Before the whole so-called 'grunge' scene started and the return of the
'rat' pedal, Greg Sage and The Wipers
had been making music like this for years. Whilst bands such as the
Pixies and Husker Du got name checked by a lot of musicians, The
Wipers have been pretty much overlooked by most.
This record from 1979, their
debut album, is probably the most famous due to Nirvana covering a couple of the
songs, namely: Return of the Rat (the standout track) and D7
(check out the front cover of the 'Lithium' single, Kurt's painting
of 'ghostly image of fear').
'Is This Real?' is as fine a slice of punk rock as you're likely to
hear by anyone. Greg Sage's vocals may be a tad unrefined but it really does suit the
music, a mix of punk rock with pop sensibilities; they embrace tunes
with melody. You can see why Kurt Cobain was such a fan and you can
hear the influence in Nirvana's songs. Nearly every song on this album is a classic, the
others are just
merely good. What more of a recommendation do you need?
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Gold)
Reviewed by David Majors
Before the whole so-called 'grunge' scene started and the return of the
'rat' pedal, Greg Sage and The Wipers 