Let's lynch the lawyers!
Scott Bresinger | New York, USA | 02/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This edition of the DK's classic first album, inspired either by its 25th anniversery or the regrettable lawsuit that put it in the hands of the band members not named Jello Biafra, is at least a chance to re-evaluate it anew. The question of whether it stands the test of time is perhaps overshadowed by whether any punk should be anointed "classic" status in the first place. The whole point of punk was to get rid of those BS designations and just blast the kind of stuff offensive to parents, guardians of culture and even rock music fans. Heck, a few of the songs on the album could only be considered relevant to a specific period of time. "Holiday In Cambodia" was made all the more relevant by being released during Pol Pot's reign of terror. Does anybody even care about Jerry Brown anymore?
That said, "Fresh Fruit" holds up remarkably well. The pitch-black humor of songs like "I Kill Children" and "Funland At The Beach" upped the ante of punk's deliberate offensiveness in its time and reveals today's pseudo-punk whiners as the childish pablum-pushers they are. Even the more topical songs hold up on their own. The Wagnerian flourishes of "California Uber Alles" are practically begging for a Schwarzenegger-era rewrite, but you'll find yourself singing along regardless. Likewise, "Kill The Poor" makes more sense today if you substitute "Hurricane Katrina" for "Neutron Bomb," but the devilish glee with which Biafra delivers his satire sells it all over again. Say what you will about the antics of the other ex-Kennedys, but East Bay Ray's surf-inspired guitar and Klaus Fluouride's just plain inspired bass created a new vocabulary for punk that was miles ahead of contemporaries such as the Germs (and they were great in their own right).
Now, what about this edition is notable? While one can argue about the lawsuit that made it possible (for the record, I'm mainly on Biafra's side, since even the band members admit that the royalty problems they had were due to an innocent accounting error) the opportunity to remaaster the disc was too good to pass up. Well, I hate to say they dropped the ball on this front, but this is sonically not all that different from the vinyl edition I've been abusing for years. Why an album that was the product of a 22-track studio still sounds like it's mono is a question that's not really answered on the DVD documentary that's included in the package. However, the doc does have some neato live performances (arguably not the best, but I'll leave such aesthetic distinctions aside) and "vintage" local TV news footage of Biafra's semi-dadaist run for mayor of San Francisco. This is about the only time we get to hear from the man himself, as he obviously declined to be interviewed for this project. This of course makes him kind of a ghostly presence here, as if everybody's talking about someone who's died. It should also be noted that Biafra's recently complained that (ironically) he hasn't received any royalties from the DK's reissues, which I fear can lead to yet more lawsuits, which is obviously the most un-punk thing they could do. So what do you say, punk fans? Before such a depressing occurence, get a few torches and ropes, and let's lynch the lawyers!"
A legendary punk recording amidst a sea of drama
Self Induced | Drexel Hill, PA | 10/28/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"it would be impossible to review this new deluxe 25th anniversary re-issue of one of the greatest American punk albums of all time without addressing the current feud and ugly legal battle that has ultimately caused a split between Jello Biafra and his former bandmates. unfortunately, this has resulted in Jello losing all legal control and ownership of all past and future DK products and most importantly, the DK name. let's be honest, Alternative Tentacles is really the proper home of any DK release, period. but we do not live in a perfect world where everyone gets along with one another, and the blunt reality is that a band is not just one person. no one ever wants to think of punk rock in a business sense, but when it really comes down to it, a band is the sum of all it's members. legally, removing one of the members still leaves a band, just minus one member. whether we like it or not, history has shown this to be true (perfect examples of this would be: Misfits, Sepultura, and Pink Floyd). who ever said life was fair? hey, in a perfect world, I would be a millionaire, there would be no injustice or corruption, and the DK's would still involve Jello Biafra... the one thing DK fans have to focus on is the fact that we have a superior sounding Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables CD that is in print. this alone is reason to rejoyce. if you worry too much about who is putting out the CD, and where your money is going, well, look at it this way... it could be worse. at least we still have 3/4 of a band that was responsible for this masterpiece. I don't have to worry about reviewing the actual songs, because let's face it - you should know this sh*t by now! the bonus DVD included in this edition has its pros & cons. yes, it is cool seeing all that vintage live footage from late '79 & early '80. yes, the commentary is cool but Jello missing from it just feels like an awkward void that will never be filled again. as punk fans and devoted DK followers, we all have a dilema. do we have to choose sides? Jello, or the other guys? Alternative Tentacles or Decay (Manifesto) records. the answer is for you to decide. the bottom line is FFFRV remains a legendary classic punk album. probably one of the most important of its genre. none of this drama will ever change that."
Still As Fresh 25 Years On
Lewis Hingston | Cornwall, UK | 05/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Just a cursory glance through the titles of this 1980 San Francisco punk classic should prepare you for the madness contained within the album's 14 tracks. Landlords are being lynched, children and the poor killed, drugs and chemical warfare indulged in, and somewhat tamely in comparison, people's mail stolen. It all rounds off with one of the classic punk covers, as the DK's tear through the King's Viva Las Vegas. Hearing them lambast then-Californian Governor Jerry Brown and the American army- on California Uber Alles and When Ya Get Drafted respectively-you get the impression Messrs. Bush Jnr and Schwarzenegger are relieved this lot were born twenty-five years too early to shower them with vitriol.
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Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
