I'm probably one of the worst kind of fans. I jump on the bandwagon late, and then try and catch up. Case in point. The 77s (77's, Seventy Sevens - take your pick, I'm sure one of them is correct). Anyway here's one of the band's last "big" releases. Myrrh is a pretty big label, and I'm sure they had a lot of fun trying to figure out what to do with these guys. They're artists, and you know how people love artists.

My first couple of listens through this one were uneventful. Some of the songs jumped out right away, but it took a couple times around for the rest to sink in. I'm not a major Led Zep fan so their killer version of Nobody's Fault But Mine didn't exactly set my shorts on fire (good thing, not a great location for a fire). The whole thing was noisy, brash, and irritating. All of the essential ingredients in a classic album that will stand the test of time.

The band still had Dave Leonhardt, and the amazing Aaron Smith (he's a hell of a pounder). When the songs started to emerge like one of those weird 3D pictures that were so popular in the mid 90's it was like a mini epiphany. You could almost hear me going "oooh" and "ah" as I started to get it. I like the noisy stuff just fine, but songs like Film at 11, Cold Cold Night, and For Crying Out Loud are freaking brilliant. The instrumental Mezzo is wicked too. Hell, (I meant to say heck. Ah shit, ack, I mean shoot, I'm going to offend Mike and the boys should they ever read this, not to mention my mom) even Nobody's Fault strikes a great chord. The moo moo line on Dave's Blues kills me, where did that come from?

Oh yeah I wouldn't want to forget The Jig is Up, and Alone Together - they're great too.

So here we have a band who challenges the listener both lyrically and musically, and what happens? They keep going but their audience keeps getting smaller and smaller in direct proportion to their distribution deals. What is wrong with this picture? These guys should be on magazines across the country, lounging around pool side drinking dealcoholized beer (mmm for the taste) and writing more great tunes instead of struggling along making about as much as the chief fry guy at some burger joint.

Where's the justice?

Clunk (the sound of me falling off of my high horse).

The 77's ladies and gentlemen - quite possibly one the best bands on the planet. Really.

~banophernalia.com