Gimme Some Head / Dead Or Alive
Label: Orange Records (ORA-69 • 107077)
Recorded: September 1980 & May 1981, NCS Studio - Auburn, N.H., and Dreamland Recording Studios - New York City
Released: September 1981 (matrix indicates July 1981 pressing)
Lineup: GG Allin (vocals, drums), Alan Chapple (bass), Rob Basso (guitar), John Fortin (guitar), Wayne Kramer (lead guitar, backup vocals on "Gimme")
Insert specific to Rhode Island record stores
Another insert variationThrough David Peel’s matchmaking, GG’s next outing featured two big names: the MC5’s Wayne Kramer on guitar and Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson on drums (credited as the MC2 on the record label). GG must’ve been pumped to rock out with two of his adolescent heroes, and the resulting studio effort is arguably his finest recorded moment. “Gimme” was an early live show staple which GG would introduce by asking “How many girls out there like to suck cock?” and demanding a show of hands. “The guys need to know who to take home tonight!” (Judging by the live tapes I’ve heard, the female attendees weren’t too eager to divulge this information.) All indications suggest this was the best-selling GG release back then — in the couple-thousand ballpark — with the Kramer/Thompson association no doubt adding legitimacy to a relatively unknown performer.
The session also produced a third track, “Occupation” (a.k.a. “Occupational Hazard”), which lay buried until the late-1990s when it was bootlegged — and finally officially reissued in March 2019 by Blood Orange Records. It’s too bad this song never appeared during the Jabbers’ heyday, as it’s a great snotty Stonesy garage punker with the hallmark Wayne Kramer noodling. And it’s notable, as with “Dead Or Alive,” as one of the few curse-free GG cuts.
Updated info from Blood Orange Records: Recorded in 1980 shortly after the "Always Was" sessions, the release was held up for over a year as GG called upon MC5's Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson to lay down guitar and drum tracks respectively. Kramer and Thompson were never in the studio together nor did they know the other was involved. GG replaced Thompson's drum tracks with his own on the actual release but kept his name on the credits, which wasn't uncommon as GG played drums on every Jabbers release with the exception of the newer "Always Was" songs. GG also removed John Fortin's name from the credits in favor of Kramer to avoid having three guitarists listed on the sleeve. This stunt sent Fortin packing (as a year earlier Fortin saw he was not credited with writing Cheri Love Affair), which was the beginning of the end of the Jabbers' first lineup. The song "Occupational Hazard" was dropped from the original release because GG thought it sounded too much like a pop song.
Reviews
There’s not much to recommend among other recent local records. New Hampshire’s only punk, GG Allin, who’s all bark and no bite, has released the useful “Gimme Some Head / Dead Or Alive.” Next time the Jehovah’s Witnesses visit I’m slapping this on.
— Boston Phoenix (Boston, MA) Sept. 29, 1981
Crap: Imagine someone having slept through the past ten years and upon awakening walked right into a recording studio. Macho rock had begun to bare its hairy ass. Do people still listen to this stuff? Don't know anyone personally but I do know that GG Allin writes and plays it. "Gimme Some Head" and "Dead Or Alive" (avec ex-MC5ers Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson) are two new songs by New Hampshire's self-scribed Number 1 Animal. The Stooges, MC5, The Dictators and the Eaters had the same attitude but somehow came off as having a head on their collective shoulders. I'm afraid that GG Allin has his somewhere else.
— Boston Rock #21 (Boston, MA) Sept. 3, 1981
I wuz planning on reviewing GG Allin's new single but it hasn't arrived in my mailbox yet. The presses must role so I'll be reviewing it next issue. Sorry!
— Chaos #3 (Pelham, NY)
Here's the latest release from madman GG Allin and it's terrific! Raunchy, primitive, snot-nosed punk is this animal's specialty and he serves it up hot-n-ready to go on this vinyl platter. The title cut is a classic in male chauvenism and Wayne Kramer delivers some hot guitar licks. GG Allin sounds crazed belting out his snotty vocals! The flipside entitled "Dead Or Alive" is a punk anthem with neat lyrics. "I used to be too blind to see, destroying things in front of me." Some may argue that this stuff is noisy and repulsive, but isn't that what rock has always been about. With this 45 GG Allin puts the guts back into rock-n-roll and when he sings something, I feel like he really means it. Anyway, a guy that sings "there's nothing like a girl sitting on your nose" definitely knows what he's talking about! Here's the address for this cool stuff!
