No New York

[schwenko]

This legendary no wave album is available for sale from a number of retailers. Here is a description from one of these etailers (note the comments on Boris Police band[:D])

NO NEW YORK [V.A with DNA/JAMES CHANCE & THE CONTORTIONS/MARS/TEENAGE JESUS
& THE JERKS; Prod. by BRIAN ENO] - No New York (Lilith 102; Russia) One of
the records that becomes more & more definitive with each passing decade, perhaps
reissued legitmately only once in Japan. Now? Well, this one is licensed from Universal
Music Plc., Russia - a company that does seems to exist - you tell me. Probably
no-noised from vinyl, but sounding acceptable. This record is simply - IT. "One
of the brightest and most famous projects of the entire punk/new wave scene, No
New York was released in 1978 on Island's sub-label Antilles and became a total
cult in the indie scene. Featuring some of the most incredible rule breaking bands
of the underground New York art and music scene, the project - strongly pursued
by Brian Eno - is a genuine snapshot of the massively creative NYC scene, from which
innumerable trends started and became part of the modern pop music as we know it.
Influential, powerful and ground breaking, this collection features four of the
top icon shattering Gotham City no-wavers like James Chance (Contortions), Arto
Lindsay and Ikue Mori (DNA), Lydia Lunch (Teenage Jesus) and Sumner Crane (Mars).
If you missed the original it's time to get your hands on this reissue. The CD digipack
version includes a detailed booklet." Booklet contains lyrics to all songs,
in English and Russian [Cyrillic]!
"After seeing a series of benefit shows held for the Artist's Space in Soho,
producer Brian Eno convinced Island Records to release an anthology album featuring
several bands from New York's experimental no wave scene of the late 1970s. He reportedly
considered ten groups for the album: the Contortions, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Mars, DNA, Theoretical Girls with Glenn Branca, the Gynecologists with Rudolph Grey,
Tone Death with Rhys Chatahm, Boris Police Band, who used police radio calls for
vocals, Red Transistor, and Terminal. The final album, however, featured four bands
performing four songs each and was released on Antilles, a sub-label of Island.
The first band on the album, the Contortions, play dissonant funk-punk that melds
Albert Ayler, the Stooges, and James Brown with Jame Chance's shouted vocals, Jody
Harris's slashing guitar solos, Pat Place's open-tuned slide guitar chords, Adele
Bertei's hammered Acetone organ, the late George Scott's steady bass lines, and
Don Christensen's soul-influenced drumming. All four of their selections are strong,
including "Flip Your Face," which Steve Albini once cited as his all-time
favorite song.
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, a group of art and music hangers-on led by songwriter/vocalist/guitar-user
Lydia Lunch, is perhaps the least accessible band on the album; the squalling, droning,
abrasive way that Lunch and her bandmates, Gordon Stevenson on bass and Bradley
Field on snare drum, put across lyrics such as "personality down the drain/after
all who needs a brain" and "the dishes are cracked/the forks are plastic/the
food is in cellophane/I puke elastic" makes it unclear if she is baring the
darkest corners of her soul or trying to put one over on the audience.
Mars featured [the late] Sumner Crane, Nancy Arlen, Mark Cunningham and China Burg
[aka Lucy Hamilton aka Constance...] and created interesting music out of apparent
chaos; the vocals are babbled and the guitars, bass and drums sound like they're
weaving in and out of the song while going in several different directions at once,
yet the band is oddly compelling in its crazed, cacophonous way. A recently released
Mars CD/EP from this period is also well worth owning.
The fourth band, D.N.A., features Arto Lindsay's bluesy vocals and seemingly uncontrolled
bursts of guitar, as he rakes his strings and refuses to play conventional chords;
the trio, which also includes keyboardist Robin Crutchfield and drummer Ikue Mori,
create the most engaging music in the collection other than the opening numbers
by the Contortions. [A long awaited DNA compilation cd appeared on No More records
last year - hooray! ]
Some listeners may be fascinated by the music on No New York while others may find
it unbearable; in either case, this seminal album remains the definitive document
of New York's no wave movement, the original LP fetching upwards of $100 today."
-- Todd Kristel