The Worst - The Worst (Vinyl, Dig! Records 1993)

The ultimate Fuzz Garage album since years, yeah, these canadians put it all together: 14 brandnew cavetunes, the wyldest thing since the Gravedigger 5 & the Morlocks with snotty vocals, more fuzz & poundin’ beats -GENIOUS-                        -Soundflat Main Catalogue November 1995 

 

I'll never forget my first glimpse of THE WORST's front-man Greg Johnson. He was on stage, but his band wasn't performing. Instead, he was up-front heckling some lame "industrial synth" band at a club in his native Vancouver. A few minutes later, I watched helplessly from back-stage as he was kicked unconscious and dragged out of the place. I didn't even know him then, but I appreciated the fact that he put his body on the line that evening! Soon after I was introduced to what was left of Greg, and THE WORST quickly became my favorite Canadian garage combo. They opened for my outfit, The Overcoat, a few times on our return trip to Vancouver, and then I was lucky enough to help place their first waxing, on a 7" compilation EP. Two snot-filled EP's on the always cool Screaming Apple label ensued, and now you hold in your claws their first long-player. The road to their international super-stardom hasn't been smooth, however. Past members of THE WORST have wandered in and out of the band lineup like lost zombies, but Greg's mission has remained clear and true. Nothing will make it through the Greg-o-meter unless it has fuzz, guts and fun. The revolving door seems to have swung shut for now, thankfully, with some sympathetic cavemen in the clan. I was delighted to see two refugees from another of my fave underdog-garagers join up with Greg: both guitarist/ organist Rieuwert Buitenga and drum-hound Colin Raesler hail from the sadly gone Night Stalkers. While the Stalkers recorded some cool demos, nothing ever vinyl-ized, so it's great to hear their demented wafflings within these grooves. Chris Williscroft adds the bass thumping, as well as some vocal screeching, along with Greg and Rieuwert (pronounced "Roo-ert," in case you were wondering). (Compounding the mess is Colin Forsyth's guest organ on "The DT's," courtesy of another dead Canadian garage-gang, The Vindicators. THE WORST are a haven, it seems, for lost Canadian garage-teens! Johnny "13 Fingers" from Color Me Psycho, James T. Massacre of The Fiends, and The Reptiles' Eric Von Shlippen also jump onto the sonic junk-pile for these sessions.) It all adds up to this big debut album, which reminds me why garage/psych music is so much fun: it's colorful, gritty, real, authentic, instant, honest, and sounds great after a few beers...   -Timothy Gassen

The Worst - The Worst (Vinyl, Dig! Records 1993) FLAC    320

Enjoy!