L7

Iwas never really a fan of L7 back in the day. To me they were one of those 'alternative' bands who were on a major label and got alot of press coverage which, by definition, didn't exactly make them alternative at all. They were pretty big over here circa 1992-94, on the back of the Nirvana's success, and I have no doubt were marketed to that kind of crowd as they definitely looked 'grunge'. To me they were just some watered down version of 'punk' and I wasn't really interested. I even saw them play once, which I think was in 1992 when they supported Faith No More. I have pretty much zero memory of that show, but I just googled it and it definitely happened. Anyway, in 2023 there is a certain nostalgia factor that came into play, and when I had the pick of records from my friend's collection, I decided that I'd take the L7 records. For some reason, these days I'd rather go back in time and check out old stuff I ignored or missed than the latest band with a record on ten different splatter colours of vinyl. I guess that's part of getting old, right?

The first record I grabbed was an early pressing of the first LP. This was was originally released by Epitaph records back in 1988. This copty here is a first pressing, although annoyingly it is missing an insert.

Second is the 'Smell The Magic' 12" EP, which was released by Sub Pop Records in 1990. This is probably my favourite, with some great songs. This copy is a German pressing on black. The original pressing was a US pressing on purple vinyl, which (of course) now seems to more expensive that at any time in the past.

FInally, the band's debut major label full length, 'Bricks Are Heavy', from 1992. This was the record that they were touring when I (apparently) saw them play live, and it has what I think is their most well known song, 'Pretend We're Dead'. This one still just about has the shrink wrap on, which includes a hype sticker that announces this copy contains a 'Special edition L7 60x40flyposter which may cause offence'... which is, of course, missing. I vaguely remember my friend having it on his bedroom wall, so I imagine it lived on the wall and then never made it back into the sleeve.

Overall these records are ok, but I'm not overly fussed about checking out more of their catalogue. But I'd definitely be interested in the purple vinyl 'Smell The Magic'. And the missing insert and poster from the other two records. Still, these were cool things to be gifted, and I'm thankful I've made the time to check them out all these years later.