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THIRD MAN RECORDS ANNOUNCES
THE MONKS'
HAMBURG RECORDINGS 1967
FEATURES FIVE UNHEARD TRACKS
AND NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS
NEW TRACK "I'M WATCHING YOU"
PREMIERED VIA DANGEROUS MINDS
HAMBURG RECORDINGS 1967
TO BE RELEASED JUNE 23, 2017
Third Man Records is excited to announce The Monks' Hamburg Tapes 1967, featuring five unheard tracks from the legendary group. To ring in the announcement, Dangerous Minds has premiered the new track "I'm Watching You," noting that "these songs aren't just some forgotten cast-offs, they're as vital and as punchy as everything else the Monks recorded." The album will see a vinyl and CD release on June 23.
The Monks - a strange, rare group with a story that sounds like a drunk friend's generous hyperbole. A group of American G.I.s stationed in Germany on the precipice of Western cultural revolution starts playing music loosely connected to the rock n' roll craze, contrastingly incorporating a critical and often offensive avant-garde edge. Nothing was off limits - screeching vocals, dark aesthetics, staccato-strummed banjo, sardonic lyricism, critiques of the Vietnam War and full monk costuming down to the tonsure. When viewed on the whole, it seems like an art school student's senior thesis on what the craze means and its future possibilities. Due in large part to original Polydor vinyl collectability and years in the word-of-mouth hype machine, their legend and cult status has steadily blossomed since their last shows in 1967.
Fast forward to 2017, the crew at Third Man, already huge fans, are presented with an honest-to God treasure trove of original Monks photos, newspaper clippings, business cards, letterhead, contracts, postcards and, yes, analog tapes, containing trailblazing, wild compositions completely unheard by public ears.
"I'm Watching You" would have been recorded on February 28th, 1967 at the same sessions that would produce the Monks' final single "Love Can Tame the Wild" b/w "He Went Down to the Sea." The remaining four songs were recorded after hours in the Top Ten Club later that year, just prior to the break-up of the band.
These songs have been unreleased for 50 years and are quite possibly the last music left to be heard by this legendary band.
Hamburg Recordings 1967 track list:
1. I'm Watching You
2. Julia
3. P.O. Box 3291
4. I Need U Shatzi
5. Yellow Grass
Absolute capital C-classic! Thank whomevers responsible that the Beat Club footage of them is still around. They were a very charismatic and entertaining live act. And prolly thank my beloved Fall for helping repopularize them in the 90s. And that one album BMT is a stone avant garage groove from back to front. Addendum re: pic above, wow! Gonna have to get that. Thanx for the tip, NYCnative.
― VyrnaKnowlIsAHeadbanger, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 19:41 (six years ago) link
eight months pass...
it's from the tribute album "silver monk time", has some good stuff on there including gary burger with faust (not sure which faust). there's also a nice live show from around that time (2006 or so) of the monks in berlin with the raincoats, the recently departed mark e. smith, etc., guesting.
― Arnold Schoenberg Steals (rushomancy), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:53 (six years ago) link
two years pass...
one month passes...
one year passes...