.45 Grave Albums (6)
'Only the Good Die Young'
Release Date 10/11/2005
Tracks 16
Label Restless
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
If Christian Death trumped 45 Grave when it came to releasing a debut album -- Only Theatre of Pain having surfaced a little while earlier -- then there's no question that Sleep in Safety is easily the equal, if not better than the other band's initial effort. It doesn't hurt at all that Cancer is a much better singer than the chronically groaning Rozz Williams, for one thing, while the clear sense of humor 45 Grave never denied ensured that the band never entered the realms of relentlessly ridiculous self-parody. How could they, given how entertainingly off they already were -- thus songs like "Riboflavin," in praise of the nutritious forms of blood the healthy vampire needs. Fusing everyone's varying punk/trash/art backgrounds into a goth rock overlay and then never letting themselves be suckered into actually going and digging up bodies, the members recruited Craig Leon for effective production work and the well-recorded Sleep in Safety scored underground hit after hit. There's even a surf instrumental, and when will anyone see most modern black-clad types ever trying that move? There's no question that the band's legendary "Partytime" is the high point, a stop-start, quiet/loud horror of a goth landmark that lets Cancer sneak in a bit of pretty creepiness before everyone fires up into a classic rock chug with a great shout-along chorus that Joan Jett would be proud of. What really works best is how the music is the most truly dark part of the band, Graves' bass playing and Culter's post-Banshees guitar parts hitting all the right notes. In turn, Cancer isn't so much a dark priestess of gloom as a commanding figure who has to be listened to. The hilarious part of the band comes to the fore from the start, thanks to the introductory message about the creators of the album being skilled insurance agents. Later CD reissues included the single version of "Partytime" and a perhaps inevitable rip through Alice Cooper's "School's Out." ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
From out of nowhere -- or, more accurately, out of Grave drummer Don Bolles' massive collection of outtakes and live tapes -- Debasement Tapes saw the light in 1993, presenting the band in all their scuzzily creepy glory. While the fidelity varies like crazy, even the murkier cuts often contain something special, and as a portrait of the band at their most experimental and most hilarious (often at the same time!), it can't be beat. Bolles' detailed and often screamingly funny liner notes provide all the information you could possibly want. A chunk of the tunes come from a 1983 date in Escondido, CA, including versions of songs from precursor band the Consumers and a rip through the notorious "Fucked by the Devil," easily the most intentionally laughable goth/punk song ever outside of Alien Sex Fiend. Other tracks, like "Bobby" and "R2D2 Is the Buddha," are home and garage recordings as out-there as it gets, consisting of rough noise collages using everything from bedpans filled with broken glass to random TV nonsense, all of which wouldn't sound too out of place on Negativland radio broadcasts. Dinah Cancer gets in more than a few bloodcurdling screams and wails here and there, while Paul B. Cutler is no slouch when it comes to nutty lyrics and over-the-top performances ("Gangsta Rap" is bile at its best); Rob Graves and Bolles keep everything moving pretty well on the rhythm front. Combined with random audience give-and-take and more than a few moments of the band completely losing it on stage, the end result is sheer entertainment. Definitely not the place to start for newcomers to the Grave's dark realm, but anyone taken by the band's official studio work will find lots to love here. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Recorded at one of many one-off L.A. reunion shows the Grave did in the late '80s -- in this case, at Hollywood's Raji's club in July 1988 -- Young captures the four members having fun with their back catalog, and a few new numbers to boot. If anything, no longer being an active band seemed to give the quartet a chance to be even crisper in terms of performance, though, arguably, fans of the sheer live chaos of their earlier days (as documented on Debasement Tapes) will miss that here. Everyone's in fine form -- not even Rob Graves, who would unfortunately pass on a couple of years later, sounds like he should belong to the undead (image and lyrics of the band notwithstanding). The irreverent spirit that ran throughout the Grave rears its head near the start, when the four tackle "Take Five" -- yes, that "Take Five" -- and, after an initially straightforward interpretation by Paul B. Cutler on guitar, unsurprisingly turn it into a launching pad for another wiggy blend of goofy mayhem. Dinah Cancer snarls her head off with all the fire evident on earlier recordings, investing the punk thrash of "My Type" and the more measured but hardly less powerful "Sheila," to name but two highlights, with the feeling that she's about to rip the audience's heads clean off. Some of the newer tracks lack the inspired nuttiness which made their early-'80s songs so much fun -- "Sorceress" is impressive, but coldly so, the type of metallic chug-n-solo you imagine appearing over the end credits of some Reagan-years women-in-prison movie. But skip to "Wax" or "Fucked by the Devil," brought out for another enthusiastic kicking, and all is once again well in the dark corners of the world. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