— Chaos #4 (Pelham, NY)
GG Allin isn’t exactly your middle of the road rocker either: the day the A-side of his forty-five (on Orange Records) travels the airwaves will be the day Phyllis Schlafly joins the Hell’s Angels. I don’t think there is a line in it, including the title, that can be printed in a family paper.
Apart from that, however, it’s a great song. If you can handle the decibels, Allin pumps out high voltage stuff. The flip side is “Dead Or Alive” — more of the same.
— Derry News (Derry, NH) April 29, 1982
Raw, intense punk.
— D.I.Y. #11 (Hollywood, CA) November 1981
The stuff on this single is a bit better than his album, Always Was, Is, And Always Shall Be (also on Orange). I’m sure this is helped by Wayne Kramer’s guitarwork, but the songs themselves are done at a higher and clearer quality (produced by David Peel). I wonder a bit at the subject matter, though. Sounds a bit degrading from him.
— FFanzeen #9 (New York, NY) 1982
You don’t need a helluva lot of intelligence to appreciate GG Allin — just an open mind. GG opens doors to wreckless rock ’n roll that have been closed since the Stooges died and Iggy flew south. The music is everything you expected it to be: fast, frantic, and scraping away at your levels of tolerating. But the music’s not as important as the man himself. GG Allin must be seen live. How one man can take so much abuse and come away laughing is beyond me. Spit at GG, see him smile. Throw a beer on GG, see him smile. GG likes nothing better than total chaos. Hopefully he’ll be appearing on the Cape sometime soon. If that happens and you attend, be prepared for an evening you’ll never forget. And by the way, the 45’s good too.
— First Offense #2 (Cape Cod, MA)
Scan courtesy of Chris Minicucci
Sex crazed punks living in a winter wonderland, but recording on the Lower East Side. So I guess it is the David Peel, although no one answered my question, and he produced GG's latest single, a sexist littany in that old Fug tradition.
— Flatdisk Newsletter (Los Angeles, CA)
Prime punk rock replete with silly boy lyrics delivered by GG, and the non-stop (I mean, non-stop) guitar thrashing — Rob Basso — and scraping — Wayne Kramer. Breakneck rhythm by Alan Chapple and Dennis (Machine Gun) Thompson rounds out this highly recommended David Peel production. Some of you may remember Kramer and Thompson from the MC5.
— Goldmine (Iola, WI) September 1982
GG Allin & The Jabbers were in to remix three originals for Orange Records. GG Allin producing.
— Musician's (Boston, MA) June/July 1981
Once again, GG presents his own brand of “sexist” rock. This 45 is exciting and raunchy. Backed by former MC5’s Wayne Kramer, this 45 moves with solid drive from beginning to end. As GG puts it — it’s “raw, sick, and disgusting” but — it has an original excitement to it, and GG continues to show promise. Although all his records are banned in New Hampshire, this should not be banned from your turntable.
— New Music Review (St. Petersburg, FL) January 1982
GG Allin reportedly loves nothing better than to be trashed. Apparently, he prefers to be physically assaulted about the head and shoulder group, though he'll settle for verbal abuse.
But if he wants and desires nasty reviews, he’s going to have to do worse than this. This record is not altogether bad — even though it tries to be. The guy can’t even be lousy right.
And he’s not exactly a poet either, turning in lyrics like, “There’s nothing like a girl sitting on your nose. So girls, girls, girls, girls — gimme some head.”
Wayne Kramer handles lead guitar chores and backing vocals, so it may be worth acquiring for that reason. Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson bangs on drums, too. Loads of over-fuzzed guitar. A nice flea market acquisition for two bits or less.
Produced by David Peel (“The Pope Smokes Dope”), a Lennon hanger-on from the Lower East Side of NYC. Special thanx “to the MC2.”
Flip’s a throwaway. Not a record to play — a record to point to.
— The Newpaper (Providence, RI) July 21-28, 1982
It seems to me that GG Allin loves to have people hate him. And I'm sure there are some people who will, just for the title "Gimme Some Head." But I just don't think GG tries hard enough in his music to disgust people. His voice comes off too cute and the lead guitarist, Wayne Kramer, plays much too well. If I didn't listen to the lyrics I wouldn't even think of being repulsed. After all, the man does claim to be "the scum of the earth" and "public animal #1." I don't know, GG, maybe if you were "public animal #2" you would try harder.
— The Noise (Boston, MA) 1982
A new GG Allin single is out in which he sings about how he can't get girls and has to beat off and so on is available from: GG Allin, 542 Beech St., Manchester, NH 03104.
