AL-008/VS 32: Punish Me b/w Mario The Cop 7"

The one and only single off of the Blank, Blackout, Vacant LP, featuring PI's ode to sexual domination backed with PI's other ode to sexual domination. The A-side appears to be the same as the LP version, and the B-side, "Mario The Cop", is unreleased elsewhere. USA and UK versions exist as well as a UK 12" that includes a third track "Endless Sleep" (I'll post this record some other time). Check the video for "Punish Me" if you get bored.

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USA PRESS - AMERICAN LEATHER RECORDS 1991

TEST PRESS - unknown amount

No known sleeve.

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FIRST PRESS - 3000 copies

According to the official discography, 1000 were pressed on solid pink and 2000 were pressed on black. Sleeve is a foldover with no border, and the pink copies are signed on the inside of the sleeve by all members of the band. Some copies are also signed by cover artist Chris Warner.

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UK PRESS - VINYL SOLUTION RECORDS 1991

TEST PRESS - unknown amount
Need a copy of this if it's out there (a scan would be cool too).

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FIRST PRESS - 2200 copies

All copies are color vinyl, with some on clear pink/purple (top), and some on solid pink/purple (bottom). Color breakdown is unknown. It was hard to get a good scan but the clear copy only has a very slight pink tint to it and is almost completely clear. Sleeve is a glued pocket with a thin border around the edge.

FK-001: Filthkick 7"

The first and only release on the band's own Shitfool label, done themselves as they were "tired of being fucked over by bullshit labels" who I can only assume were Pusmort and/or Alchemy Records. IMO this is the peak of their mid period metallic output, everything is just spot on — the riffs, the production, the vocals — it's all perfect. And like Getting The Fear, I love the built-in collector's item aspect of releases like this.

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TEST PRESS - ??? copies

One of the few PI tests that has eluded me over the years, I'm still looking for this one if anyone out there is holding (a scan would be cool too).

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FIRST PRESS - 2000 black vinyl

Most all copies are numbered on the back cover in black marker, presumably in Pig's handwriting. Some oddball sleeve variants exist, including a very small amount color paper covers (see below) and an unknown amount of unnumbered copies (2nd back sleeve pic below). I also have an unnumbered copy with a xerox sleeve which I was told was original by the person who previously owned it, and the quality of the print is equal to the original printed sleeve, so it seems plausible. Additionally, some copies came with a 7"x7" offset printed crack-n-peel sticker of the cover art.

UNNUMBERED BACK COVER

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COLOR PAPER COVERS

Apparently these were run off by the printer just for the hell of it, and were not officially ordered when the covers were made. Malcolm from Fatal Erection told me that there are no more than 4 copies each of three different colors — red (which is more of a hot pink), blue and light green — with his best recollection being 4 each of the red and blue, and 3 of the green. I'm still on the hunt for a green copy, or even a scan if anyone out there has it. My red/pink copy came in a plastic baggie with "one of 25" written on it, I'm now sure who wrote that though. I got it from a friend who used to trade records with Pig.

AL-006/VS 29: Official Bootleg 2x7"

In response to the crummy Plastic Bomb bootleg 7" from my previous post, the band pressed up this "official bootleg" — two songs from the Plastic Bomb cassingle doubled up with a second 7" of covers (Jimmy Cliff and Lloyd Price) — and released it on American Leather with Vinyl Solution (UK) running the distribution. While "The Harder They Come" is actually one of my favorite covers they do, let's not forget the main attraction on this record which is the absolutely scorching alternate version of "Plastic Bomb". Why they chose to release this version as a cassette single and not on Feel The Darkness is a real head scratcher, but either way I'm glad this record exists. My head still spins every time that Maiden-style harmonized guitar lead kicks in after the second chorus.

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TEST PRESS - ??? copies

Not sure how many of these are made but there must be a ton, I've seen a LOT of these for sale on ebay over the years (and they tend to sell really cheap). Some come with a white paper folded sleeve, but the majority I've seen sold were sleeveless. I'm guessing they were used for promo like most Vinyl Solution releases.

