Dirge-Funk Noise Sloths (again!)

Slab! - Sanity Allergy

Ripped from a vinyl album released on Ink Records (INK 037) in 1988 to high quality lossless flac audio. Here's a re-post of the second Slab! album from a few years back for those who may have missed it.....

Slab! front man Stephen Dray described Sanity Allergy as like a series of bad demos - I suggest he was being a tad over critical of this record. Whilst Station KY and Land Of The Midnight Sun sound unfinished and misplaced, Son Of Sloth and the magnificent Born In A Wreck are among Slab!'s best work. Cancer Beach is confusing as it twists between gospel-funk and Sabbath metal riffs. Switchback Ride is loud, powerful and driven by distortion - it was a fine antidote to the poor Deaths Head Soup single. It is disappointing that some of the 1988 Peel Session tracks didn't make Sanity Allergy, as Killer For A Country and Big Sleeper would have made better album tracks than some of those featured. Dray informed us in an ESWA comment that he walked out of these sessions, only to return to hear something he couldn't bear to listen to for a very long time. Whilst you can understand that, don't let it put you off what is a good album which should be praised more on it's strengths than just a couple of weaknesses.

A1 Last Detail
A2 Fourth Warning
A3 Station KY
A4 Son Of Sloth
A5 Born In A Wreck
B1 Sanity Allergy
B2 Cancer Beach
B3 Switchback Ride
B4 Land Of The Midnight Sun
B5 Visiting Hour

Gut Busters!

Slab! -  Descension (Loud CD Remaster Edition)

The third post of this album to these very pages. You should have all grabbed the lossless 1987 vinyl rip a few years back, so as a comparison, here's the 1999 compact disc version remastered for the US market on Release Records. Expect ear-splitting noise funk....only louder!

1 Tunnel Of Love
2 Undriven Snow
3 Dr Bombay
4 Dolores
5 The Animals
6 Gutter Busting
7 Flirt
8 Mooseland
9 Loose Connection Somewhere
10 Big Sleeper
11 People Pie
12 Railroad

Funk Dirge Noise Sloths

Slab! - Some Rings b/w Abbasloth

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Ink Records (INK 1229) in 1987 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A. Smoke Rings
B1. Abbasloth
B2. Cruise Missile Smoke Rings

Slab! - Sanity Allergy

Ripped from a vinyl album released on Ink Records (INK 037) in 1988 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A1. Last Detail

A2. Fourth Warning

A3. Station KY

A4. Son Of Sloth

A5. Born In A Wreck

B1. Sanity Allergy

B2. Cancer Beach

B3. Switchback Ride

B4. Land Of The Midnight Sun

B5. Visiting Hour

We haven't had any Slab! here for quite a while, so here are the last two from my collection. I don't own a copy of People Pie, so if somebody else can rustle up a rip then I for one would be grateful. Smoke Rings was a double A-side 12" backed with the noisy Abbasloth. Slab! front man Stephen Dray described Sanity Allergy as like a series of bad demos - I suggest he was being a tad over critical of this record. Whilst Station KY and Land Of The Midnight Sun sound unfinished and misplaced, Son Of Sloth and the magnificent Born In A Wreck are among Slab!'s best work. Cancer Beach is confusing as it twists between gospel-funk and Sabbath metal riffs. Switchback Ride is loud, powerful and driven by distortion - it was a fine antidote to the poor Deaths Head Soup single. It is disappointing that some of the 1988 Peel Session tracks didn't make Sanity Allergy, as Killer For A Country and Big Sleeper would have made better album tracks than some of those featured. Dray informed us in an ESWA comment that he walked out of these sessions, only to return to hear something he couldn't bear to listen to for a very long time. Whilst you can understand that, don't let it put you off what is a good album which should be praised more on it's strengths than just a couple of weaknesses.

Slab! - Descension

A treat to liven up your weekend! My rip of the debut Slab! album has been sitting on a drive for a few weeks now. I've now gotten round to track splitting and tidying it up - losslessly of course.

The Slab! sound is immense, noisy, funky and dirty. To quote a blog follower: "the best fusion of brutal funk, industrial and noise aesthetics I have ever come across, like early Swans if they had got the funk."

The band had moved their sound on from the original singles and sessions, now experimenting with multiple layers of noise & distortion carefully constructed to form the basis of what we would recognise as a song, but with twists, meanderings and shock tactics to keep the listener enthralled.

