Many years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, The Professor took time out from hunting woolly mammoths and working on his prototype of the wheel to carve these words on the cave wall that is the Australian punk discography. (These scratchings have, of course, been of great interest to subsequent generations of musical archaeologists. Perhaps someday he'll update the bloody thing. But I digress...). Despite the ongoing re-evaluation of records at the margins that has taken place since, the sentiment conveyed by those six words rings true today as much as it did way back when. The Replicas' sole 45 is a minor record. Still, it's a good one, at least if you're willing to recalibrate your expectations to the "minor record" sliding scale. Cool forceful drumming, no guitar, but bass way up front. Some keyboard noodling too, which somehow doesn't manage to ruin the whole shebang.
The Prof ended his assessment by saying that I Wanna Know The Truth "could use some guitar though". Now here I must beg to differ, for the evidence suggests that adding guitar was, in fact, a terrible idea. Try spinning The Replicas' only other vinyl appearance, a track on the Sydney local radio Homegrown Album sampler (1982), and see how long you can resist the urge to yank the record off the turntable and throw it out the window.
I Wanna Know The Truth
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| Some copies come with a screenprinted diecut sleeve. |
7 comments:
Hello. Your website is really intresting. Some great music I didnt know existed until now. I have a tape i bought many moons (1980s) ago from a busker in Darlinghurst Road called Merv Megastar. It's pretty funny and sounds pretty punk-raving about junkies & rock & roll! . I wonder wahtever happened to him? Iremember seeing bands at Frenches &the Civic.all those years ago. Good times. Let me know if you want the tape as i don't have much need for it anymore. Maybe you could put it on your website & share it with the punters.
Speaking of dinosaurs this kind of reminds me somewhat of the lumbering dino that is Video Nu-R - Mick Mars pre Motley outfit.
Hi Brendan - thanks for the kind words. Would love to get my hands on that tape. Can you send me an email at borntobepunched@gmail.com? Paint it yellow!
merv megastar is still alive and rockin' in 2011 and looks no older than he did in the 80s
Would anybody know where Merv Megastar hangs out these days and if he is still performing.
He has a FB page.
Who has a dl link to this?
Can't find it on the youtube and I am not a rich record collector :(
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