Slaughter & the Dogs

"Ullo. We're Murder and the Cats." With those words, Slaughter & the Dogs introduced themselves to the world at large via the Live album and set the stage for what would become one of the most infuriatingly patchy careers of the entire punk era. At their best -- and this compilation, thankfully, preserves most of those highs -- the band was phenomenal, a high-speed car crash between Mick Rossi's flaring lead guitar and Wayne Barrett's hyper-growl vocals. "Cranked up Really High," the opening track and the band's debut single, remains one of the most potent statements of intent of any 1977-era punk band, while the follow-up, "Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone?," threw down a studded gauntlet at the skinhead tribes still struggling to work out how to spell Sham 69. Cutting stuff indeed. But the band was also capable of some appalling lapses in taste. Despite boasting guest guitar from Mick Ronson, their cover of "Quick Joey Small" is simply rent-a-punk novelty and, moving deeper into the original group's three-year (1976-1979) career, the arrival of Ed Banger as a replacement for Barrett irredeemably altered Slaughter & the Dogs' attack. "It's Alright," his first single with the band, is a fine effort, but it was downhill from there. Realigning their sound toward the power pop movement, the band briefly re-emerged as the Studio Sweethearts in June 1979 to cut the "I Believe" single; Slaughter & the Dogs' name then resurfaced for one final 45, the frankly dull "You're Ready Now." Somewhat surprisingly, however, things then picked up again for the finale, four acoustic tracks cut by the modern-day version of the band. "Since You Went Away," "I'm Mad," and a reprise of "You're a Bore" originally date from the band's 1978 Do It Dog Style debut album and remind listeners that, beneath all the trappings of punk, Slaughter & the Dogs really could write some great songs when they wanted to. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide