Fragments of Broken Probes

by The Deviants, Mick Farren & the Deviants

Overview

A companion to the compilation This CD Is Condemned, Fragments of Broken Probes is an all-encompassing roundup of the myriad nooks and crannies that have punctuated Mick Farren's career since he launched the Deviants in 1966. It is also one of the most essential releases in his entire catalog. The sleeve notation merely describes the contents as "alternative recordings, outtakes, remixes and live recordings." Closer examination, however, reveals a treasure trove of hard-to-find singles and compilation cuts: disheveled versions of "Play With Fire" and "To Know Him Is to Love Him" cut for the New York-based Ork label in 1976, "Screwed Up" and "Outrageous Contagious" from an EP recorded for Stiff in 1978, live versions of "Half Price Drinks" and "I Want to Be Called Loretta," and so on. There's also, at long last, a chance to rediscover what remains of perhaps the archetypal Farren performance, his own hyper-speed rendition of "Lost Johnny," a psilocybic sci-fi nightmare co-written with Lemmy and already recorded by both Hawkwind and Motorhead, but never...ever...sounding like this. Vocals scream, guitars keen, and rhythms race by with speed metal density; though the performance pre-dated punk with barely minutes to spare, Farren's claim to godfatherhood could have no better witness. The earliest tracks date from the dog days of the Deviants in 1968-1969; sound collages, interludes, and a clutch of recent recordings take the story up to 1996 and the group's reinvention as aural terrorists for a new generation. But time neither dulls nor detracts from the consistent excellence of the material, and the often scarifying relevance of Farren's worldview. As both a performer and a writer, he was often described as being ahead of his time. With a fiery breath that still smells fresh, Fragments shows listeners just how far ahead he really was. ~ Dave Thompson

Product Details

Release Date:	02/17/2015
Label:	GONZO
UPC:	5060230864037

Tracks

1. Intro
2. It's All In the Picture
3. That's Where the Trouble Started
4. Screwed Up
5. I Want To Be Called Loretta
6. Outrageous Contagious
7. Cosmic Intruder
8. Play With Fire
9. Shock Horror
10. Lost Johnny
11. Sound is the Answer, John!
12. To Know Him is To Love Him
13. Waiting For the Ice Cream To Melt
14. Broken Statue
15. Half Price Drinks
16. Dog Poet

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Deviants   Primary Artist
Mick Farren & the Deviants   Primary Artist
Andy Colquhoun   Vocals (Background),Bass
Boss Goodman   Vocals (Background)
Janis Cafasso   Vocals (Background)
John Tivens   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Jack Lancaster   Saxophone
Larry Wallis   Vocals (Background)
Leslie Knauer   Vocals (Background)
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor   Drums
Spike Baron   Bass
Marc Bell   Drums
Mick Farren   Vocals
Alan Powell   Drums
Duncan Sanderson   Bass

Technical Credits

Andy Colquhoun   Sound Collage,Composer
Spector   Composer
Paul Rudolph   Composer
Larry Wallis   Composer
Lemmy Kilmister   Composer
Keith Richards   Composer
Mick Farren   Composer,Sound Collage
Mick Jagger   Composer