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FIRST PRESS - ??? copies

Not sure how many of these are made either, as there's no amount listed in the discography on the Pajama Party insert. Cool gatefold sleeve, the inside live photo has so much ridiculous stuff going on it's not even funny.

Bootsville...

Couple o' bootlegs from the early '90s, showcasing the high and low points of the world famous German bootleg industry...

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KEEP WARM BURN OUT THE RICH 7"
600 white vinyl

Cool live bootleg with material recorded in Germany on their '91 Euro tour. Presumably all copies are on white vinyl, and all copies are numbered in pen on the top right corner of the back cover. Excellent 3-panel fold-out sleeve with a band interview (printed in German, unfortunately), lyrics and some humorous liner notes. Sound quality is great considering the sides are both very long for a 7" (close to 8 mins each) — but overall this is a very high quality affair for a bootleg, and definitely worth seeking out.

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PLASTIC BOMB b/w WE GOT THE BEAT 7"
500 black vinyl

Not-so-cool ca$h-in bootleg containing both songs from the Plastic Bomb promo cassette, taken directly from the tape and coming complete with crappy dot-matrix cover art. Sometimes I think it's funny/cool when bootleggers beat the bands to the punch and get records out before the official versions, but this thing is just a lame attempt at easy money. For obsessive competists only — save your money for the Official Bootleg double 7" (or the original cassette).

10-8-83 Seattle show flyer

Cool flyer for the record release show for the Accused/Rejectors split LP. Offset printed in blue ink on the back of a chunk of a larger poster for a property management company... whoever made these must have worked in a print shop. Original art by Ernst Fuchs, titled "Lucretia Restrained".

(click to see bigger)

SP 86: Taken By Surprise 7"

PI's entry for the Sub Pop singles club for the month of November, 1990. The fourth of five singles from the Feel The Darkness session, the A-side is the same as the LP version and the B-side is the same as the Plastic Bomb cassingle and the Official Bootleg 2x7".

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TEST PRESS - ??? copies

No known sleeve. B-side label has "SP 86" written in black felt tip marker.

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FIRST PRESS - 4500 copies

Sub Pop official discography states 3000 green vinyl and 1500 black vinyl (back cover says (EDITION OF 4,500), while PI's discography (from Pajama Party LP insert) incorrectly lists 4700 black and 300 green.

FE 5: Drinking Is Great 7" compilation

Classic Portland compilation and the 5th release on Fatal Erection from 1985. One song each from PI, Lockjaw, E-13 and Final Warning. "Laughing Boy" is one of my all time favorite PI tracks, and can be found tacked onto the various reissues of Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes. The other three bands all have great records of their own — two 7"s from Lockjaw (skinhead hc a-la Agnostic Front, collected on CD along with an unreleased LP), two 7"s from E-13 (snotty hc) and one 7" from Final Warning (wayyy underrated Discharge style hc) — search them out, you won't be disappointed.

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TEST PRESS - ??? copies

Two variations of the test press exist — some with silver labels and some with yellow labels — but the FE overlords say they were pressed at the same time and there are equal amounts of both. My yellow label copy came with the first press tan sleeve, but other copies I have seen were sleeveless.

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FIRST PRESS - 1000 black vinyl

Tan foldover sleeve printed on card stock, with legal size (8,5"x14") glossy insert. No known variations. Classic cover art by Buns, who did a lot of PI's early artwork.

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SECOND PRESS - 500 yellow vinyl

Thin white paper folded sleeve has "goes GolD 1 of 500" added under the title, in what appears to be Pig's handwriting. Insert is identical to the first press.

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RR-001: Getting The Fear 12"

To plagiarize my own writing: in my opinion, this 12" is the ultimate Poison Idea collectible — an exclusive 2-song, limited edition, colored vinyl 12″, available only through mail order — true collector scum status right from the get go. Not to mention the songs a total rippers!

