New York City in the mid to late 70s wasn’t all disco inferno Studio 54. The city was in a sharp decline, with trash piles everywhere, buildings decaying, and crime climbing off-the-charts. Out of this turbulent atmosphere rose an edgier twist to the newly labeled “punk” sounds wafting from overseas. It was a shock to the system, a middle finger to the establish, and a lifestyle leaking out from the walls of hole-in-the-wall venues like Max’s Kansas City and CBGB‘s. It was American punk music and, out of the many groups to grace (extreme euphemism here) the aforementioned stages was a hellish trio that put dueling guitars and a true get-fucked attitude at the forefront.
The Testors continues to define the raw, uncompromising grit of garage rock just budding in ’76.
Playing alongside greats like The Cramps, the Dead Boys, the Ramones, and so many other early punk rock pioneers, it’s sad to reflect on how the Testors never got the fame they deserve. Frontman Sonny Vincent is a true poet (that is, if you can even make out what he’s saying over the unruly guitars in these early recordings) and their onstage chaotic energy was unrelenting.
To commemorate the Testors at the epicenter of punk rock’s inception, Green Noise Records has re-released the band’s first studio recordings and live performances in the appropriately titled LP Prime Primitive: 1976-1977. Only released on vinyl (the way the music should be consumed — no digitization EVER) and limited to only 500 copies worldwide, Green Noise brings back not only the unflinching authenticity of a band caught in the middle of an explosive subculture, but a myriad of momentos in the deluxe edition.
The standard edition, with a silver foil jacket and a fold-out poster designed by Wulf Beck, is pretty cool in its own right, with the A side of the black vinyl offering the studio recordings and the B side blaring out the live stuff. But it’s in the deluxe edition — exclusively available via mail order from Green Noise — that true fans get the most bang for their buck. The silver-nugget vinyl is packed with poster and postcard inserts (one even signed by Vincent!!), Testors stickers, and glossy photos from the time. If you weren’t in NYC in ’76, you at least have a chance at the nostalgia now close to 50 years later.
For more information or to get one of the limited edition pressings now, visit the Green Noise Records website. Considering the remastered tracks aren’t available online, be a piece of punk history and support a band that never succumbed to the mainstream of major recording studios!
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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