Alan Milman Sect
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Alan Milman Sect

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"The Alan Milman Sect: Stitches LP (Munster Records, Spain)"

Here's another vinyl version of an old CD-only musical item (first heard in '95 on Bedazzled). And first I want to testify that "Stitches In My Head/I Wanna Kill Somebody" is one of those songs that you cannot miss if you're into punk rock class of '77. There are a bunch that are just as good, but maybe no better ones. That bloody brilliant intro, the sound of every instrument, the vocals, all the details just can't be beat. THe lyrics are dumb and smart, in a perfect good "bad taste" mode (and you should know that songs about serial killers can easily fall in the bad "bad taste" category). The good news is also that the rest of this platter is pretty cool too, to say the least, starting with the slow'n'raw "Punk Rock X-mas" from the same EP. No "Teen Tour" though to complete that seven0inch, despite enough space available, and it's a shame because it's another fine slice.

The band became Man-Ka-Zam just after this record and also released one EP in mid '78, a four-tracker this time. Again, one song is missing ("Surf Rhapsody") and of the others, "Spankathon" -- a punker with a goofy synthesizer -- gets the Oscar. The two others show a light reggae/dub influence (especially in the singer's accent), "Happy World" (sounding a bit like the Basement 5 could've) being stringer than "Love With Machinery". The rest is all unreleased, from La Peste like punk rock & rollers ("No Boys Allowed" or "Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round") to darker though still goofy nubmers like "Veil Of Strange" and "Child Of Mercy", with a couple of tracks from tehir unissued "Man-Ka-Zam Goes Surfin'" LP (starring the guitar of Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult): "California Dumb" (for early Barracudas fans) and teh ballad "Transcendental Medication" which shows some Mothers Of Invention FLo & Eddie era influences (but without Zappa's complicated arrangements).

As a welcome bonus, we get two extra versions of "Stitches" (both without the "I Wanna Kill Somebody" bit), one recorded in Doug Khazzam's basement, the other (faster) from Milman's. Both are lo-fi, great, but cannot complete with the already perfect studio version. Repeat after me: I NEED THAT SONG!

-Laurent Bigot - Ugly Things, #21, 2003


"The Alan Milman Sect: Stitches 30th Anniversary Edition (Flotation Records)"

I'm too lazy right now to go and check if I actually wrote the words "puck rock" in UT #23 as quoted in the disc's booklet. I'm not even going to check out what I wrote in my review of the previous reissue of their material, and if I repeat myself, then I 'must've been doing something right back then. I still see "Stitches In My Head" as the perfect punk rock song, as much as "New Rose," "Did You No Wrong" or "Psycho." And more than ever I dig this Sect (among others).

Despite Milman's denying that his band sounded anything like the Dictators, they do remind me of those other prides of New York, though minus the Hard Rock tendencies.

This new edition has got at least a dozen cuts not on the previous CD, mostly decently recorded live tracks, but also the awesome "Teen Tour" from the first EP, which make it worth getting even for those who already have the '95 disc or its vinyl version. This is my kind of punk rock: fun, really rockin', tastefully goofy on occasion. And they do Christmas songs much better than Mike Love, despite being Jewish. If you dn't already have "Stitches In My Head," you need this!

-Laurent Bigot - Ugly Things, #27, Summer/Fall 2008


Discography

STITCHES IN MY HEAD/I WANNA KILL SOMEBODY
1977 EP Britz
1 Stitches In My Head/I Wanna Kill Somebody
2 Punk Rock Christmas
3 Teen Tour

HAPPY WORLD
1978 EP Britz
1 Happy World
2 Spankathon
3 Surf Rhapsody
4 Love With Machinery

STITCHES IN MY HEAD/I WANNA KILL SOMEBODY (reissue)
1993 EP Bag of Hammers
1 Stitches In My Head/I Wanna Kill Somebody
2 Punk Rock Christmas
3 Teen Tour

STITCHES
1995 CD Bedazzled Compact Discs
1 Stitches In My Head/I Wanna Kill Somebody
2 Punk Rock X-Mas
3 We Don't Bury Our Dead
4 No Boys Allowed
5 Veil Of Strange
6 Child Of Mercy
7 Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round
8 The Brain
9 Spankathon
10 Happy World
11 Love With Machinery
12 Razorblade Lemonade
13 Nicotine Caffeine
14 California Dumb
15 Transcendental Medication
16 Stitches (version 2)
17 Stitches (version 3)

STITCHES IN MY HEAD: 30TH ANNIVERSARY
2007 CD Flotation Records
1 Stitches In My Head/I Wanna Kill Somebody
2 Punk Rock X-mas
3 Teen Tour
4 Spankathon
5 Happy World
6 Love With Machinery
7 Surf Rhapsody
8 The Brain
9 Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round
10 No Boys Allowed
11 Veil Of Strange
12 Stitches In My Head (version 2)
13 Child Of Mercy
14 We Don't Bury Our Dead
15 California Dumb
16 Surf Rhapsody '79
17 Transcendental Medication
18 Poison Pen
19 Razorblade Lemonade
20 No Boys Allowed
21 We Don't Bury Our Dead
22 I'm God
23 Die Clone
24 Nicotine Caffeine CURRENTLY IN SYNDICATION ON "HOUSE, M.D."
25 Surfin' With The Wizard
26 Man-Ka-Zam Goes Surfin'
27 Permanent Damage
28 I'm God
29 Stitches In My Head (version 3)
tracks 18-28 LIVE

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Bio

AL MILMAN has resided in Seattle, WA since the early '90's except for a brief return to New York City in 2003 to write new music and work on his art. From 1991-2003, he and long-time friend Moshe Weinberg owned and operated Bedazzled Discs, a popular Seattle-area record store specializing in all things cool, rare, and hard to find anywhere else. The most exciting news currently is that Milman has started pre-production on a new Alan Milman Sect album - the first full-length release to feature all new Milman Sect material since 1978! With Milman at the helm of a re-invigorated Alan Milman Sect, this album is guaranteed to be a flat-out adrenaline shot of real NYC '77 style punk - more news to be posted here soon.

Original Sect member, founder, and Milman writing partner DOUG KHAZZAM remains in New York and has reformed legendary Power Pop group Buddy Love, which he and Milman founded in 1979. The long-awaited documentary film entitled "Who Is Buddy Love" which chronicles the life and times of this early New York Power Pop group is currently in production, with a release date to be annonced soon. Today, Khazzam works in technology and still writes, records, and performs with Buddy Love.