But Greater Hits Volume Two: The Mutt´s Nuts has ´´raised the bar´´ even higher, with twenty brilliant songs that combine Oi, Ska and pure punk aggression with the band´s trademark passion and humour. The album kicks off with the old crowd-pleaser ´Go Mad With The Gonads´ first played in Charlton in 1977. Other golden oldies include the classic ´The Joys of Oi´ with its great sing-along chorus, the angry stomp of ´Rob A Bank´ which hits like an armed heist, and ´Oi Nutter´ - a shit-kicking version of the band´s 1997 come-back single. We also get the full, extended version of ´Oily Rag´ which urges smokers to ´´storm the pubs and light your fags´´, and the mighty ´Conquest´ with its lyrics inspired by the Lord Of The Rings; Steve Whale guests on lead guitar. The hardest hitting tracks are the anthemic ´England In My Blood´, a heart-felt plea to fight for lost democratic rights and civil liberties, and the dark and dangerous ´These Are Our Streets´ - a hardcore inferno about people power. There are surprises too. ´Skinhead Girl´ sounds like AC/DC in Doctor Marten boots, while ´Beki Bondage Please´ was first played live in Leeds as ´Rebecca Pollard Please´ by the Unidentified Cockney Gonads, a one-off line-up of the band featuring Gal, Mickey Geggus from the Cockney Rejects and rock legend Pete Way. This album is packed with gems!
My favourite is the new version of ´Sandra Bigg (Really Big)´, a song from the Nads´ first ep, Pure Punk For Row People, which now includes Sandra´s response. ´Got Any Wrigleys John´ was on that first ep as well, but it didn´t sound as powerful then as it does now. Everyone loved ´Oi Mate´ from Volume One, and Volume Two brings us more infectious Ska songs - ´Lotto´, about winning the Lottery, ´Getting Pissed´ (cheers!) and ´Stop That Drumming´ which features the ravishing Wattsie Watts playing a nagging wife (something she does too well!). The band calls these songs ´´Oi-Tone, the place where Oi and Ska collide after 18 pints and a vindaloo.´´ Guest singers include the blues rock veteran Fin Muir from Waysted on ´Lager Top Blues´, Leah McCaffrey who belts out ´She Can´t Whip Me´ and old Gonads vocalist Annie Auldiron who returns after thirty years to sing ´I Don´t Wanna´ a duet with teenage fan Kamber Wells. ´Karl Marx Supported Millwall´ is another of Gal´s hilariously unlikely historical revelations, while ´Haemorrhoid´ pays homage to the late great Phil Lynott. And that´s it, 20 monster Gonads songs that deliver everything you want from this veteran Oi band. They are still having a laugh and a say after 35 years, and yet they still sound fresh. They have the energy of a thousand milkmen and clearly enjoy every minute. How on earth will they ever top this?
Garry Johnson, 2012
1) Go Mad with the Gonads 1:42
2) Rob a Bank2:36
3) England in our blood 3:28
4) Oi Nutter 1.56
5) Sandra Bigg 1:55
6) Lotto 3:03
7) Oily Rag2:43
8) Beki Bondage please 2:30
9) She cant whip me 1:46
10) Karl Marx supported Millwall 1:39
11) These are our Streets 2:22
12) Got any Wrigleys 1.14
13) getting pissed 2:57
14) conquest 3:30
15) The Joys of Oi! 3:51
16) Lager Top Blues 0:47
17) Skinhead girl 2:12
18) I dont Wanna 0:51
19) Haemorrhoid 1:48
20) Stop that Druming 1.48