— Noise #6 (Xenia, OH) October/November 1981
And speaking of old friends, look who's here! GG has the distinction of being a one-time Offense advertiser, and hardly anyone else can say that. If you're sophisticated and read Playboy then you already know what the A-side's about (someone had to tell me, and the whole concept makes me sick to my stomach. I could never make a girl do that to me.) MC2 helps out (Wayne Kramer and someone else) to make these two real hard-drivers, but GG, you should've known better than to send this crap to me. It doesn't hurt me to hear this, I just feel sorry for you and all the other lost "men." You make it so rough for a girl who just wants to go out at night and have some innocent fun.
— The Offense #12 (Columbus, OH) November 1981
Clever Iggy Pop-styled sex parody. The ‘B’ is minor pop punk from the Ramones school. The ‘MC2” — Wayne Kramer (gtr) and Dennis Thompson (drms) from the original MC5 — play on both tracks. 4/10
— OP (Olympia, WA) The "H" Issue, Winter 1981
GG Allin, the punk rocker of NH, recently sent us his latest single release “Gimme Some Head.” I transferred the tune to cassette in order to play it in the car tape deck. While cruising I pick up one nice chick hitchhiking, what tape do I pop in? GG Allin’s “Gimme Some Head.” The hitchhiker jumps out of the car while I’m doing 55 mph — Come on GG you’re ruining my social life…
— Preview (Lawrence, MA)
This single has an improved sound over the album, with a nice production by David Peel, one of the original pioneers of three chord rock, whose band sang “Up Against The Wall Motherfucker” about ten years ago. Musicians on this record include two people from the legendary MC5, who did “Kick Out The Jams Motherfucker” way back in the sixties. “Gimme Some Head” is one of GG Allin’s best songs, featuring a full sounding rhythm guitar rumble, twangy leads, and Allin’s trademark ultra-crude lyrics. The B-side, “Dead Or Alive,” is toned down lyrically, and musically a bit mediocre. A good single for rock fans who like it raw and raunchy.
— Ripper #6 (San Jose, CA) January 1982
Scan courtesy of Chris Minicucci
If you went to sleep on the last one, this one’ll be a rude awakening. The self-proclaimed madman of New Hampshire has Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson backing him and David Peel producing. Guess what the first song is about? Fortunately, the b-side is more interesting, if no less raw and frenetic. Rough, brutal, and stupid — which is exactly what Allin wants. If you do too, you’ve got it.
— Sweet Potato (MA/NH) October 1981
Two of New England's primo screamers are back on the boards. Anyone familiar with GG Allin's previous recordings are no doubt aware of the Manchester Madman's penchant for fast living in general and oral copulation in particular, and this disc further elaborates those themes, with typical tasteful instrumental backing provided by the cream of New Hampshire's musical crop, as well as ex-MC5ers Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson.
— Take It! #5 (Boston) 1982
Sorry ... I needed money and it seems that only ASSHOLES have the $ I need. The man who put this ad in is LOADED and he is an ASSHOLE with a capital A, so fanzine writers take note, you can make some money too. Rip off the sucker for all he's worth. He sent CHEAP GARBAGE ... his LP last year and I melted it into modern art. It is (was) heavy metal idiocy full of sexist drivel. In fact his check and ad came with a single titled (now get this) "Gimme Some Head." I haven't melted it yet because I'm busy laughing my head off at it. THIS is why I don't like punks, because of these HM geriatrics. Stupidity is real punk, innit? CASTRATE ROCK 'N ROLL. Love, xxx LARRY C.
— Tribal Noize #3 (Brooklyn, NY)
Theoretically, I ought to hate this one. The topside’s lyrical content is easily the crudest and dumbest since that stupid Rotters record about oral sex with a certain Fleetwood Mac vocalist. But in the grand tradition of “Sonic Reducer” the music — a very funny ’72-vintage punk rave-up — managed to suck me in, even if guitarist Wayne Kramer (with drummer Dennis Thompson, one of two MC5ers present) is allowed too much solo leeway. Like the Dead Boys, the medium at least makes the message — or lack thereof — acceptable.
— Trouser Press (New York, NY) June 1982
A very raw sound — offensive and energetic, however if you think of sexism instead of sex you won't enjoy it cause your mind's too small — Gimme Some Head is better but both songs are good.
— 2NZ (pronounced "tunes") (Minneapolis, MN) 1982
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