Anal Cunt - Top 40 Hits

According to the ever-reliable source for information that is the internet, Top 40 Hits is considered a bit of a disappointment in the worldwide circles of AxCx fans (or at least it was upon it’s initial release date back in 1996). But, you know me, I don’t give a fuck about what the internet says (lawls, hardcore) because for me, Top 40 Hits shows AxCx at their messiest, blurriest best. Granted, this record is missing the offensive content that the band would become so well-known for (well, if you discount the fact that the band is called Anal Cunt, that is), but this is still a stone cold noisecore classic.

The first few times I heard this in my teens I wasn’t too sure what to make of the whole thing. Seth had it up for free download (possibly against Earache’s permission?) off his old website, back before AxCx reformed for a final time and Seth replaced his personal webpage with that of Wicked Sick Records. The first few songs are mixed so low that the first thing the record will have you doing is reaching for the volume control with a confused expression on your face. I have come to learn that these tracks were mixed this way in order to rumble the living fuck out of speaker cones, and maybe even damage them in the process. Cheers, Anal Cunt!

Despite the mushy, low-fi blur tracks that carried over from the previous LP (only on a much lower frequency, ha ha), we see the first budding AxCx jokey tracks. Tracks such as “Art Fag” and “Shut Up Mike” are a nod to what type of stuff was to dominate on future AxCx records. The best thing about Top 40 Hits however, is the full and amazing production that the band finally dedicated to their small selection of sludgey, doom-metal paced tracks. Some of the best Anal Cunt tracks are their slow, Eyehategod-esque sludge epics. Seth Putnam is a fantastic vocalist, and to confine listening of his talents to just Anal Cunt is definitely a waste; the guy was an absolute legend, there is no doubt.

So all in all, Top 40 Hits does seem like a bit of a jumbled up mix of styles that don’t really go together; it doesn’t help that it seems that the sludge songs, jokey songs and blurry, old school noisecore songs all seem to have come from different recording sessions, which totally annihilates any chance this album had at attaining a flow. I think maybe that this is what put a lot of people off when it first come out; that AxCx had literally just thrown out a whole bunch of shit on one CD and called it a new album. But once you get over the flow issues, you can appreciate each parts for what they really are; fucking amazing! Ha ha! This was released on Earache back in 1996. 

I dunno why this vid has the old artwork for the Fuckin' A album attached to it - perhaps the uploader is a cretinous swine ;)

Anal Cunt - Wearing Out Our Welcome

I don't think in the history of music that an album title has so correctly summed up it's contents like this one. By the time Anal Cunt announced that they were working on a new album that wasn't shitty attempts at rock music, most people had either forgotten or given up completely. Now you have to take what I'm saying here with a pinch of salt because it is Anal Cunt and it is hard to use the terms sloppy, awful and hideous without highlighting their good points. But, Wearing... is tired, boring and badly recorded. It is unfinished, yes, but a crap end to a long line of ear-melting music.

 

The worst thing about this entire release is the shitty, overdubbed backing vocals. They are weak, too loud in the mix and absolutely ruin what remaining awesomeness this record had. Unfortunately, songs without these vocals are few and far between. Due to Seth's death the record was unfinished so perhaps I am unfair in my current judgement, but this one-sided, muddy mess is very, very dissapointing indeed.

 

You can thank the awesome Limited Appeal records for bringing us this post-humous look into what AxCx were in the process of churning out for us next. Thier intentions were good, I'm sure. It's not thier fault this is a steaming dissapointment. There are only 394 copies pressed, and 81 of them are on green vinyl. I have also recently discovered that a repress has also been issued, and that too is sold out.

Anal Cunt - Morbid Florist 7"

This is the original press of Anal Cunt's "Morbid Florist" on Relapse's single series from 1993. It was released on black, white and clear vinyl and on a cool little CD in a cardboard sleeve, part of Relapse's "Underground Series". It was re-released in 1998 as a proper CD with bonus and hidden tracks.

This is by far my favourite Anal Cunt sound. It's a good mix of the spazzy early material and good production values! Seth's vocals are at their best on this record, in my opinion. The mix allows you to appreciate the sonic chaos of Anal Cunt in all it's glory. You can still pick this up fairly cheap, say around an average of £15 for even the original 7" pressings.

Anal Cunt - Stayin' Alive 7"

This is Anal Cunt's 7" single for "Stayin' Alive" (yes, a Bee Gee's cover song!) that was put out on Earache Records just before the release of "Top 40 Hits" in 1994. All copies are a transparent, almost marbled orange colour.

Musically this is a pointless 7", making it totally a collector's item only. All tracks are on the Top 40 Hits album, except "Schnauf", which is a parody cover of "Shout" by Tears For Fears (also sung by Cher Lloyd these days, for those who don't know who the fuck Tears For Fears are). The cover song is done in typical Anal Cunt "bonus track" style, with no music, and it's totally pointless. The back cover advertises the 7" to have this exclusive extra track, when really it's a load of shit and a cheap promotional tactic.

It's fetching quite a bit at the moment, around £20 a copy which is a lot higher than when I bought it. I ended up with two of these at one point due to a fucked up order from a Discogs seller, and only one of them included the AxCx logo patch. I'm not sure if a patch was limited to certain copies or if the patch was lost from the copy I had.