The Essential Radio Birdman (1974-1978)

During the hippie-ing of rock in the ‘60s, two bands from Detroit —  the Stooges and the MC5 — were thumbing their noses at the tie-dye crowd and laying the groundwork for punk, serving up noisy, rude, hyper-driven guitar tuneage that was sweaty, visceral and exciting. Taking clear cues from the Stooges in particular, Deniz Tek — a Michigan native — put together Radio Birdman with Aussies he met while studying abroad, and the Birdman’s blend of aggressive, hard-edged guitars, dark keyboards (the Doors were certainly an influence) and Rob Younger’s pub-worn vocals (think the Damned’s Dave Vanian) coalesced into a powerful whole. Sadly, Radio Birdman broke up in1978, after an EP and two albums, just as punk was making an impact. This collection pulls from their all-too-limited catalog, including a 1977 EP of live material, and made much of their music available in the U.S. for the first time. It’s a great piece of rock history.