Over the Edge (Jackpot Records) LP

Doom Town triumphant! Since Jackpot Records began our Wipers vinyl reissues in 2006, they’ve been inundated with requests for a reissue of Over The Edge. After two years of labor, including an immaculate remaster from the original tapes by Greg Sage, they proudly present Over the Edge, pressed on audiophile grade vinyl and packaged in a deluxe, tip-on sleeve. The bleak, hard-driven third LP by the Wipers (originally released in 1983) offers Greg Sage at his most chased and breathless, lashing out with sharp staccato notes as if melody were his only defense. While their debut LP (Is The Real?) provided the blueprint for grunge, and their second album (Youth of America) recast the band as one of America’s premier post-punk bands, it’s Over The Edge that best exemplifies the Wipers’ sound. The jagged, effortless guitar lines, the paranoid lyrics and raw-throated vocals and the taut, unified rhythms that define their sound bleed together most clearly on this LP, and it stands as both the best entry point for new fans and the most prevalent favorite of diehards. SONGS: Over The Edge Doom Town So Young Messenger Romeo Now Is The Time What Is No One Wants An Alien The Lonely One No Generation Gap This Time "The Wipers' third album, Over the Edge, represents the full blossoming of one of America's greatest bands. Yet strangely enough it is one of the most pessimistic rock albums of the early '80's. Songs about being pushed over the edge, living in a doom town, messengers who always bring bad news, the good dying young, the alien kid always put down by the other kids, lonely people who haven't found a partner. The most famous song, "Romeo", sensationally played and sung by Greg Sage, is a rendering of Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet affair. But here the lovers don't even get to meet each other. When Romeo calls out at night for a Juliet there's no answer. Around the corners there's nothing there. There IS no Juliet. And Sage yells this out not once, but three times. Talk about putting a nihilistic stamp on what is already a tragedy! And yet this is an altogether great album. There's no self-pity in Sage's lyrics--just statements that things are fucked up in this world. And the songs come gloriously exploding out of the grooves in one of the most stunning displays of guitar playing I've ever heard. This music is not easy to pigeonhole and Sage has made a conscious effort in the past to defy audience expectations. He is a great guitarist with a unique sound, combining rock, punk, jazz, psychedelic and a heavy dose of distortion with an aggressive attack to produce some of the most extraordinary music. This influential group has put out a long string of exceptional albums and every one of them is highly recommended. " (Willie Luncheonette)