The Comedy of Errors: Action Swingers/Loudspeaker [Peel Sessions] (8 May 1992)

Anyone tuning into the John Peel Show on 8/5/92 hoping for subtlety from that night’s Peel Sessions was in for a shock.  The eight tracks from New York based Action Swingers and Loudspeaker were pure, in the red, ear-splitting, rock ‘n’ roll.

Out of the two sessions, I give Action Swingers the split decision in terms of which is best for consistency.  Their Stooges influenced racket flies by in under 9 minutes and includes one of the great  under-rated 90s rock songs, the silly but weirdly sexy Hot Rock Action as well as a a cover of The Germs’ track, Lexicon Devil.  Peel mentions a degree of confusion over which bassists are playing on the session, as he has been given two names.  This may have been a result of line-up changes that the band went through in late 1991/early 1992 as well as a reflection of an open door policy within Action Swingers which saw them supplemented by a number of guests throughout the 1990s.

Loudspeaker’s session was a repeat of the performance first broadcast on 22/2/92, Their sound is a little more nuanced than Action Swingers - a fusion of the Stooges, the vocal theatrics of Death Metal  though Matt Boruso’s vocals are much easier to hear and the funk/groove of Red Hot Chili Peppers.  They also provide what I regard as the best track across both sessions, the fantastic Stripmind (starts at 7:36) which will have you air-thrashing so hard your rings will fly off your fingers.  Peel’s chortling before It Wasn’t Me is due to him playing the recording he was sent of a sound-a-like announcer at Birmingham New Street Station by Radio 4 presenter, Libby Fawbert.

Videos courtesy of Webbie - special thanks to them for uploading the Loudspeaker session on request.