The Avengers probably need no introduction to fans of the punk rock genre. From the first wave of 70s punk in Northern California (San Francisco to be exact), they were around for a very short time, but left their mark and influenced generations of punk to follow. They were one of the first female-fronted punk bands in the USA. Fronted by the electrifying Penelope Houston, and powered by Greg Ingraham's amazing guitar playing, they were far ahead of their time.
The story of this record is one wrapped up in confusion and turmoil. It seems that the label somehow strong armed the band into signing their life away, and also included the Dangerhouse recordings on this when in actuality they had no legal right to do so. This album also came out a couple years after the band broke up. Rumor has it that the band tried to reclaim the recordings and the label actually sued the band over it! When Frontier Records reissued some of the Dangerhouse Records catalog, David Fergusson, owner of CD Presents sued Frontier claiming rights to the Avengers Dangerhouse recordings which was proven not to be true and thus he lost the lawsuit. He promptly filed for bankruptcy upon losing the lawsuit, in an effort to get out of having to pay the enormous legal fees.
All controversy aside, this stands as one of the all time greatest punk albums and deserves a spot in every person’s collection. Unfortunately no one can go out and buy it on vinyl, or any format anymore for that matter, with the exception of a poor sounding bootleg LP. The label, CD Presents, ceased operations years ago and the owner hasn’t bothered to reprint it even on CD, or even license it to anyone. It is as if the record is being held hostage and there is a whole new generation of music fans being cheated out of the opportunity to own this. Thank god for the internet.
(Year of Release: 1983)
Track List:
1. We Are The One
2. Car Crash
3. I Believe In Me
4. Open Your Eyes
5. No Martyr
6. Desperation
7. Thin White Line
8. Paint It Black
9. The Amerikan In Me
10. White Nigger
11. Uh-oh
12. Second to None
13. Corpus Christie
14. Fuck You (live)
Download: Avengers - Avengers LP (76.3MB)
11 comments:
One of my all time favorites! Punchdrunk has the CD version with one extra cut, Cheap Tragedies.
Thanks hdvns. I suppose I'll grab the version over at Punchdrunk for the extra track, and then upload that version whenever this one eventually goes down.
Wow, I had always heard of the Avengers, but never heard them. I have been a deprived human being apparently. Thanks for posting this musical slice of heaven, and all the other great tunes!!!
@anonymous
Yes, you have been a deprived human being. To be perfectly honest I heard them for the first time only about a year ago when one of my friends introduced me to them. I have a feeling you'll enjoy this album.
You can buy the 2000 version of this record
from Penelope Houston [the singer]
from her website
That address is http://www.penelope.net/ btw
Oh, man, this is such a great album. I've heard We Are the One on college radio for years, but never a whole compilation from them. Punk didn't get any better than this.
the avengers first got their hooks in me when i heard "the american in me"
i have the 45 and am looking foward to hearing the album
It's interesting to see just how permeant virtual memory has become in our every day lives. It's like everytime I turn my head, I see something with a card slot or USB port . I guess it makes sense though, considering how inexpensive memory has become as of late...
Gahhhh, I shouldn't be moaning and groaning. I can't make it through a single day without using my R4 / R4i!
(Posted from Nintendo DS running [url=http://kwstar88.insanejournal.com/397.html]R4i[/url] OperaV2)
Great News! The Avengers (after a lengthy battle) have regained the rights to this LP and will be reissuing it (hopefully) soon!
I like superhero movies very much. I have watched many movies of superheros. But i am waiting for "Avengers" movie. I have watched this movie trailer i like it. Definitely i am going to watch this movie.
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