MP3 The Bags - Night of the Corn People

72 minutes of ripsnorting rock and beautiful noise, this newly remastered edition of The Bagsâ âfinalâ CD sounds bigger and better than ever.

21 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Hard Rock, ROCK: Punk



Details:
Originally released by Stanton Park Records just prior to the bandâs extended 12 year vacation, Night of the Corn People was described at the time as "a feast of a set which contains enough hardcore guitar overkill to satisfy most heavy guitar rock fans, enough strange poetic weirdness and odd signatures to have children of the psychedelic revolution revolving in their jelly baths, and just enough rock-operatic genius to satisfy the self-seeking progressive lovers of âseriousâ rock & roll" (Phil McMullen, Ptolemaic Terrascope, April 1992).

This reissue includes bonus tracks and a 12-page booklet featuring old and new cover art, liner notes, lyrics and photos.

More press from 1992:

"No-one worships the god-like riff like Bostonâs Bags. Theirs, as in "Amsterdamned," is the neo 70âs riff that conclusively proves that Jimmy Page is deadâ¦They are so tight they shit diamonds" (Gecko, Hartbeat #14).

"Itâs simply a fun, fun, fun record. Itâs got oodles of grungy guitar, some ripping solos, rollicking drum beats and dizzying tempo changes, cool lyrics, and even a mini-opera entitled "Waiting for Maloney," which sounds like The Dead Milkmen doing "A Quick One" on the fourth side of the "White Album" (Michael Jordan, The Noise #115).

"Like all of their other stuff itâs fast, loud and a shitload of fun. Punk, pop, garunge and even a bit of metal are all tossed together with some biting lyrics to create that unique sound of The Bags. Once youâve heard them, itâs hard not to recognize this band upon the next listen" (What Wave #21).

"Itâs prime Bags at their very most powerful, and when theyâre in that kind of mood, with the vocals bashing out rasps that sound like terrapins in a miked-up muesli grinder and the guitars switching between early Blue Cheer sonic thuds and way overblown laser-beam solos, there ainât a band still around to touch them" (Phil McMullen, Ptolemaic Terrasope V3#2).

âThe Bags have called it quits, but not without leaving us almost a double albumâs worth of their grungy, hard-rocking best. Night of the Corn People is a perfect swan song because it fuses the best elements of The Bags sound â from the metallic punk of 1987âs Rock Starve to the power-trio jamming of 1990âs The Bags, with a stop along the way (after winning the 1989 Rumble) to indulge their experimental alter egos on Swamp Oaf (all available on Stanton Park Records, except for Rock Starve on Restless). Their lack of commercial success is probably due in part to the musical experiments and the sometimes morbid, sometimes bizarre sense of humor that make this final disc so entertaining.

âThe Bags have always had the feel of a true garage band in the very best sense of the word: they sound as if theyâd grown up together, listening to the same records and one another for so many hours on end that every move becomes instinctive. The sources might be elemental â the Stooges, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Sex Pistols â but you canât be taught to play together the way The Bags did, fusing hard rock, heavy metal, and punk into music that leans toward the dark, sometimes paranoid sensibility of the Stooges (âNaked Ladyâ could be Iggy circa Lust for Life) and Motorhead (âI Smell a Ratâ). For the most part the Bags stake out their own territory with songs like âThe Moleâ (a Kafka-esque tale of a man turning into a mole) and five tunes that deal directly with the subject of death, including âCovered Up,â which puts an unusual spin on the subject with an infectiously hooky vocal harmony by bassist Jon Hardy and guitarist Crispin Wood.

âHardy and drummer Jim Janota have developed into an intuitive and powerful rhythm section, which gives guitarist Crispin Wood a solid and tension-filled foundation for rhythm/lead playing. Woodâs trademarks are his wah-wah-drenched frantic speed runs and over-bent string solos that punctuate his churning rhythm playing and are particularly effective here on the bitter âWhoâs Laughing Now.â He also pulls off a great distortion-laden, meandering, Neil Young-style solo on âMovinâ to the Country.â

âIt isnât until the end of the disc that the Bags indulge their mastery in the art of self-conscious imitation and parody. âL. Frank Baumâ (previously released as a single) is the cleverest swipe at Tolkien-esque narrative heavy metal since Spinal Tapâs âStonehenge.â The Bags actually one-up Spinal Tap by playing this metallic version of The Wizard of Oz with impressively precise technical proficiency, including thunderous double kick drums, a well executed Van Halen guitar lead, and some truly beautiful screaming falsetto vocals. It almost makes you think these guys could make a living as a cheesy heavy-metal band, though they would need new haircuts.

âThe 22-minute ârock operaâ âWaiting for Maloneyâ goes even further into the land of parody, bringing back a more focused taste of what the Bags were up to in their Swamp Oaf incarnation. This seven-part song cycle is the story of a band waiting for their leader Maloney (who might be related to Billy Shears of Beatles fame) to show up for a jam session. When you consider the title, it starts to look like a hybrid of Beckettâs Waiting for Godot and Malone Dies.â (Matt Ashare, Boston Phoenix, 1/10/92).