Give Me Back

If you didn't live through the 90s hardcore scene then this post probably won't mean much to you. Come to think of it, even if you did live through the 90s hardcore scene, you probably won't give a shit about this record. In my mind, this is a largely forgotten compilation featuring largely forgotten bands on a largely forgotten label.

This is a compilation LP called 'Give Me Back' on Ebullition Records. It came out in 1991 and is based around the issue of gender. Everything on Ebullition was very politically focused, and a lot of it was overwhelming for me. But that aside, some of the bands and music were great. I originally picked up this LP almost 20 years ago, as part of a collection that I bought from someone. I wasn't massively excited for it, but it has some good songs on it, most notably the Downcast song, which is incredibly catchy and possibly their best song.

I recently picked up this colour vinyl copy for two main reasons. Firstly, because it is rare, and secondly, because it was cheap. It's a nice colour green.

According to the Ebullition pressing info, there were only 100 on this 'turquoise' vinyl. This definitely wasn't part of the first press as the first press had the booklet sleeve, and this doesn't, although exactly when and why it was pressed I have no idea.

Just look at that line up. Amenity, Born Against, Seein' Red, Man Lifting Banner, Econochrist, Downcast - these bands were all huge in the early 90s, when hardcore had a more political edge to it. In some ways this LP acts as a timewarp back to a different time. It's easy to look back at those days and think they sucked, but when I read this stuff and listen to the songs it all kinda makes sense, and actually makes me miss those days.

As I said, the first press sleeve was a large booklet, but later pressings came in a regular sleeve with a zine type insert included.

Apparently there were also 113 copies on red vinyl, but I think that was part of some Ebullition box set that came out at the turn of the century. I'm not overly fussed about trying to find one. But if someone wants to sell me one cheap, I could be interested.

I'm going to end this post with a link to this LP on youtube. The sound quality isn't great - obviously someone has ripped it from vinyl and not attempted to eliminate any pops and clicks. But the point of this link is so that you can forward to 34:25 and listen to the Downcast song. I mean, seriously, how good is it?