Thank the fine folks at Drag City for rescuing this one from the sands of time: In 1971, David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney, three African-American brothers from Detroit, got hip to The Stooges and decided to forgo the soul/funk they’d been playing. In 1974, they cut a rock ‘n’ roll demo with Jim Vitt, known for his work with Parliament/Funkadelic, and started making the rounds with a single, “Politicians in My Eyes” b/w “Keep on Knocking." Clive Davis, president of Columbia, heard it and expressed interest in the group, but told the band they'd have to change their name: Death.
The best PR guy couldn’t write it any better. The boys declined the censored offer and faded into the annals of Detroit rock history. They formed a short-lived Christian rock outfit, The 4th Movement, but soon took up day jobs, while their single went on to become a much sought after collector's item, selling for as high as a grand among grubby-handed record nerds. And yet, without the seven killer tunes that comprise Death’s long-delayed debut, they would be little more than a cool back-story. The songs are good, fantastic even, and while it’s important to note that these guys clearly weren’t inventing punk rock -- as some overzealous dudes have suggested -- they were playing as aggressively as their most radical contemporaries and with a melodic edge that bellies the influence of glammier garage-rockers like Alice Cooper and early Amboy Dukes.
It's baffling to me that the opener “Keep on Knocking” was the B-side to the group’s lone single. It’s a crunchy, perfect blast of tuneful rock music: David’s minimal guitar leads and over-driven rhythm crackle; the brisk pace finds Dannis’ drums threatening to tear the song apart, and singer/bassist Bobby barks out a kiss-off to a former love. The band launches into “Rock-N-Roll Victim” with a characteristic 1-2-3-4. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be an anti-drug song or some counterculture anthem, with lyrics about rolling another stick of grass, but it’s jutting, twist-turn riffs imply that if the band was high on anything, it certainly wasn’t mellow. "You’re a rock ‘n’ roll victim/ And I know it’s the truth/ ’Cuz I’m a rock ‘n’ roll victim, too." It’s glorious hard-rock nonsense.
“Let the World Turn” opens like some prog-rock Prince jam with multi-tracked vocals echoing over the album's funkiest break, before launching into a trashy attack that would later inform the British New Wave of Heavy Metal. If the start-stop rhythms aren’t enough to give Lars Ulrich a hard-on, the ridiculous drum solo will surely seal the deal. “You’re a Prisoner” and “Freakin’ Out” follow, each more violent and distorted than the last, as if Drag City -- or whoever sequenced this thing -- envisioned an album-long crescendo. “Where Do We Go From Here???” features Bobby’s mostly out of key vocals, but it’s hard to object -- the song is so direct, his bass work so taut and soulful. Creepy, psychedelic laughter provides a break in the song, just enough for you to ask, “What’s going on,” before the whole thing thunders to an amp-melting conclusion.
“Politicians in My Eyes,” the A-side to Death's original single, boasts the most confrontational lyrics on the album. Railing against politicians who don’t care and "send young folks to die," the song asks a simple question: "Politicians tell me why/ won’t you help the people who try?" The strife is supported by a barrage of drums and overdriven guitars that grind the song to its finish. As hard-rock takes on the shape of minimalist composition, the repeated rhythms and snatches of melody express rage and frustration long after the lyrics have ceased explicitly stating the message. It’s the kind of song that feels as appropriate today as it did 33 years ago. That kind of fervor makes …For the Whole World to See such a blast and a defining example of the spirit that drives not just rock ‘n’ roll, but true outsider art.
1. Keep on Knocking
2. Rock-n-Roll Victim
3. Let the World Turn
4. You’re a Prisoner
5. Freakin’ Out
6. Where Do We Go From Here???
7. Politicians in My Eyes
