First heard on the Peel show, back in early 1981, this slice of utterly ridiculous quasi-industrial funk became one of my favourite records of the entire year. I'd got the previous single "Spite Your Face", which was a dour slice of bedroom DIY noise, but this tune was a real revelation. It marked the start of Jim Thirlwell's obsession with Funk; which he would continue on the first album "Deaf" and on his meisterwerk, the 12" of "Custom Built For Capitalism". I loved all the stupid sped-up vocals, the endless grunts of "HEEEURRRGH!" which ran through the song...the cheeky reference to ABBA ....it's all wonderful. But the thing which really makes it, is the sense of fun which permeates the entire song. If anyone doubts me on this: compare this original version with the later version of "Wash", which is far darker. For me, the early period Foetus stuff is just amazing: hearing so many ideas jostling for position, sometimes tumbling out on top of each other, in their eagerness to be heard. It's this sense of ludicrous exuberance that made me love this record so much almost thirty years ago (eeep!) and that sense of exuberance is still there, locked into its grooves. Enjoy.You've Got Foetus On Your Breath "Wash It All Off" (mp3)
5 comments:
I actually recorded this from the John Peel show back in the day but I haven’t been able to find it in my recent tape rummaging so I’m really glad you posted this.
in another weird slice of synchronicity, I recorded this off the peel show as well, it's odd to think that in two different parts of the country, there we both were, fingers hovering over the "record" button.....
Listening to this one can simply see JP smiling with approval. 'Why kill time when you can kill yourself?' Absolutely.
Awesome! Any chance you could post the b-side of this, I'd love to hear it? I have a tape of Foetus's only & only Peel session gathering dust somewhere, recorded circa Deaf & ripe for uploading...!
Wow coool. I had no idea how different this sounded from the version on Sink. I think early Foetus is the best Foetus, this one is so dissonant compared to the other it will take some getting used to but it is awesome. Custom Built For Capitalism is great too.
Thanks.
-Dave
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