electric frankenstein / albums

Considered by many Electric Frankenstein aficionados to be the definitive statement from the band, Listen Up, Baby! was out of print after the demise of Man's Ruin records until TKO came along and not only reissued the EP, but fleshed out the original six tracks to a full-length. Technically, the material was culled from the split disc the band did with Hookers in 1998; it's the same songs and order as on the original EP, but it adds two extra tracks, "Rocket in My Veins" and "You're So Fake" (both also from a 7" single). Additionally, "The Perfect Crime" and "Nail It Down," which were originally released as a Sub Pop single, and the Rubinoos' "Rock N' Roll Is Dead," culled from a compilation, join two previously unreleased tracks, "Final Damnation" and "Crank Action." The disc (and the extra material, which was all recorded in approximately the same time frame) marked a return to the fold for original vocalist Steve Miller, and this lent a renewed enthusiasm to the band's usual upbeat Ramones-meets-Heartbreakers-meets-Kiss couldn't-have-originated-anywhere-but-New-York retro-punk, and while a lot of the band's material does tend to sound similar, you could do a lot worse than start your Electric Frankenstein collection with this set. ~ Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide