Death
When considering a band named Death, it’s not hard to imagine their struggle to achieve popularity during the mid-1970s. Originally composed of Detroit-based brothers Bobby, Dannis, and David Hackney, the band never made it past the early stages of releasing a single decades ago.
Now, 40-years later, with the release of their 1970s demo tapes, the band’s revolutionary sound is finally gaining the credit it deserves.
Legend has it that the band’s demo tapes, recorded in 1975, began circulating record collectors collections via ebay in 2008, and were eventually published by Drag City Records in 2009.
Upon first listen of the bands 2009 release, …. For the Whole World to See, it is brazenly obvious Death was not only ahead of their time, but that three black guys from Detroit had essentially captured the late-70s punk sound popularized by the Sex Pistols, and the Clash three years before those bands ever hit the spotlight.
Originally an R&B band called RockFire Funk Express, an Alice Cooper show inspired the band to switch direction, and start playing “white-boy” music. Sprawling, hard-rock cathedral guitars riddle the album’s short tracks that do not shy away from the band’s gospel roots. Ethereal soundscapes overlay stunningly powerful bass lines and fast, loud, and mean harmonies.
A repeated, punctuated chorus on the fourth track “You’re a Prisoner” takes aim at social issues and those afraid to confront them. During a time when sociology and music were obscurely connected, Death were not afraid to make a statement with their music.
As brother Bobby told Soundcheck on WNYC, the band’s incarnation was a bit strange considering their father’s place as a Baptist preacher. Yet, their dad was no stranger to the continually evolving state of music in the world. Bobby specifically remembered his father dragging his brothers to the TV during the Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, telling them “you are about to witness history.”
Freaking Out, the album’s fifth track, could just as easily be a Ramone’s song, lacking neither the intensity or the innovation of the later “band of brothers.”
Especially impressive is the bass work displayed on the album, which runs faster and more intricate than most of its time. Moving up and down scales with ease and fluidity, Bobby’s ability to blend gospel, roots, and rock & roll is unchallenged, even today.
The first track seems to take an early cue from Hard Day’s Night, before running itself into a whirlwind of Neil Young on adderall. A guitar riff made for 1983 is ripped apart by David, the group’s “artist” and most forward-looking member. A brilliant melody and the track’s vocal style are both extraordinarily beyond their time. It would be no surprise for this track to have been recorded and released today.
Buy the album somewhere, don’t stream it on YouTube over and over again. You won’t be let-down.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFs11ZFLpjE]
Chris Burns Writing 