Wipers – Out Takes (Zeno Records)
First and foremost, I would like to say that the Wipers are one of my all-time favorite bands. Albums like Over The Edge and Youth Of America are absolutely perfect releases that combine morose punk energy with a reverence for rock and roll’s history and a penchant for experimentation rarely found in their contemporaries. That said, it’s difficult to approach Out Takes; which, as the name suggests, is a collection of b-sides and otherwise non-album material which had previously been available on the band’s triple CD collection of their first three full-lengths. What, in that context, had been an interesting footnote to a distinctive body of work raises questions when amassed into one album.
Wipers – Out Takes (Zeno Records)
First and foremost, I would like to say that the Wipers are one of my all-time favorite bands. Albums like Over The Edge and Youth Of America are absolutely perfect releases that combine morose punk energy with a reverence for rock and roll’s history and a penchant for experimentation rarely found in their contemporaries. That said, it’s difficult to approach Out Takes; which, as the name suggests, is a collection of b-sides and otherwise non-album material which had previously been available on the band’s triple CD collection of their first three full-lengths. What, in that context, had been an interesting footnote to a distinctive body of work raises questions when amassed into one album.
It’s difficult to really determine how to assess a record like this. If a listener is familiar with the band’s better-known work, these songs sometimes feel like sketches for Guernica or rough drafts of Candide–essentially, pieces which might not be terrible, and might demonstrate the creator’s ability, but fall substantially short of what they would later evolve into. Of the songs present on Out Takes that did not end up included on any albums, unfortunately most were recorded towards the beginning of the band’s existence. And I say “unfortunately” not because they’re terrible–at worst, they fail to distinguish themselves from many comparable bands–but because they tend to lack the darkness, the drive, and the grit that characterized many of the band’s subsequent albums. There are exceptions, however, and songs like “No Solution,” recorded after the band had existed for several years, show the musicians more comfortable in their skin, working within expansive parameters that they had set for themselves, rather than being simply another punk rock band.
And then there are the alternate versions of more recognizable songs. I never really considered Is This Real?, the band’s first album, to be all that great. There are a few great songs, but the band hadn’t quite hit their stride. That said, of the alternate versions of album tracks present, more than half are from that album, and are definitely not the record’s better songs. And even when they dig into some better material–such as the alternate mix of “Youth Of America” (in my humble opinion, one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time) with slightly louder guitars than the album version–it can be difficult to determine the point. Have we, as music consumers, tired of the magic such songs are capable of when taken at face value? Do we need all the minutiae of the creative process presented to us for dissection?
This review started off with something of a disclaimer for a reason. I do love the Wipers. I even think that Out Takes is a good album, even if I don’t necessarily get the point of some of it. But it’s a record for completists. Dear readers, if you are a fan of music made with guitar, bass, and drums, possessing even a modicum of energy and rawness, and have not listened to the Wipers, proceed to your nearest record store immedi-fucking-ately and buy Over The Edge and Youth Of America. Turn them up loud, bask in some of the best music the past thirty years has had to offer. If you’re still down, go pick up Is This Real? or the Complete Rarities ’78-’90 album (if you want to spend a little dough). And if your curiosity isn’t sated by that, by all means pick up Out Takes. Not for the casual fan, this is probably the least essential record by one of the most essential bands of its genre–which is hardly the insult it might at first seem to be.
