Of all the various series of releases by MT Undertainment, none is so well known or collected as our saw-blades. To put it simply, saw-blades are a series of releases that are shaped in the form of a circular saw. But that is not all. Each is a split release with two artists, one per side, and each is pressed on colored vinyl, with most having full color, gatefold covers with each artist having their own "front" cover. All are limited editions, the amount pressed being determined by the popularity of the artists as well as the initial demand upon release. All titles are available on vinyl, with some of the newer titles also available as shaped CDs. We try to make these releases fun and unusual, which is why you will sometimes find very different artists together on one releases.
The first few titles were pressed and then shaped at one of the pressing plants we used to use, but after pressing these titles the pressing plant then went broke. To continue producing saw-blades, we then bought the machine used to cut the records from the plant before they shut down for good. This machine, an ancient, dangerous old monster of a thing, is pictured below. Already the cause of a few almost-cut-off fingers and many blue thumbs, we have now retired our beloved machine, but continue to produce saw-blades in a new secret process that we will never reveal to anyone!
Releases:
Released in March of 1992, this is the first in the distinguished series. Mudhoney everyone knows of course, and on this disc they cover the Angry Samoans classic. This was their final indie release before going to Reprise. Gas Huffer is known to most of you as well, as they released two great albums and a single on eMpTy before moving on to Epitaph. This one is on clear vinyl, 2000 pressed. Two slight variations exist from this release in the way the saw blades were cut; one is more blunt and the other is more pointy. Was also pressed in the USA and Germany as a normal 7" single, and as a normal 12" and CD with two extra songs.
The second in the series, released November 1992. Lee Ranaldo is of course one of the guitarorrists behind Sonic Youth. His track here is similar in style to his LP on SST of a few years ago, and this is his first solo release since that record. Something To Burn kicks in with the second of their two instrumentals. Not as noisey as usual, it is a nice melodic guitar piece. First pressing of 1000 on transluscent green, side two of inferior sound quality. Second pressing of 500 on opaque mint, much better sound. Like the first saw blade, also available as a normal mini-CD with one song extra from each artist.
The always great Spermbirds give you on this installment of the Saw Blade series a great melodic rocker, produced by Ian Burgess, the same mastermind behind one of the worlds all-time greatest records, Big Black's Atomizer LP. Party Diktator are friends of the Spermbirds, and have also released an LP on Lee's Dead Eye label as well as a CD on Roadrunner. Released in December of 1992, in an edition of 1883, all on white vinyl. A picture of the saw-blade (the Spermbirds’ side) was included on their “Coffee Hair And Real Life” CD (distributed by East West, ugh!), behind the clear tray, without our permission!
Probably our most anusly oriented release, I am sure we will be called assholes for releasing this one, the fourth in the series. Tesco Vee puts in a gruff sounding pop song backed by the mysterious "Pat Pending" and his cohorts. White Flag checks in with a nice sing along pop song that could have been a hit for the Beatles. It is even produced by long-time fan Sven Brüx, I guess he has more in common with them than he would like to admit. Both covers full color and awesome, comic on the inside of the the White Flag army attacking TV. Pressing of 1100, all on blue vinyl.
With this installment, #5, we bring you two great German "dark wave" bands. The Merlons of Nehemiah debut on this disc with a nice middle ages sounding track full of nice acoustic sounds and lots of reverbed female vocals. Love Like Blood, already very popular throughout Germany, offer their version of the David Bowie classic. The records themselves are a beautiful red and grey swirled marble vinyl, with black labels and silver printing. Released in January of 1993, in an edition of 2000.
Part six in the series, we like to refer to this one as our "Country Saw-Blade". Patsy Cline is of course the world famous country singer that died in a plane crash in 1963. This is one of her more memorable, upbeat songs. Dr. Herman is known as the mastermind behind The Lassie Singers, and on his side he does a great country version of the prince classic "Kiss". 500 on Yellow vinyl, at least one hundred mispressings do exist in black vinyl. Full color cover on both sides, the Patsy side of which was designed by Joe Newton of Gas Huffer. A limited edition of 25 was made which included an authentic Patsy Cline postage stamp, cancelled by the Musical Tragedies logo!
