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Plastic Surgery Disasters

 
Album Review: Plastic Surgery Disasters

  • Artist: Dead Kennedys
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1982
  • Total Time: 55:35
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Having proved themselves masters of the quick, vicious smash and bash, on their second full-length album the Kennedys continued in that vein while finding other effective ways to express their all-encompassing message of resistance and satire. Absolutely nobody is safe, whether it's the more expected targets of conservative society, or those who claim to follow what the Kennedys and punk promised but only ended up acting like idiots. For the most part, though, it's a well-deserved smackdown of all the jerks the early '80s produced, set to some fantastic music. Bookended by random noise jams -- the first one with a wonderfully dismissive spoken-word analysis on societal programming for The Good Life -- Plastic Surgery Disasters shows East Bay Ray, Klaus Fluoride and D.H. Peligro turning into an even more awesome unit than before. Ray's sheet-metal intense guitar may once or twice get slammed into too much treble for its own good, but his spaghetti-western-cranked-to-ten playing is fantastic stuff at its best. The others have their moments, like Peligro's rolling drum breaks on "Trust Your Mechanic." When the band aims for subtlety, the results are grand -- the sudden silences on "Trust Your Mechanic," the goofy hipswing start to "Forest Fire." Unsurprisingly, Biafra is still at the center of it all; once again, the song titles make it clear what's at play. "Terminal Preppie," rips into an example of the type with gusto, and the wonderfully sneering "Winnebago Warrior" is just the tip of the iceberg. The real highlight can be found at the end -- "Moon Over Marin," with a soaring, anthemic surf-rock line from Ray offsetting Biafra's semi-apocalyptic vision of the Bay Area's snooty region. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Advice From Christmas Past Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys
Government Flu (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (2:59)
Terminal Preppie (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (1:30)
Trust Your Mechanic (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (2:54)
Well Paid Scientist (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (2:21)
Buzzbomb (Lyrics) Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray Dead Kennedys (2:22)
Forest Fire (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (2:22)
Halloween Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (3:35)
Winnebago Warrior (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (2:08)
Riot Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (5:57)
Bleed for Me Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (3:25)
I Am the Owl (Lyrics) Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (4:50)
Dead End (Lyrics) Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (2:56)
Moon Over Marin Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys (4:26)

Credits

Jello Biafra (Vocals), Jello Biafra (Artwork), Dead Kennedys (Producer), Dead Kennedys (Main Performer), Klaus Flouride (Bass), Klaus Flouride (Vocals), Bruce Ackley (Clarinet), Bruce Ackley (Saxophone), John Cuniberti (Engineer), Oliver Di Cicco (Engineer), East Bay Ray (Guitar), East Bay Ray (Choir, Chorus), East Bay Ray (Engineer), East Bay Ray (Assistant Engineer), Ninotchka (Vocals (Background)), Ninotchka (Choir, Chorus), Ray Papperell (Guitar), D.H. Peligro (Drums), D.H. Peligro (Vocals), D.H. Phillegro (Drums), Mark Wallner (Engineer), Siobhan (Choir, Chorus), Annette (Choir, Chorus), Darvon (Choir, Chorus), Hy Jean (Choir, Chorus), Geoffrey Lyall (Clarinet), Geoffrey Lyall (Saxophone), Geoffrey Lyall (Choir, Chorus), Thom Wilson (Producer), Dave Barrett (Clarinet), Dave Barrett (Saxophone), Winston Smith (Artwork), Winston Smith (Logo), Winston Smith (Cover Art), Mike Wells (Photography), Charles Gatewood (Photography)
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Wikipedia: Plastic Surgery Disasters
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Plastic Surgery Disasters
Studio album by Dead Kennedys
Released November 1982
Recorded Hyde St. Studios and Möbius Music, June 1982
Genre Hardcore punk
Length 42:56
Label Alternative Tentacles
Producer East Bay Ray, Thom Wilson
Professional reviews
Dead Kennedys chronology
In God We Trust, Inc.
(1981)
Plastic Surgery Disasters
(1982)
A Skateboard Party
(1983)

Plastic Surgery Disasters is the second album released by the Dead Kennedys. It has been reissued with the EP In God We Trust, Inc., which are the last eight tracks on the CD. The cover photo is "Hands" by photographer Michael Wells. The inside cover art features Winston Smith's collages.

Musically, many different elements bubble to the surface on Plastic Surgery Disasters, including surf-rock, oddly psychedelic guitar textures, and traditional film music, including sections and guitar fills that resemble Ennio Morricone spaghetti western scores. These elements are not always immediately apparent under the high-speed thrash of music, but they are an indication of the Kennedys' musical uniqueness. The DKs would further these elements, to some extent, on their next release, 1985's Frankenchrist.

On the 2001 Manifesto release of the album, the beginning of "Government Flu" is a separate track entitled "Advice from Christmas Past". There is also a typing error on the Manifesto CDs so that "Bleed for Me" is entitled "Bleed for". On the original vinyl version, Side A was tracks 1-8 and Side B was tracks 9-14. Some vinyl versions have Side One as tracks 1-9 and Side Two as tracks 10-14.

A music video was made for "Forest Fire" [1].

Track listing

  1. "Advice From Christmas Past" – 0:55
  2. "Government Flu" – 2:59
  3. "Terminal Preppie" – 1:30
  4. "Trust Your Mechanic" – 2:55
  5. "Well Paid Scientist" – 2:21
  6. "Buzzbomb" (East Bay Ray, Jello Biafra) – 2:21
  7. "Forest Fire" – 2:22
  8. "Halloween" (Dead Kennedys) – 3:35
  9. "Winnebago Warrior" (Dead Kennedys) – 2:09
  10. "Riot" (Dead Kennedys) – 5:57
  11. "Bleed for Me" (Dead Kennedys) – 3:24
  12. "I Am the Owl" (Dead Kennedys) – 4:51
  13. "Dead End" – 3:56 (East Bay Ray)
  14. "Moon Over Marin" (East Bay Ray, Jello Biafra) – 4:29

Credits

  • Jello Biafra – lead vocals, artwork
  • East Bay Ray – guitar, producer
  • Klaus Flouride – bass, backing vocals, clarinet
  • D.H. Peligro – drums
  • Dave Barrett – saxophone
  • Bruce Askley – saxophone
  • Ninotchka – backing vocals
  • Melissa Webber – backing vocals
  • Geza X – backing vocals
  • Mark Wallner – backing vocals
  • John Cuniberti – backing vocals
  • Thom Wilson – producer
  • Norm – mixer
  • Oliver Dicicco – engineer
  • Winston Smith – artwork

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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