The Left-Last Train To Hagerstown (1985)


 

Artist: The Left

Title: Last Train To Hagerstown

Label: Bona Fide Records/Greenworld Records

Format: LP

Cat #: BFX-4503/GWD-90517

Year of Release: 1985

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1985

Sold Price: $12.99

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 10/13/20

Discogs Last Sold: VG+/NM $18.00

Low: $5.95

Median: $11.88

High: $30.00

Current low price: VG+/G $9.41, VG+/VG+ $15.00

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 12

Have/Want: 150/45

Where Sold: Brooklyn, NY

Time it took to sell: 4 years

Where and When Bought: guessing Nuggets, Boston MA early 90's used for a few bucks maybe even $1.99!

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A

Sad To See It Go?: Yes

The Viet Cong live next door/We don't want them around anymore

At first blush, the politics of The Left are somewhere left of the Mentors, Skewdriver or GG Allin.   The reality is the described train rider is not coming from a go-go party in DC.  He is probably coming from a bar a few stops away, where he sat alone for a few hours after work.  This is small town outsider politics 75 minutes outside a city (in this case DC, if trains run to Baltimore or Pittsburgh I stand corrected).

Ten Dollars will bring 'em to their knees/Hungry mouths/Eager To Please

The music is dispassionate observation of small town mid-80's life outside an urban environment on the East Coast.  The character mournfully notes "The Viet Cong Live Next Door" as he passes "AIDS Alley" on way to "Redneck 7-11."  This guy hates everyone--immigrants and male prostitutes as well as the local idiot riff raff driving pick-up trucks and equipped with baseball bats.   I wouldn't call this particularly political as it might be identified today, 35 years after it's release.   More like indoctrinated and ingrained.  Their website says this worldview is spawned on "hypocrisy, boredom, ignorance and hate."  A worldview that is actually censored on youtube.

Redneck 7-11/Stupid Fuckin' Asshole Heaven

I found it amusing that famed critic Richie Unterberger completely glossed over the bands lyrics in his allmusic review.  It is because the sound is high quality rock.  They nod to the Stooges covering "T.V. Eye," but the sound is more garage rock than proto-punk, without the trappings of a fan base.  Tough and seething anger.  This was new when I started radio at 15 in my own small East Coast city of Worcester, MA.  When the Reagan FCC clamped down on indecency rules, it was a challenge to cut out all the expletives live on the air as the record was playing.  The letter, if not the spirit of law was obeyed.

Mostly.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bob Dylan-Blood On The Tracks (1975)

Image
  Artist:  Bob Dylan Title: Blood On The Tracks Label: Columbia Format: SACD Cat: CH 90323 Year of Release: 1975 Country and Year of Edition: US 2003 SACD Promo sticker over barcode Sell Price: $12.20 VG+/VG+ 7/15/24 Discogs Last Sold: 7/7/24 NM/VG+ $8.99 Low: $3.00 Median: $11.63 Average: $12.38 High: $27.00 Current low price: $1.99 F/G+, $9.98 VG/VG+ Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 27 Have/Want: 334/242 Where Sold: Ypsilanti, MI Time it took to sell: 11 years Where and When Purchased: promo Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A+ Sad To See It Go: No "I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form..." "And when finally the bottom fell out I became withdrawn..." Bob's public precursor to his own divorce has taken a strange turn in the public narrative over the years, whether reflecting domestic tranquility or turbulence.   Beyonc é  might tell you she flips pancakes or boils an egg to Blood On The Tracks on a Sunday morning.  Jakob Dylan might rail that these lyri
Read more

The Byrds-Live At The Fillmore-February 1969 (2000)

Image
  Artist: The Byrds Title: Live At The Fillmore February 1969 Label: Columbia/Legacy Format: CD Cat #: CK 65910 Year of Release: 2000 Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 2000 Listed Condition VG+/VG+: hole punch in UPC Sell Date: 5/6/24 Sell Price:$3.75 Discogs Last Sold: 4/25/24 $7.87 VG/VG Low: $1.75 Median: $4.24 Average: $4.28 High: $7.87 Current low price: $2.50 Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 30 Have/Want: 524/45 Where Sold:Charlotte, NC Time it took to sell: 12 years Where and When Bought: early aughts not sure where in NYC Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A- Sad To See It Go: No One of those releases that looks great on a shelf, but it took me 24 years after buying it to get around to paying any attention to this excellent live recording.  I guess that means I should force myself to read David Fricke's liner notes as well.  Sweetheart Of The Rodeo came out August 30, 1968 only 8 months after The Notorious Byrd Brothers and Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde came out a week before these show
Read more

Bob Dylan-Bob Dylan (1962)

Image
  Artist: Bob Dylan Title: Bob Dylan Label: Columbia Format: LP Cat #: PC 8579 Year of Release: 1962 Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1970's reissue Listed Condition VG/VG+ Sell Date: 5/2/24 Sell Price:$8.93 Discogs Last Sold: 3/5/24 NM/VG+ $9.00 Low: $3.98 M/VG+ Median: $12.49 Average: $12.81 High: $24.99 M/NM Current low price: $12.00 Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 16 Have/Want: 285/176 Where Sold: Minneapolis, MN Time it took to sell: 9 years Where and When Bought: Worcester used That's Entertainment mid 80's Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A Sad To See It Go: No "You're No Good!" the 3 year old Reverse Collector proclaimed to his mother.  "David! That's an awful thing to say!  Go to your room!"  I was just saying what was on the cover of the Bob Dylan song list on the album I had.  I was a fluent reader by age 3, as opposed to simply memorizing text my parents read to me when I was 2.  I understood the concept of "Good" and "Ba
Read more