With this release, DWM enters the world of the saw-blade. Take a listen to this loud bit of noise, probably the most "industrial" piece DWM ever recorded, and try to catch a glimpse of the puzzle as to why these guys have such a breast fetish. CB offers a loud, Zappa-like track, from their CD of the same name. Definitely not for cat-lovers, and made to be played at maximum volume. 500 pressed on multi-colored vinyl, 300 on clear.
Here it is, the saw-blade that no one believed would ever really come out! Yep, this is really Cher, and how we got this fine disco track from her will remain a secret if you don't mind! Features Steve Lukather from Toto on guitar! Kill Sybil, known for their Cher cover versions, was just the right band to cover the same song, but in their own, Kill Sybil sound. This was their last recording together before they split up and The Executioners were formed. 500 on pink vinyl, 300 on clear, Cher cover designed by Gas Huffers Joe Newton.
This release, the ninth in the series, documents the friendship between Nick Saloman (head honcho of Bevis Frond), and local Nürnberg heroes Prime Sinister. What more needs to be said about Bevis Frond that already has not been said?, like how there are about a dozen albums, all of which recommended and often great, and that Bevis Frond live shows are a legend. This short song (very uncharacteristic for B. Frond, but hey, its because of the format, dig?), recorded for this single, is a nice rockin melodic tune with distorted vocals. Prime Sinister, already veterans of MT and including three Doc Wör Mirran members, offers their trademarked style of intelligent, down and out, cry in my beer rock. Full color (to say the least!) cover, great black and white inner sleeve photo of Nick Saloman and Prime Sinister together (the Prime Sinisters have in the past regularly supported Bevis Frond concerts here in Nürnberg). Black and red splattered vinyl on the first pressing of 500, clear vinyl on the second pressing of 300.
The New York scene saw-blade! Los Gusanos is the second band of CJ Ramone, the new bassist of the Ramones after Dee Dee left to start his solo career. This is one rockin, melodic track! Youth Gone Mad are veterans of the east coast punk scene, and offer here another gem in their trademarked brand of hard yet melodic pop punk, which is of course what all the world wants these days. Oh yeah, the cover art logo was designed by Dee Dee Ramone himself. The vinyl is clear with red drips and splotches on the first pressing of 500, clear vinyl on second pressing of 300.
The next installment, number eleven in the series, brings you these two punk classics. Licensed from Posh Boy, these two tracks originally were released by Posh Boy as part of their series of one-sided singles. Two of the earliest LA punk bands, The Adolescents featured Rikk Agnew (who later was in DI, Christian Death and Poop), and the Circle Jerks featured Gret Hetson, (later of Bad Religion). Blue vinyl, in an edition of only 500.
Definitely one of the highlights of our saw-blade series, number twelve in the series. Motorhead offer a live version of the Fast Eddie Clarke penned “Hump On Your Back”, very distorted and unproduced, just how Motorhead should sound! Fast Eddie Clarke, the ex-Motorhead guitarist that played on all their classic albums, offers a remix of “Snakebite”, which originally appeared on his Musical Tragedies debut CD. Great full color cover art by Gas Huffer’s Joe Newton. Released June 10th, 1996 in an edition of 800 copies, all on yellow vinyl.
Alice Cooper offers us here an old live track from the Toronto Rock-n-roll festival from 1969, “Nobody Likes Me” is typical of his later work with lyrics about alienation and rejection. Motorpsycho kicks in on the other side with a great noise rocker from their “Blissard” sessions. Cover art by Frank “Gusti” Meyer. 500 were pressed on red vinyl, 500 on yellow, both with the red cover. 200 on blue vinyl with a blue cover. Also, 200 yellow vinyl uncut misspressings exist with the wrong label on the Alice Cooper side.
Another “industrial” saw-blade, this one representing the Icelandic scene. Hafler Trio, now residing in Iceland, offers this new track exclusively for this release, which is more ambient than their older releases. Stilluppsteypa, natives of Iceland, give us a more experimental track, which by the way was produced by Andrew McKenzie of The Hafler Trio. White vinyl, released on September 20th, 1996 in an edition of 500.
