Monday 6 March 2017

A Witness - "Peel Sessions 1985-88" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)


'A Witness' was another of that batch of unclassifiable mid-eighties bands from the north of England that fitted very comfortably on Ron Johnson Records. Again we have a vague Captain Beefheart influence filtered through the very unique landscape of post-punk northern Britain.
The necessitated use of a drum machine ,after the original drummer left, ironed out a lot of the wavering time signatures, but later in their career they managed to secure the services of one Alan Brown from excellent bIG fLAME to fill in on drums. This was an undoubted improvement.
They managed four Peel sessions before the untimely death of atonal guitarist Rick Aitkin via, among all things that cause death in the annals of Rock'n'Roll, a mountaineering accident!? Not something you'd find Keith Moon or Jimi Hendrix doing, too dangerous.Father Yod of Ya-Ho-Wha 13 managed to die in a bizarre hang-gliding accident, thats about as close as we can get to mountaineering in Rock, or on Rock, or in this case Off Rock,as in 'Falling Off'.

Track Listing:

01 The Loudhailer Song [15-12-1985]
02 Smelt Like a Pedestrian [15-12-1985]
03 O'Grady's Dream [15-12-1985]
04 Sharpened Sticks [15-12-1985]
05 Faglane Morris Wind [16-11-1986]
06 Nodding Dog Moustache [16-11-1986]
07 Raw Patch [16-11-1986]
08 Hard Day's Love [16-11-1986]
09 Take me to the earth [10-01-1988]
10 McManus Octaphone [10-01-1988]
11 Sunbed Sentimental [10-01-1988]
12 Zip up [10-01-1988]
13 I love you mr disposable razors [20-11-1988]
14 Life - the final frontier [20-11-1988]
15 Helicopter tealeaf [20-11-1988]
16 Prince microwave bollard [20-11-1988]

DOWNLOAD without witnesses HERE!

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