy it now and reawaken your love of rock!