Static Age

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Static Age

Studio album by The Misfits
Released	July 15 1997
Recorded	January-February 1978
Genre	Punk
Label	Caroline Records
Producer(s)	Tom Bejgrowicz and Dave Achelis
All Music Guide link
The Misfits chronology
American Psycho (1997)	Static Age (1997)	Dig Up Her Bones (1997)

This article is about the album by The Misfits. For the band, see The Static Age.

Static Age is an album by the American punk rock band The Misfits. It was recorded in 1978 but was not released in its entirety until 1997.

1 History
2 Track listing
3 Credits
4 Trivia
5 Sources cited

[edit] History

In August of 1977, The Misfits released their debut single "Cough/Cool". It was released on their own Blank Records, and limited to a small pressing of 500 copies.

A short time later, Mercury Records issued a Pere Ubu record on their new label Blank Records, unaware that the Misfits already had legal right to the name. To prevent a lawsuit, the Misfits were given 30 hours of studio time in return for surrendering rights to the Blank name. Although they were very limited in terms of time, The Misfits were extremely efficient, recording 17 songs and mixing 14 for release.

These sessions became known as the "Static Age" sessions, after the aborted album that would not see release for almost two decades. Static Age was shelved due to lack of major label interest, which is seen as ironic by Misfits fans given the enormous world-wide infuence The Misfits have had on punk and metal music.

Although not released as a whole until 1997, all of the songs but one were released over the years on a variety of different singles and compilation albums. Further complicating the history of these songs is the fact that vocalist Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only have each produced vastly different mixes of the songs. The Misfits recorded Static Age at C.I. Recording, Inc. in New York City in January of 1978, and mixed the album in February. Two copies of the mixdown tape were given to Glenn Danzig and Franché Coma, the Misfits' guitarist. Glenn's copy was used to produce the mixes of the Static Age songs later found on Legacy of Brutality and Collection II, and Franché Coma's tape was used to produce the Misfits Box Set's fourth CD and the Static Age 1997 release. Any differences in sound (aside from the obvious remixing) are due to the different storage methods the two used.

The first release to feature Static Age songs was The Misftis' second 7", the Bullet EP. It featured four standout tracks: "Bullet", "We Are 138", "Attitude", and "Hollywood Babylon".

Franché Coma and drummer Mr. Jim left The Misfits at the end of 1978, to be replaced by Bobby Steele and Joey Image. This change in line-up, combined with the ever-prolific Danzig's focus on new material, insured that the Static Age tracks would be left to gather dust. With one very important exception, none of the remaining songs from this album would see release in the band's lifetime.

This exception, "Last Caress", probably single-handedly rescued The Misfits from obscurity. Released on the Beware 12", a compilation of the Bullet EP and the Horror Business EP (with "Last Caress" replacing "Children In Heat", a move Bobby Steele alleges he suggested), the song is a stunning mix of 50s rock melodies and 1970s punk nihilism. The Beware EP was timed to support The Misfits on their ill-fated UK tour supporting The Damned, but by the time it was released the Misfits had already lost their drummer and returned home in defeat. Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding its genesis, the Beware EP went on to become one of the most sought-after punk records of all time, based on the strength and quality of its seven tracks (five of them from the Static Age album) and its rarity/obscurity.

The Misfits enjoyed none of the fame their records eventually earned them during the band's lifetime. They broke up in 1983, and Glenn Danzig continued releasing Misfits material periodically without the input of the other members. The first post-Misfts release (aside from Die, Die My Darling, which was new material) of previously unreleased songs was Legacy of Brutality (1986), which contained nine more songs from the Static Age sessions.

"Static Age", "TV Casualty", "Hybrid Moments", "Come Back", "Some Kinda Hate", "Theme For A Jackal" and "Angelfuck" were all taken from what would have been the Static Age LP. "She" and "Spinal Remains" were outtakes, recorded at the same time but not intended for the album.

While the songs revealed an interesting glimpse of the band's origins, far removed from the hardcore band they evolved into, the clumsy mixing dampened the full impact. Danzig's voice is buried in the drum-heavy, reverb-drenched mix, although, curiously, "She" sounds flawless. Several songs, including "She", were remixed in preparation for the Beware EP, and perhaps this mix is taken from that mini-session.

The following year, Danzig released Misfits, or Collection I as it is known among fans. It featured three previously released Static Age songs, "She", "Hollywood Babylon", and "Bullet". Interestingly, Collection I's track order follows the chronological order its songs had originally been released in, although many of this albums' tracks were alternate versions of the released songs, recorded either before or after the "officially released" versions. "Bullet" and "Hollywood Babylon" feature in their original Bullet 7" mix, much different from the Legacy song mixes, and "She" sounds similar.

The flow of new Misfits releases trickled to a halt until the Misfits Box Set was released in 1996. Every Misfits release except Walk Among Us was compiled within, along with many unreleased alternate versions. The prize of the box, however, was surely the Static Age CD, newly remixed and complete in its original running order. With its early, original version of "Teenagers From Mars" included, all the Static Age songs had finally seen official release.

Because of legal wrangling between members, Danzig's then-recently released Collection II was included, as well as the much older Legacy of Brutality and Collection I. Strangely, while all of Legacy's Static Age tracks are included, one of the three Static Age songs included on Collection I is missing, as are all four of Collection II's contributions.

The songs of Static Age represent a surprisingly large fraction of the Box Set's material. Out of over a hundred songs, 25 are taken from the Static Age sessions (counting multiple mixes of certain songs). With this abundance of material, fans could compare Danzig's previous mixes of the released Static Age material alongside Jerry Only's approved (and bass-heavy) version of the album. While the Collection I tracks and the missing Collection II songs ("We Are 138", "Attitude", "Last Caress", and "Return of the Fly",) fare well, the Legacy of Brutality mixes fall flat against the new remixes.

The Static Age disc, featuring intro and outro static noise, is truly a revelation. If released in early 1978 on a major label, it is possible that the Misfits might have joined the frontrunners of the punk movement, instead of being resigned to cult band status. While songs such as "We Are 138" and "Bullet" feature fast Ramones-ish power-chord downstroking, other songs such as "Come Back" and "Some Kind of Hate" recall the best of 50's rock and roll. Danzig's versatile voice compares favorably to Roy Orbison, Elvis, and Jim Morrison, and his economic, melodic songs stood out over most of his hardcore/punk contemporaries'. While Jerry Only's bass features prominently, compared to earlier released versions, the other instruments and, most importantly, Danzig's voice, sound crystal clear and never overpower each other.

In 1997 Static Age was released as its own CD, and contained a priceless incentive for fans who already owned the Box Set: a previously unheard, unknown Misfits song. Unlike other Static Age songs, "In The Doorway" has never been bootlegged, because it remained on the unmixed 2-inch reel and was never distributed in playable form. The always budget-conscious Misfits would have had to hire additional studio time to mix and splice together the various tapes and aspects of the song, and never got around to it during the original band's lifetime. Also contained as bonus tracks were "She" and "Spinal Remains", outtakes mixed to sound similar to Static Age, but left off the Box Set disc in this form. As an additional treat, a lengthy collage of studio banter was also included as a hidden track, comprised of unused/alternate takes and a longer sound clip of the random television chatter used for the "TV Casualty" outro.

With this final CD release, the nineteen-year odyssey of Static Age from recording to eventual release came to an end.