Welcome to Review Revue, where every Thursday I dig through the KEXP stacks to share DJ reviews and comments written on the covers of LPs (and occasionally CDs) in the ’80s and ’90s, when the station was called KCMU, the DJs were volunteers, and people shared their opinions on little white labels instead of the internet.
It kind of blows my mind that, as long as I've been doing this series, I can still come across legendary Northwest bands that I haven't covered yet. Take Greg Sage and Wipers, for instance. Famously an important influence on Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Wipers amassed an intense cult following (populated primarily by college radio DJs, you might begin to suspect after reading the below comments) and released 9 albums with two different lineups in the '80s and '90s.
My brief bit of internet research yielded no solid information as to what head-Wiper Greg Sage might be up to these days. His Zeno Records web site exists, and you should definitely poke around there to learn more about Wipers (and the '70s pro wrestler Beauregarde) and buy some records, but it doesn't say much about current activities. I hope he's having a blast, playing with analog electronics and making whatever sounds he feels like. He's certainly earned it.
"Side 1 is the mellower of the two, but the whole thing has that familiar Greg Sage guitar rumble. He produced this LP, too."
"This kills. I love it love it, love it."
"Faith is one rockin babe + this is a rockin disc. I like the gee-tar sound."
"Greggy's been listening to his Love records again. Good stuff."
"What a great effort!! 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4 really stood out for me on a first spin. Sage is a great, with a capital 'G.'"
"I like this too, but I've been known to bite the heads off of whippets."
"Don't feel guilty about it Marsh, it's life."
"How many other bands from ten years ago can you still say you listen to with interest and great anticipation? This is swell."
"The Grateful Dead, for one. But this is indeed an excellent R + R album."
"Elvis Costello, for two."
"'Swell'?"
"The Wipers have a trademark sound that is very likable."
"Creates an atmostphere of a drunkin [sic] evening in an industrial urban city playing pool in a basement bar and trying hard not to knock the cue ball off the green."
"Sorely missed, now that they're done."
This week's Review Revue spotlights the Skinny Puppy album Cleanse Fold and Manipulate. See what KCMU DJs thought back in the day.
In anticipation of World Goth Day, this week's Review Revue spotlights the Dead Can Dance album Aion. See what KCMU DJs thought back in the day.
This week's Review Revue spotlights the Moev album Dusk and Desire. See what KCMU DJs thought back in the day.
