If you’re in a band right now and you think you’re pathetic at it then do not fear because The Germs are here! The Germs’ early attempts were to put it, quite pathetic. On their first 7”, the record company put “Warning: May Cause Ear Cancer” as the song
Forming was so ridiculously bad. It sounded like some high school band’s demo but none the less it was a stepping stone. On the other side was a live recording of
Sex Boy which sounded like someone recorded it on a microcassette recorder. Through time, the band actually developed a sound that was listenable to people. The band never got much attention until the EP Lexicon Devil which’s main track was of course
Lexicon Devil, a true punk rock song, which was fast and loud. This is the anthology of the band and it takes you through one of L.A.’s most influential hardcore band’s career.
Their career was quite short and the band never really accomplished anything much over the three years they were together. Darby Crash committed suicide by overdosing and Pat Smear would be a touring guitarist for Nirvana 15 years later. This album contains a lot of great, amazing songs but it also contains some really bad ones so it’s pretty mixed. I enjoyed a lot of their later songs but their earliest songs make me want to stab my ears. None the less, the purpose of this album is to give a short overview of the band’s career and that is what it does. The band was active during the raid of 77’ punk but they were faster and tougher. Darby was the rudest front man at the time, spitting on his audience and drinking and doing drugs. The last song on the album
Forming [2] is the original track but better recorded and a bit more listenable.
Darby had quite a bad voice but it added to the whole bad boy image. His voice sounds like he’s wasted all the time. Pat Smear is a very talented guitarist and his work has inspired people such as Greg Ginn. The drums are a mixed bag, as there is a lot of different drummers on this. The first few tracks, the drums are rubbish but on songs like
Lexicon Devil and
Lion’s Share, it’s at it’s best. The bass is loud and clear but basically plays root notes but since its punk then it doesn’t matter at all. If you’re looking for fast punk rock that shows hardcore punk at its beginning then this is essential and you’ll definitely enjoy it. Those of you who want perfect production would absolutely hate this because due to the circumstances the band had been through, the production is pretty poor. Darby’s voice sounds horrible on a lot of tracks and there are times where his voice goes loud in the production and then low. The guitars sound fine throughout to me but the drums are weird, some songs the drums are loud and in others you can barely hear them. This is punk rock at it’s best, it isn’t the most consistent record but still quite good none the less.
