The Left

Another installment in the must have "grab a bands entire output on one CD" series.

After searching in vain for a copy of either "It's the World" or "Last Train To Hagerstown," by The Left, for several years, I'd nearly given up. I accidentally found this powerful compilation on CD Baby two years ago. Every sarcastic, satirical song recorded by this 60's psych punk/ 70's punk influenced Hagerstown, Maryland garage band is included; from 1983's "You're So," which appeared on Bona Fide Records' "Train to Disaster" comp, through the '84 EP & '85 LP, with 4 previously unreleased tracks from 1992!

I'd only ever heard a copy of the "Last Train to Hagerstown" LP from the shelves of KGLT in Bozeman, and numerous cassette tape dupes made from the very same album. It took me about 3 minutes to order this, followed by a month of heavy playing to break in the disc. The Stooges influence on The Left is obvious from the title of this compilation, and their inspired, note-for-note cover of "TV Eye", but they're much more than a Stooges clone. This is a sometimes dark, sometimes twangy, always energetic, look inside the small town, bigoted world of a bunch of kids who attacked that world with dark humor and great music.

Rumors are flying about that The Left are playing shows again...let's hope!

* Warning - Not for the humorless, "politically correct" crowd.

[play-button:http://boxstr.net/files/6731854_vgpxw/16%20You%27re%20So.mp3] The Left - You're So Link source

[play-button:http://www.georgebrigman.com/uploads/08%205%20AM%20the%20left.mp3] The Left - 5 A.M. Link source

Check out The Lefts' MySpace page, the Jim Swope MySpace page and the Voodoo Love Gods MySpace page to keep current on their travels.