Romeo Void - Benefactor
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CD Details
Artist: Romeo VoidEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2006-01-17
Music Label: Wounded Bird Records
Soundtracks:
- Never Say Never
- Wrap It Up
- Flashflood
- Undercover Kept
- Ventilation
- Chinatown
- Orange
- Shake the Hands of Time
- S.O.S.
- Never Say Never [12" Single Version][*]
- In the Dark [12" Single Version][*]
- Present Tense [12" Single Version][*]
- Not Safe [*][Version]
Music reviews of Benefactor
Music Review: Two Great Albums from the Most Memorable American Punk Band of the 80s.
Rating: 5 Stars
A few years ago, I had a craving for the music of my youth and hit the internet in search of Romeo Void's fantastic "Never Say Never" EP, which I hoped to find on CD. No such luck. The only version of the song was on the compilation "Warm in Your Coat", inexplicably minus the opening guitar riff. I no longer have a turntable, so I bought a cassette tape of the EP in desperation. It was as good as I remembered, maybe better. In 2006, Romeo Void's second studio album "Benefactor" was released on CD with the four songs from the "Never Say Never" EP as bonus tracks. What could be better? The "Never Say Never" EP, produced by Rick Ocasek of The Cars in 1981, is superior to the LP that it inspired in 1982, but "Benefactor" is an eclectic album with a lot to like.
Debora Iyall provides the brash, sexy vocals and wrote the lyrics (except for "Wrap It Up"). Peter Woods is on guitar, Benjamin Bossi on saxophone, Frank Zincavage on bass, and Larry Carter, whose only work with Romeo Void was on these two albums, is on drums. "Benefactor", the LP, had 9 tracks, beginning with a shortened version of "Never Say Never" (3:27) with one expletive distorted beyond recognition. The EP version of the song (6:07) is farther down the track list, expletive restored. Debora Ilyall's taunting sexuality and general skepticism are in full, unforgettable force in the song's famous come-on/put-down chorus: "I might like you better if we slept together". "Present Tense" (5:48), also from the EP, is a favorite of mine. It features a particularly seductive combination of insolence and raw poignancy, along with a strong hook.
The other songs from the "Benefactor" LP vary in style but not in punkish attitude that always seems like a dare. "Wrap It Up" is a cover of the Isaac Hayes song, made famous a few years later by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, whose version is completely devoid of emotion. Iyall's rendition conveys a surprising amount of affection, while the lyrics fit her aggressive style. There is the doleful "Flashflood", the techno-influenced "Undercover Kept", which seems to consciously be dance music. "Chinatown" also embraces an upbeat rhythm, but there is no mistaking the defiance in the lyrics. "Shake the Hands of Time" doles out some advice on how to put an old boyfriend behind you: "Take it from me; I do it all the time." And in case you didn't get the message, "Orange" spells it out: "You don't get it? Rain on you." Unfortunately, no lyrics with the CD.
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