386. Suicide - Suicide (1977)
















Track Listing

1. Ghost Rider
2. Rocket USA
3. Cheree
4. Johnny
5. Girl
6. Frankie Teardrop
7. Che

Review

Now this is a challenging listen... or at least a challenging track. Frankie Teardrop is probably one of the most terrifying, macabre and hard to listen things ever put in an album. Still it sounds exactly like it is supposed to, like hell. The screams... the screams. Still if you can't bear Frankie Teardrop the other tracks aren't as hard going.

Suicide is probably the only band integrated in the Punk movement which has only two members and no drums or guitars, just synths and voice. It isn't really punk but it is hard to say what it really is if not punk. Is it synth-pop? There isn't much pop about it, post punk? Punk as only just started.

Suicide are therefore one of the few true originals, they sound like a rockabilly nightmare, like music from the netherworld and it is at the same time fascinating and dreadful. Much like suicide itself. There as rarely been such a dirty, raw, original and challenging music on this list. We are all Frankies.

P.S. - A shout out to the 1001Albums group at Last.fm

Track Highlights

1. Frankie Teardrop
2. Ghost Rider
3. Cheree
4. Girl

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

"Frankie Teardrop" is one of the songs featured in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs. "Cheree" is featured in the closing scene of Downtown 81 with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Frankie Teardrop: