Ironically, but perhaps even more coincidentally,
Raygun...Naked Raygun is the only
Naked Raygun reissue that is without a guest essay or commentary appearing in the liner notes. Maybe that's because people recognized that by the time the record was released in 1990,
Naked Raygun wasn't really
Naked Raygun any longer. Of course, the band's name had not changed, and singer
Jeff Pezzati was still aboard and backed by veterans
Eric Spicer on drums and
Pierre Kezdy on bass, but gone was the other important third of the group's chemistry: deft guitarist
John Haggerty. Without
Haggerty' s presence,
Raygun is dry, forever tripping on its own feet. The band's intentions are good, and if
Haggerty would've played on the songs instead of
Bill Stephens, the record probably would have worked on the level it should, but instead, we hear mostly straightforward songs that are notable for their similarity to music from early-'90s heavy metal bands (
Megadeth and
Anthrax especially). The passion and cross-cutting tension of early
Naked Raygun records don't make it on to
Raygun. Aside from the spiraling and screaming
"Home," the call-and-response style of
"Fever Island," and war-cry of
"The Grind," Naked Raygun seem bored, or at least, comfortable with generic rhythmic structures and non-specific vocal deliveries. The musicianship on the album is steady, and the songs are solid, some even catchy, but the spirit, challenge, and unique politics of the music is gone, and that is why
Raygun just doesn't characterize itself as a work by
Naked Raygun; it's an album that would suit someone with conventional taste. Thus, musically,
Raygun is better than your average hard rock or metal record, but as a piece of the post-punk puzzle, it doesn't belong -- it doesn't go anywhere, or take anything on. The reissue has three bonus tracks, two of which (
"Love Battery," "Running Free") are covers of
Buzzcocks' songs, and one of which (
"Last Drink") is a
Chelsea cover.
"Last Drink," with its "last call" refrain, is especially eerie, given that
Naked Raygun would have its own last call shortly after the tracks were released. ~ Bob Gendron
![Tim [Let it Bleed Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0603497833115_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Tim [Let it Bleed Edition]")
![Pleased to Meet Me [Deluxe]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0603497846467_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Pleased to Meet Me [Deluxe]")
