Review Summary: Punk, cooked up and ready to mainline
GG Allin did absolutely nothing within his relatively short lifetime to endear anyone. Reports of his dangerous and repellent stage antics flooded around the industry and reached the ears of anyone with stomach enough to hear them. GG revelled in this image- the law hating, substance abusing, angry rock n’ roll drifter who loved nothing, and no one. Except music.
GG’s painfully strict religious upbringing has long been quoted as the reason he began to rebel and became such an angry young man. Although GG contests this in some respects, it’s hard to believe that it didn’t contribute somewhat to GG’s stage persona and lifestyle- which were the same thing. He relished controversy, and the bottle smashing, highly illegal scenes that were always part and parcel of a GG Allin show WAS GG Allin. He lived that lifestyle, and the way he performed was not an act. Proclaiming himself to be, ‘the last true rock and roll star’, no one can fault his passion, although many were revolted by it, and with good reason.
Freaks, Faggots, Drunks And Junkies is balls to the wall punk rock. From 'My Revenge' to 'My Bloody Mutilation', every song screams rage and angst, embodied by GG’s filthy, often times amusing lyrics that ensure the release is one journey you won’t be forgetting in a hurry. In true punk rock style, echoing such classic acts as The Ramones and The Clash, all the songs are incredibly simple, with poor production droning out distorted bass, rattling drums, and guitars that are bar-chorded like it’s back in fashion. The scratchy voice of Allin sounds over the top of the instruments, sometimes with accompaniment from guitarist, Johnny X.
Freaks, Faggots, Drunks And Junkies is not good music; the production is weak (due to obvious money problems), songs are too simple for words, and the lyricism has not a hint of cleverness. It is, however, very good punk rock. It’s not that these mediocre elements define ‘punk rock’ as a genre, but rather that it’s these simplistic elements that give the record something a bit unique. For a start, the poor production really gives an edge to the sound made by the young rockers, making every teeth-shatteringly violent murder description or allusion to fecal matter feel gritty, violent, and, above all else, truly rebellious. Indeed, the songs are simple, but that’s what punk is; simple, catchy riffs. Nowhere is this better witnessed than on the song 'Die When You Die', which makes its’ mark with a riff that is 3 notes, a drumbeat with no breaks, and a bassline that never changes. Despite this, it’s a truly great punk song, with pseudo-anarchist lyrics from GG (‘You’ve got cancer, so go ***in’ die. If you’ve got AIDs, spread it around and take some lives), that lack intelligence, but truly epitomise his character-the end result is an aggressive rock track that may lack complexity, but doesn’t lack any of the attitude and inspiration that makes punk, punk.
Some songs do run together, and the distorted production on every track does mean that a lot of songs sound the same, but attacking the album on these grounds is a little immature. It’s never going to be hailed as a masterpiece of punk, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t any good. The album is an inane mishmash of punk ideals and rock n’ roll attitude, and GG’s repugnant actions are a unique selling point unto themselves. Cleverness is not the order of the day, but if catchy, learn-in-a-minute guitaring is your thing, and you’ve grown weary of modern pop punk and are in need of something a lot edgier, then this release is definitely something to consider. Always morbid, sometimes uninspired, but this is definitely a journey you’ll want to take at least once in your lifetime.
