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1. Classic black polyvinyl chloride in a double edition (!), as a vinyl lover, I simply have to give a bonus point for that! For those sinners who do not own a record player, there is also an MP3 download code included. And for the resolute vinyl collectors, this double LP is available as a strictly limited (only 150 copies) colored edition.
2. The booklet, or in this case the accompanying booklet in A4 format, is the best record supplement I have received in a long, long time. With old photos that are almost 30 years old, all the lyrics of the two bands, the band histories, and everything surrounding DDR punk rock, especially in and around Jena. And then there’s this awesome double LP gatefold cover. One must give a bonus point for this!
3. DDR punk rock before November 9, 1989, the day when so much changed. In the BRD, punk rock had already existed for over 10 years with ZK, SLIME, MALE, MITTAGSPAUSE, HASS, ABWÄRTS, HANS-A-PLAST, THE BUTTOCKS, KFC, S.Y.P.H., PVC, etc., plus NINA HAGEN and the STRASSENJUNGS not to forget! And on the other side of the wall? Aside from SCHLEIMKEIM, nothing made it over to us Westies, but the other way around, quite a bit did.... In any case, there are now 36 songs to hear from 2 more DDR punk rock bands, and before the DDR is forgotten, these difficult times of DDR punks must be remembered again.
Alongside the state power, the equipment was a major hurdle, and you can clearly hear that. Especially the first 11 songs of the VEREINIGTEN CHAOTEN from 1989, meaning the A-side of the first LP, are at a mediocre level. But back then, one was certainly already overjoyed to be able to record anything (secretly) in the DDR. But aside from the bass sound, everything else is a half disaster. It doesn’t help that some melodies and lyrics from the VEREINIGTEN CHAOTEN were borrowed, uh, stolen. This starts with more well-known songs like DRAFI DEUTSCHER's "Mamor, Stein und Eisen bricht" and ends with relatively unknown bands like the PANZERKNACKER AG from Berlin with their "Liebesrausch," which is called "Edith" by the VEREINIGTEN CHAOTEN.
The fact is that the 8 songs on the B-side of the VEREINIGTEN CHAOTEN sound significantly better. These songs were recorded after the fall of the wall, and the recording technology improved in that short time by what felt like decades.
On the second LP, the sound is exactly the opposite; the 9 SPERMA COMBO songs on the A-side are quite good for the possibilities that existed in Jena in 1988. It continues this way on the B-side, but the quality does decline towards the end of the additional 8 songs. And SPERMA COMBO also uses familiar melodies or covers, e.g., VKJ, BÄRCHEN UND DIE MILCHBUBIS, and SOILENT GRÜN, where "FDJ-Punks" became "Rock'n'Roll König (from the Thüringer Wald)." And lastly, the VEREINIGTEN CHAOTEN song "Revoluzzer" is covered, or was it the other way around???? Overall, SPERMA COMBO also experiments more; there are even dialogues or a piano piece to be heard for a change. Basically, we are dealing with good German punk from the other side of the wall, and that needs to be brought to the people!
And for that, I tip my hat to what the DDR punks accomplished under the most difficult conditions (one could quickly end up in jail or have trouble with DDR fascists)!
For all German punk fans, young or old, with colorful or uncolored hair, mohawks or bald heads (but please no fascists), this nearly 1½ hours of DDR punk rock is a must-have, to listen to, to enjoy, and to feel. While it may not get the full score, for the reasons mentioned above, this double LP is simply a must-buy!
