Richard Hell - Time
(Matador)
This review is only for Richard Hell fans. If you haven't heard his stuff, stop reading this review and go buy Blank Generation right now. Educate yourself so I don't have to. Because Time isn't a CD for Richard Hell neophytes, it's for those who already know about his great but small body of work and wish they could have more.
Time is an odds and ends collection that still provides the goods. It's two discs, which means that for many this might double your Hell collection. The first disc is a remastered version of a previously cassette-only compilation called R.I.P. Actually, it's that and more, as it adds previously unreleased recordings of "Chinese Rocks," "Time," and "Funhunt." Even with the remastering, the sound on these tracks aren't going to blow you away. But as Hell says in his fun and informative liner notes (almost worth the price of the set by itself), "I can pretty easily listen right through the weak sound quality and the rushed, throwaway feel of some of it and not even notice it, but just like the music and songs and feeling." And he's right, for the most part, if you accept the below-par sound quality (which is far worse on the 1975 demos cut with the band The Heartbreakers than with The Voidoids and later), you can really get into the songs. While the versions on the released albums will be the definitive versions of these songs, it's still interesting and fun to hear alternate versions (some of which have better performances than on the released records).
The second disc is what will have most fans salivating. It's a recording of two live shows. The first and most abundant is a 1977 performance at London's Music Machine. Again, the sound recording is bad, but the performances blast right through the low fidelity, grab the listener, and don't let go. Hell and the band are on fire from the first song and they just rip through the set, culminating in a staggering performance of The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" that puts the Kim Gordon/Sonic Youth performance to shame. The other performance is from CBGB's at 1978. These sound much better, and even include a guest performance by Elvis Costello, but in the end it's the first set that really sticks with you and is the meat of Time.
Time is not an album for everyone. First, you have to be a Richard Hell fan. Second, you have to like him so much that his two studio albums just aren't enough for you. Finally, you have to be able to put up with a fairly high amount of bad sound. If you meet these requirements, then you'll be rewarded with songs that give a new spin on previously released material, and some live performances that are breathtaking.
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