This is the Canadian Hockey Saw-blade! Two hard hitting punk tracks from these Canadian Vancouver veterans. D.O.A. has been around since the late seventies, having released dozens of records, most notably on Alternative Tentacles, as well as several releases on MT. The Hansons Bros. are of course NoMeansNo, who use this name when they do their Ramones sounding songs. White vinyl, 600 pressed.
In cooperation with TUG Records, we are proud to offer a saw-blade with Ace Frehley, a member of what must be the coolest band ever to exist, KISS! This track is taken from the Ace Frehley tribute album that appeared on TUG Records. It is a hard rockin melodic metal number, and a worthy addition to his achievements as a song-writer. Eläkeläiset, from Finnland, also are TUG Records recording artists, and offer us there their own brand of what they term “Humpa”, covering the Kiss classic “I Was Made For Loving You” in a version that has to be heard to be believed! First pressing on red vinyl, in an edition of 500, second pressing of 200 on multi-colored, splatter vinyl.
Here it is, the only indie release Nina Hagen has ever done, and not available on any of Nina Hagen’s normal releases. Yes, this track is that old song made famous by the Monkees, here in a version that only Nina could deliver! Live Action Pussy Show, from Köln, offer us “Dead Cities”, a cover of the classic Exploited song that is only available on this release. Gray vinyl to look like a real metal saw-blade. Edition of 500, another 500 uncut misspressings also exist.
The eighteenth in our series of saw-blade shaped vinyl singles, this one features our local Erlangen heroes !KAAK! along with the one and only Frank Sinatra! And one listen to this single and you will see that they really fit well with each other! !KAAK! kicks in with their version of the old Gershwin classic “Summertime”, and on the flipside ol’ blue eyes gives us a medley of “Summertime”, “It Ain't Necessarily So” and “Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess”. 500 pressed on brown vinyl, so get it while you can!
The nineteenth in the series is a special saw-blade. Not only because it features the great Toten Hosen, but because it is the first in the series that is available not only as a shaped vinyl record, but also as a saw-blade shaped CD, the first of perhaps many. But don’t worry all you vinyl fans out there, we will only do the occasional saw-blade as a CD release. All titles in the series will always be available on vinyl. Musically, we have here the Toten Hosen covering the classic Sham 69 track “If The Kids Are United”, featuring as guest Jimmy Pursey himself. Sham offer you on the other side of this slab"Individual" a non-LP track. White, yellow and black marbled vinyl, the CD features as a bonus track “Blackpool” from the Sham 69 album “The A Files” on our own eMpTy Records. Vinyl limited to 1000 copies.
The “ambient” saw-blade, with Nocturnal Emissions, a regular on the experimental scene for a dozen years now, with a long line of releases on many labels all over the world. Tesendalo, with many fine vinyl releases to their names already, backs them up on the b-side with their trademark brand of ambient soundscape. Cover design by Doc Wör Mirran, printed on rice paper. White, blue and black splattered vinyl, with hand painted labels. Limited to 300 copies.
These two just seemed made for each other! The Brit-pop saw-blade! Captain Sensible everyone knows as the bassist (now guitarist) of one of the worlds most renowned punk bands, The Damned. The Real People are a newer band offering their brand of first rate power pop as only comes out of Britain. Both tracks exclusive for this release, not included on their respective eMpTy albums. Wonderful full color cover art by Klaus Cornfield. Original British postage stamp integrated into the label design! Yellow vinyl, limited to 500 copies.
With number 29, we offer you an exclusive song from none other than the German king of indie rock himself, Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub.This studio recording is only available on this release! On the flip are his pals Speedway 69 with likewise an exlusive studio recording, who themselves have been produced by Phillip Boa for years now. White vinyl, 500 copies.
A taster for his upcoming guitar slinger album "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly"on MT, Sonny Vincent's side of this split saw-blade features his patented detroit rock sound, and homage to his buddy Wayne Kramer. But don't wait around thinking you can just get this song on the full length, because not only is the song exclusive to this release, but it is also very limited! Features none other than Captain Sensible on bass, Scott Asheton on drums, and Rick Ballard and Brian James on guitar. And the other side you ask? Who would be better to split a vinyl single with Sonny Vincent than the master guitar slinger of all time, Jimmy Page! This is an older, very hard to find track Jimmy did with Screaming Lord Sutch on vocals and John Bonham on drums. Hey, this is half of Led Zeppelin! Edition of 500 copies.
