Cockney Rejects "The Wild Ones" ( AKA 1982 )
The late, great Cockney Rejects were
one of the first, if not the first,
punk bands to grow their hair and go metal. It's a well trodden, hell,
obligatory path now, but at the time the Rejects were being trailblazers
of sorts and took the usual ration of shit for it. The Rejects switch from Yobbo Punk to Stun Metal wasn't really such a huge surprise though, even
then. As early as their second album you can see them proudly supporting
UFO tees along with the obligatory cropped and dyed hair. And when other
bands of their ilk were only name-checking Sham 69 or the Sex Pistols as
their numero uno influences, the Cockneys went out of their way to mention
Queen and Led Zeppelin in their fanzine bytes. In fact, Pete Way of
UFO/Fastway/Waysted
infamy was behind the mix and production of this piece. It's no limp wrist
attempt at mainstream chart success, even now. Plenty of the brash assault
that made the Cockneys a top-notch punk act to begin with. I hear doses of
UFO (well, of course), Motorhead and later Sabbath ( think "Mob Rules" )
in the mix. These boys must have had a copy of Deep Purple's "Machine
Head" tucked away 'neath the DM's somewhere. On "The Wild Ones", guitarist
Mickey Geggus keeps his pedal firmly to the metal while still allowing for
some pop catchiness, while locked down rhythm dogs Keith Warrington and
Vinnie Riordan--drums and bass respectively--do their best to rein in the
ball clutching yelps of vocalist Jeff Turner. (Formerly Stinky Turner
to
the baldies who brawled at their early gigs). "Way Of the Rocker", "Rock &
Roll Dream" and "Let Me Rock You" -that's a hell of a lot of rock for one
platter. These miscreants even have the temerity to cover " ' Till The End
of The Day", except they drop a motor ( head ) into it. And despite it's dodgy title, "Victim Of the Cheap Wine" is a stellar track that should have been a smash. Nothing else on this record is too shabby either. Seventeen years later this album straps on the sweatbands and white sneakers to stomp the crap out of just about anything I hear on the radio today. My only question: Why is the most "mainstream" of their records still one of the hardest to find?
-Sascha