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MERŤÁK | 2007-05-06 >>>
 PLEXIS "Půlnoční
rebel"
LP (1990 Monitor)
Punk rock made in Plexis
It was on 1. October 1988
that drunken Petr Hošek and Adolf Vitáček agreed on renewing Plexis.
It worked and Plexis started to play gigs. Lineup: Hošek - vocal,
Vitáček - drums, Brož - bass and a brand new member Johny Chaos -
guitar. Everything works so it came natural that in 1990 they take to
studio to put together their debut "Půlnoční rebel" ("Midnight
rebel").
The cover shows four guys in leather jackets, simple, consisting of
two snaps of the band and the classic Plexis logo. It looks original
to have the Czech song titles followed by English translation. And by
the way, do read the thanks list at the bottom of the reverse.
Now music. Plexis changed a lot since their renewal. It was a
different kind of punk rock from before - generally the record is
listed in the street rock genre. Well, it's upon each of you to judge
this, I don't care. Part of the big change was due to new man in the
lineup Honza Jukl aka Johny Chaos (ex-P.S. and Suicidal Commando) on
guitar: fast and thick riffing with the guitar sounding almost metal (check
"Televize", "Punk a pláč"). And one more update Petr Hošek is only a
singer here, putting guitar aside, taking up bass only later.
The LP was recorded in then famous C studio in Ostrava, produced by
Miloš Dodo Doležal, which was by all means a good decision for an
excellent producer.
The record contains fast tracks ("Represe" or "Televize"), as well as
slowing down at places ("Promiň") and the legendary cover from Ramones
"Svět jsou bary" („Pet Cemetary"), probably the most famous and most
demanded song by Plexis. There are rumours that when Plexis supported
Ramones on their Czech show in 1994, the Ramones members stood on the
side of the stage shouting during the song... There are also melodic
songs in mid tempo that are so typical of Plexis ("Je to hra", "Ona
neví o co jde", "Půlnoční rebel"). I'm just sorry for the underrated
song "Take it easy", which is so cool but not played live by the band.
Some of the lyrics look naive („skin or punkrocker, don’t fight, lay
aside your aggression and put on a smile“). Usually there are typical
Hošek’s treatment of real life situations. Plexis have never been too
political, rather you get TV maniacs, a guy who’s left with punk and
sorrow, women...
It’s not often the case the a record doesn’t have a weak point. In
this case it can be the song "Nephilim" (on B side). Not fit on the
record in my opinion with awful words. Luckily it’s short. On the
other hand, I miss the songs "Mrož" or "Hospoda U Zpěvců" from the
legendary demo anno 1989, although the latter reappeared in much
altered version on the album "Už mi to kroutí nohy" entitled "Calambre".
I can conclude that the debut Plexis came out very good and were it
not for this record, many punx aren’t punx. The LP rates among the
best in my collection, simply a fucking mayhem! |
