Slaughter & the Dogs - Do It Dog Style (Vinyl LP Edition)

For the first time in over twenty years, Do It Dog Style, the 1978 debut album from one of Manchester’s earliest punk bands, Slaughter & the Dogs, is again “officially” available on vinyl.  The album kicks off with the energetic “Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone”, a track that has been credited as the inspiration behind the Oi! Movement, and while there is also plenty of great early punk like “Boston Babies”, “I’m Mad”, with its poppy choruses, and “We Don’t Care”, there’s also a lot of diversity.  “Victims of The Vampire”, “Keep On Trying” and “Dame To Blame” are extremely infectious tracks that perfectly mesh ragged punk with glam, while “You’re A Bore” is more on the rock side of things.  Then there’s “Since You Went Away”, which is slower and somewhat reminiscent of the jangly alt rock that was in its very early infancy.  The band named themselves after two of their favorite albums, Bowie’s Diamond Dogs and Mick Ronson’s Slaughter on 10th Avenue and fittingly, Ronson contributes guitar to the glam sounding cover of the late sixties track “Quick Joey Small” (originally a bubblegum pop song from  The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus) and their take on The New York Dolls’ “Who Are the Mystery Girls”, which is louder, faster, ragged and more energetic than the original.  Honestly, it’s way better and Ronson’s on fire here.  Ironically, they also do a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting For The Man”, but it’s a pretty straightforward version that doesn’t really add much to the song.  In addition to the twelve tracks from the original album, this version includes two songs that were originally non-album B-sides.  Just as the title says, “Johnny T” (flipside of the “Dame To Blame” single) is a raucous tribute to Johnny Thunders and “Come On Back” (flipside to the “Quick Joey Small” single) is a massively catchy, no-frills, straight-ahead rocker.  The album is presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve that includes press clippings and memorabilia from that era.  

(Captain Oi! Records)