Apparently PI were fed up with other labels (presumably Pusmort and/or Alchemy) so they took things into their own hands and self-released the Filthkick 7" (July, 1988) and this 12" (early 1989), and then took matters even further and started their own label (American Leather) a few months later. This 12" was released by the band in conjunction with a local record store in Portland, and comes in many flavors. Read on...

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REJECTED TEST PRESS - 6(?) copies

Matrix number RR-001. No sleeve issued, though some copies came with an 8.5"x11" reproduction of the label art. I can't say the 6 copies thing is 100% certain, as I heard it second hand from someone who got their copy from Pig back in the day, but the guy sounded legit so I'll take his word for it. For what it's worth, I've seen at least 3 copies. Not sure why this one was rejected, as it sounds identical to the re-cut. Label is hand written "Poison Idea test press".

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APPROVED TEST PRESS - 6(?) copies

Matrix number RR-001 Re-1. No sleeve issued, though some copies came with an 8.5"x11" reproduction of the label art.

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FIRST PRESS - 1000 copies

PI's official discography states "900 red & white splattered and 100 multicolor splattered", and I've seen people go as far as trying to break down the multicolor copies into more specific color combos — one ebay listing said "About 20 were pressed on Blue & White, 20 Red White & Blue, and 20 marbled, all the rest were White with Red splatters". So where does that leave the other 40 multicolor copies? I can't say for sure how many there are of each, but the multicolor copies are definitely rare, and some colors seem particularly rarer than others.

In general, these were issued in clear picture disc jackets with a 24"x36" poster and a xerox-copied green obi strip that's about 14"x2" and folds around the record (a word to the wise if you own this record — store the obi outside of the plastic jacket, as the copy toner on the obi will stick to the inside of the jacket and then stick to the vinyl). I've seen copies without the obi strips that were obtained straight from the band, so it's possible they either had some overrun on the 1000 copies, or they gave some out before the obi's were made. The obi's are numbered, though the numbers do not correlate to the color variants as far as I can tell (ie, the rare variants are not always #'d under 100).

"STANDARD" VERSION - white vinyl with red/pink splatters - 900 made

OBI STRIP


POSTER

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MULTICOLOR VARIANT COPIES

Red/white splatter with tiny blue spot (around 10 o'clock on the outside edge) - insignificant but interesting

Red/white/blue splatter - these appear to be the most common of the multicolors

Blue/white splatter - seems to be rarer than red/white/blue copies

Solid purple with red/blue splatters - I've only ever seen three of these and they all came from the Rockport Records guy, so presumably not too many made it out. Second copy shown here is #1/1000.

Solid green with red splatters - this is the only copy I've ever seen, or that anyone in the know has heard of existing. Came directly from the Rockport guy, #7/1000.

RR-42568: Accused/Rejectors split 12"

OK, so it's not a Poison Idea record, but I thought it would be cool to include this here since it was originally slated to be Fatal Erection #1. Malcolm still ended up putting it out, but I'm not sure why there's no label name on the record. This is the first release for the Accused, before they had Blaine Cook singing in the band. No metal influences yet, just pretty straightforward meat 'n potatoes '83 hardcore. I actually prefer the Rejectors side, which is not much different to the Accused, but packs more of a punch. Check out their Thoughts Of War 7" if you haven't already.

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TEST PRESS - unknown amount

Plain white labels and generic sleeve. I got this out of the collection of Ruth Schwartz of Maximumrocknroll/Mordam fame when she sold everything off a few years back. Included with the record was a hand written letter/promo sheet from Malcolm, pictured below (side note: when was the last time an LP was $3.50 wholesale??). Based on the letter, there have to be at least 3 copies of this record, since he mentions two being sent to Ruth and I can safely assume he kept at least one for his personal stash.

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FIRST PRESS - 1000 black vinyl

Nothing too exciting to report here. There's no info on the jacket, though there's a 2-sided insert with one side for each band. Sleeve opens at the top for some reason.