Suicide [First Album Expanded]

Proof that punk was more about attitude than a raw, guitar-driven sound, Suicide's self-titled debut set the duo apart from the rest of the style's self-proclaimed outsiders. Although they barely receive credit, Suicide (singer Alan Vega and keyboardist Martin Rev) is the source point for virtually every synth pop duo that glutted the pop marketplace in the early '80s. Without the trailblazing Rev and Vega, there would have been no Soft Cell, Erasure, Bronski Beat, Yaz, you name 'em, and while many would tell you that that's nothing to crow about, the aforementioned synth-poppers merely appropriated Suicide's keyboards/singer look and none of Rev and Vega's extremely confrontational performance style and love of dissonance.

[Mute's release is a double-disc set containing the influential art punk band's first album, a remix of "Cheree," the additional tracks "I Remember" and "Keep Your Dreams" on the first disc, and two live recordings on the second disc. The first is a six-song set recorded at CBGB's in 1977 that has a wild version of "96 Tears." The second live set is the band's legendary and incendiary 23 Minutes Over Brussels, which was originally released on a flexi-disc but has been remastered for CD and sounds great. This set really gives a feeling for how extreme Suicide's live shows were and makes an interesting addition to the band's seminal album.]


Disc 1
01. Ghost Rider
02. Rocket USA
03. Cheree
04. Johnny
05. Girl
06. Frankie Teardrop
07. Che
08. Cheree (remix)
09. I Remember
10. Keep Your Dreams

Disc 2
01. Mr. Ray
02. Las Vegas Man
03. 96 Tears
04. Keep Your Dreams
05. I Remember
06. Harlem
07. 23 Minutes Over Brussels