The Soul Patrol 7"

A excellent reissue from @ of this hyper rarity from 1979 originally pressed in an edition of just 50 copies. This was a new one to me, and I’ve spun it a few times trying to do a short review. To call this straight up punk would be a stretch, and it was a few years too late for proto-punk but the ingredients of both are all there. Likely the result of coming from a small town in Louisiana where influences from late 60s garage and psych, The Stooges and maybe even some of the first punk LPs had likely come into their hands a bit behind the times.

The result is a fuckin’ raw rocknroll 7” with just the right amount of youthful ineptitude. The A side has some vocal phrasing in a couple spots that reminded me a bit of Joey Ramone on “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”. Though I doubt this was a direct influence, as they approach songs with a more mid tempo aggression likely inspired by The Stooges than the high speed tempo of the Ramones. The guitar is supremely fuzzed out, and the solos are simplistic and soulful with the occasional mistake that to me really give it the unique edge that separates records like this from the hundreds of small town private press singles that are more rare than they are good.