As an appetizer for the forthcoming albums by both Zappa and Trubee on Musical Tragedies, we offer this little piece of shaped vinyl plastic, the twentythird in the series. The trademarked Zappa weirdness is already in full bloom on this early track. Trubee offers us a rough mix of one of his newest compositions. 500 on blue vinyl with a blue and black cover, 200 on red with a red and black cover.
Two early tracks from these two stars, from early in their careers. Blondie here offers us "X Offender", a track that also appeared on her first album, and a track that displays perfectly the pop sensibilities that made her such a star. The Bloodless Pharaohs was one of Brian Setzer's first bands, when he was based out of New York and part of the New York music scene in the late seventies that spawned not only Blondie but also Patti Smith, Suicide, and the Ramones, among others. This is a non-LP track that shows Brian Setzer before he started the Stray Cats. The first pressing vinyl version of 500 is half yellow and half red vinyl, the second 500 are half blue and half yellow, split down the middle of each record.
Call this the leather S & M saw-blade if you will, number 22 in the series. The Nuns pioneered the black leather look in the San Francisco punk scene already in the late 1970's and here feature a non-LP track, a slow, moody and melodic tribute to Anita Berger. Die Form come more from the European industrial scene, and are also well known in the fetish scene, here with an exclusive remix. White vinyl. 700 pressed.
The Ramones finally get represented on a saw-blade, and it is about time! Here they offer us one of their early tracks from the mid 1970s that has already got their patented punk and leather sound. The New York Dolls on the flip side give us another of their glitter anthems. The first pressing vinyl version is half blue, half red, split down the middle of each record. The second pressing vinyl is half white, half red, and the third version is half white, half blue. Also, the vinyl and CD covers are slightly different.
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Part twentysix in the series finds two more New York veterans represented, this time Richard Hell and the Voidoids coupled together with Suicide. Suicide offers us a typically minimal, almost new-wavish track, whereas Hell offers us one of his low-fi masterpieces that proves just how much of an influence he has been on the whole northwest garage scene. Vinyl is half grey, half white, split down the middle of each record. 500 pressed.
Installment number twentyseven in our long line of saw-blades, and it is nice seeing Can back on the vinyl format after so many years. They were certainly not the kind of band one usually thinks of as a singles band, so a Can 7" is a real novelty for fans. This is a track from their forthcoming re-released album "Out Of Reach" on Musical Tragedies' sister label Marginal Talent. Sack offers us on the flip side one of his many tributes to Barbie, a low-fi yet melodic love song devoted to the doll. And we don't think anyone will hold it against him for not being able to resist the title of the song! Limited edition of 500 on white, red and black splatter vinyl, and with a special, rice paper cover.
Number 30 in the series of saw-blade shaped records by Musical Tragedies sees none other than Germany's premier streetpunk band the Penetraitors team up with the old-school legends Rat Scabies (The Damned) and Derwood (Generation X) for this split David Bowie tribute single. The Penetraitors offer a blistering version of Bowie's classic Suffragette City, while Der "N Rat offer up Lady Grinning Soul. Both songs are new recordings, exclusive to this release! Red vinyl and a tasteful, full color cover round out this fun release. 500 copies.
Number 32 in the series of saw-blade shaped records by Musical Tragedies pairs the long gone Sid Vicious, notorious bass player of the Sex Pistols together with Knox and The Pisstons on the flip side. Knox is of course the main man in the Vibrators. Sid's track was recorded live in New York shortly before his death. Knox and The Pisstons offer here a new recording, exclusive to this release. Both tracks are cover versions of songs written and made famous by the mighty Ramones. Cover art on both sides by Dee Dee Ramone (including Paul Kostabi of Youth Gone Mad on the Knox and The Pisstons cover). How is that for a cool concept?!? Dark yellow vinyl, limited edition of 500, and co-released with our friends over at Bandworm Records.
It took awhile, but it we finally got our buddies Springtoifel on a sawblade, and it was worth the wait. Pressed on white vinyl, the flip features none other than England's mighty Gonads. Number 31 in the ongoing series, both tracks are exlusive to this release. 500 copies.