Various - Guillotine FLAC album

Very few copies came with poster that was to be used in record shops.

This 10-inch vinyl record opens with You Beat The Hell Outta Me, a fast-paced slice of tuneful punk with an appealing arrangement and powerful vocal harmonies. Originally the B-side of the single Be What You Gotta be. The Motors hit the charts with Airport, their only hit. Although not a commercial success, Dancing The Night Away was another memorable song of theirs.

Don’t Dictate by Penetration was a minor punk anthem although the style’s not simple punk. Over an intelligent arrangement, Pauline Murray’s voice sounds like a cross between early Siouxsie and the undermentioned Poly Styrene. Their 1978 album Moving Targets remains a classic of the era.

Two oddities follow:

The first is Do The Standing Still (Classics Illustrated) by The Table, a quirky number with heavy metal guitars and an emphatic vocal style in the chorus. The theme is the comic book.
Avant Gardener’s Strange Gurl In Clothes is sung in a pronounced English accent. Slower than the previous three and not recognizably punk, Strange Gurl with its shouted vocals resembles pub rock.

On the B-Side, openers XTC were considered an “art rock” band. Here they perform a brief track of one minute forty seconds. Their third album Drums and Wires and the single Making Plans for Nigel are considered classics.

Next up is the 1960s legend Roky Erickson of The 13th Floor Elevators. Bermuda is characterized by intricate guitar work, emotive vocals and intelligent-sounding lyrics that are hard to make out.

The last two tracks are the most familiar. Linton Kwesi Johnson under the name Poet And The Roots performs All Wi Doin’ Is Defendin’, a protest song where the poetry determines the music, unlike in dub.

This charming record concludes with another punk anthem, Oh Bondage Up Yours! by X-Ray Spex. Poly Styrene shrieks her defiance against all forms of oppression in the true punk spirit of the time. Having been the first single, Laura Logic plays the saxophone; she was later replaced by Glyn John. I highly recommend their album Germ Free Adolescents.

The inner sleeve is rather special. On one side Richard Branson indulges in some fine humor based on letters he claims to have received; eight illustrations portray the protagonists, the villains and the scene of the crime. The other side contains pics of the sleeves of the original singles or if they weren’t released as singles, album sleeves as in the case of XTC or EP sleeve for Avant Gardener. For each track, the full cast of musicians, the producer/s and a brief bio of the artists are provided.