Death - Spiritual-Mental-Physical

I'm still yet to hear Death's only official release '…For The Whole World To See' but on the strength of this collection of ra reties and demo's I reckon it's got to be top of my 'albums to listen to as soon as i get home' list. Death were a short lived pre-punk Detroit rock'n'roll band consisting of three brothers who liked to 'Kick Out the Jams' as it were. Now, it's difficult to have any real context without hearing '…For The Whole World To See' but on face value this is a strong stand-alone collection. Opener 'Views' is unbelievably good! The riff is second to none and my first thought was that I'd love to cover the track, which i probably will if I can persuade the Cowtown lads to get involved. It's chock full of agitated energy that hints at the anger present in the punk rock made not long after it was recorded. For me this energy is far more positive a listening experience, like the Hackney siblings are just about to discover the atom or some profound shit like that....so close to a new sound. Elsewhere the boys experiment with blues, soul, funk and garage, there's even a chilled Jimi Hendrix style jam entitled 'The Change' that features some fantastic far-out sounds. Can't say enough good things about these lads, it's almost impossible to believe they didn't break through all those years ago. Also worth noting that the recordings are totally raw and haven't been doctored, remixed or remastered in anyway, it's like sitting in on the best band practice ever.