Opener, Tunnel of Love is not a warm and comfortable place, it is frightening, painful and industrial. It builds to a crescendo of noise, you don't know or care what vocalist Stephen Dray is saying, you just know that you have to prepare for the rest of the aural onslaught to come. Undriven Snow tempts you with a catchy chorus until it drives itself into the space between your ears with a volley of dis-tempered feedback.

The stunning Dr. Bombay is a three-part symphony of distorted funk, abstract jazz and dirge metal, though it only clocks in at just under five and a half minutes. There is nothing sweet about Dolores, she kicks you in the teeth with a pounding snare and kick drum, flanged bass, guitar feedback, chorused with brooding horns. By know you should be able to work out how Gutter Busting sounds. Personal favourite Flirt is a cheery little number which should brighten up any dull party. ;-)

So what are you doing this weekend. Nothing ...until you have listened to and appreciated the majesty and magnificence of Descension in it's full lossless glory.

Descension : ripped from a vinyl album released on Ink Records (INK 032) in 1987 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A1. Tunnel Of Love

A2. Undriven Snow

A3. Dr. Bombay

A4. Dolores

A5. The Animals

B1. Gutter Busting

B2. Flirt

B3. Mooseland

B4. Loose Connection Somewhere

B5. Big Sleeper

Slab! - Death's Head Soup

I doubt Slab! were trying to have a hit with this, but it does fit in the bargain bin where good indie bands of the eighties tried to make a more commercial sound aimed at the dance floor, as the clock clicked down to the nineties (I still blame Age Of Chance). Why on earth did they sample Cameo and bring in backing singers? I can't say this works well but thankfully they stuck to the trademark distorted funk basslines which saves this track from the bin.

The flipside Switchback Ride is truly fantastic and deserves to be played very very loud at every opportunity.

Death's Head Soup : ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Ink Records (INK 1240) in 1989 to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A. Death's Head Soup

B1. Death's Head Soup (Club Mix)

B2. Switchback Ride

Slab! - Music From The Iron Long

We've covered Slab! elsewhere on these pages, but not in a lossless format. Music From The Iron Lung is a mini-LP compiling their first two 12" singles and is hard, dirty, noisy and very funky. Stand out is the huge sounding, 7 minute, flanged bass, workout Parallax Avenue, well worth the price of admission alone.

Music From The Iron Lung : ripped from a 12" vinyl mini album released on Ink Records (MINK 25) in 1987 to lossless FLAC audio.

A1. Mars On Ice

A2. Painting The Forth Bridge

A3. Oedipus T. Rex

A4. Big Mac

B1. Parallax Avenue

B2. Yukon

B3. Flirt

Slab! - Parallax Avenue

One of the finest industrial dance singles ever! I'm not going to say much more, because those of you who know this track will likely agree, those who do not, know what to do. Immense!

Parallax Avenue : ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Ink Records (INK 1226) in 1987
A1. Parallax Avenue
B1. Yukon
B2. Flirt

Listen

Slab! - BBC Radio John Peel Session 22nd September 1986

I've touched on my appreciation of the British industrial funk bands of the early-mid 1980s and from comments received I perceive that quite a few blog followers share my tastes.
Late entrants were Slab! This lot took funk basslines, put them through the fuzz pedal, cranked up all the levels, added horns and blew me away .....well ok, for at least the first few releases.
This is a heavy sound to test your bass sensitivities closely perched on the edge between melody and noise. It does work really well. The first Peel session and the early singles are by far their best work. They later went onto dabble with Cameo samples and dance it up (the results were confusing) before hiding back in the dirge of noise (less funk) of the final products. This Peel session was the start of my brief love affair with Slab! - their finest moment is next!

Transmission date : 22/09/1986
Producer - Dale Griffin
Engineer - Mike Robinson
Engineer - Martin Colley
Studio - Unknown

Tracklist:
1. Mars On Ice
2. Painting The Forth Bridge
3. Dust
4. The Animals Are All Eating People Pie

Personnel:
Stephen Dray (Vocals, Saxophone)
Paul Jarvis (Guitar)
Bill Davies (Bass)
Robin Risson (Drums)
Neill Woodger (Trombone)
Hugh Rawson (Trumpet)

Link pulled - see the comments in a Slab! post on 1st March 2014 for links to the Slab! catelogue and both Peel sessions.