V/A - Digging in Water LP 

Label: Manic Ears Records/COR Records; Year: 1987; Format: Vinyl LP

My previous entry to this blog having reviewed Bob Suren's book made me think that there were a number of records back in the '80s that I used to spin over and over. A lot of them were Compilations as they were easily available and for a youngster with a limited budget they offered value for money. Digging in Water from 1987 is one of those LPs I dearly loved to bits and tonight was the first time in a long time I put this record on while enjoying a trip down memory lane. The A Side is the noisier and faster side of the two with great tracks my the likes of Chaos U.K., Concrete Sox, Extreme Noise Terror or Ripcord to name a few. Only Italy's CCM and Aussies Vicious Circle are not from the UK on this Comp. but they both deliver really strong songs with CCM's Ultracore one of the best in my opinion. Side B offers more variety and isn't as full on Stenchcore as the other side. One of the best songs on the entire record is Civilized Society's "The Fairer Sex", a superb melodic yet forward driving song. Also great are Depraved or the far lesser known Eyes on You, of which song I probably didn't enjoy as much back then as it's got almost a post-punk feel to it but being in my 50's now I thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe the best song is Oi Polloi's "Pigs For Slaughter". This was their best phase if I dare to say with a brutal and loud bass sound making those songs instant pogo smashers. One little anecdote about ENT's fantastic contribution with the song "Bullshit Propaganda". Their sadly deceased shouter Phil (RIP) lived in Switzerland for a number of years, the country where I also lived for the most part of my life. Phil worked at Rec Rec Distribution in the Drum'N'Bass department as he was knowledgeable in that genre. A close punk friend of mine worked there as well and told me about Phil as he knew I liked ENT. One evening at a show I was drunk out of my mind and Phil was in the attendance. My friend introduced me to him and all I was capable of that night was shouting "Bullshit Propaganda!!!!!" all night at poor ole' Phil. A week or so later my friend told me that Phil asked him who his weird and crazy friend was. After Phil had relocated back to the UK and I myself moved to London Phil was nice enough to invite me to their shows when they were in London and I will always remember him as a funny and bright guy who I am sure is missed by many.