[The 'Buried Treasure' series is my attempt to uncover some great albums that deserve a larger audience. There's no better way to kick something like this off than with a true lost classic...]
Released in 1975 by Baltimore teenager George Brigman, Jungle Rot was a self-produced slab of molten fuzz that had no chance of gaining an audience before the punk revolution. Brigman is a self-confessed Groundhogs fan, but this buzz saw concerto sounds like it was created by Iggy Pop’s more demented younger brother. “Remember what your father said/When the weather’s hot/Talking about all the young girls/Beware the jungle rot” sings Brigman with an ear-to-ear sneer from beneath an avalanche of distortion.
Predictably, the few hundred copies of the album that Brigman pressed quickly fell through the cracks and were promptly forgotten – until a music collector found a copy at a flea market in Maryland and started making noise about it. Reissued on disc (for the first time) in 2005, this is not only a lost classic, it’s one of the loudest, rawest, and most uncompromisingly great albums of the 70′s.
[It's also worth noting that the clear vinyl reissue of this album is pretty sharp looking and sounds excellent - highly recommended.]
Tags: Buried Treasure, George Brigman, Jungle Rot
10 May 2007 at 6:02 pm |
I agree with you totally. This is a great ‘lost’ classic re-discovered.
The vinyl re-issue is much better than the original. You ought to hear his new cd ‘Rags In Skull’ which was just released. It’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in years. This guy hasn’t changed as far as not compromising a bit. His sound is heavier than ever. He cooks totally !
12 May 2007 at 8:23 pm |
The remastering of Jungle Rot is nothing short of amazing. I was always into local artists and decided to give this guy a try in ’76. Bawlmer had spawned Billie Holiday, The Strawberry Alarm Clock, Rob Fahey so what the heck for $6.99 give Brigman a try. The music was great but the pressing sucked. You knew there was something there but it was kind of like you were listening to it under water. Trying to describe the style was like trying to describe Creole Cooking to someone who had never been to the French Quarter in New Orleans. It’s tastes like a little of this and a little of that but it comes out something quite different. Fast forward 30 years. I was in a local record store looking for some old Jimmy Buffett under the “B’s”. Up popped George Brigman’s, “The Antz Are Dancin’” on Bonifide Records. They had a web site so I looked them up. On it I found that “Jungle Rot” had be remastered on Andolphes (sp?). O.K. this time around it would cost $17 with shipping. Maybe the promise of the 70′s could be realized. Oh man was it ever. The song “DMT” took you on a trip you didn’t want to be on. I heard this described as “white boy blues” but it is so much more. You can hear free samples if you Google his name and you can find out what I’m talking about. You won’t be dissappointed !!!
23 May 2007 at 7:02 pm |
I, too, was floored when I first heard Jungle Rot over 25 years ago. Soon I wound up managing him, and though hes had more than his share of bad luck, we finally got his new CD out, the culmination of many years work. Rags in Skull is every bit as savage and reaffirms his status as a great one. Drop me a line if youd like to hear it. Thanks for your kind words and check out the vintage brigman video on you tube as well!
15 July 2007 at 8:19 am |
I discoverd George Brigman’s Jungle Rot album in 1997. I luckily found a still sealed original copy for one dollar at a local flea market. I have a taste for rock that is raw around the edges, and I’m also a home recording enthusiast, so this album quickly found a place in my heart. I was so impressed, I hunted George down, and we began colaborating; the result is Rags In Skull, his first album of all new material in twenty plus years.