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• Scottish school friends Stump Monroe (drums), Floyd London (bass) and Ricky Warwick (guitar, vocals) formed The Almighty with guitarist Tantrum in 1988. After recording three LPs of hard-hitting rock and metal for Polydor Records between 1989 and 1993, The Almighty signed to Chrysalis Records in 1994. Shifting to a sound more informed by the punk that had initially inspired them, their punk rock credentials were further brought to the fore on “Crank” (1994) by the Jamie Reid cover design, famed for his iconic and highly influential Sex Pistols artwork. Featuring the singles ‘Wrench’ and ‘Jonestown Mind’, “Crank” reached No.15 in the UK charts.
• Recording a second record for Chrysalis, “Just Add Life” (1996) was eventually released by UK independent label Castle. Featuring the singles ‘All Sussed Out’ and ‘Do You Understand’, “Just Add Life” is also notable for its artwork by design legend and album cover guru, the late Storm Thorgerson.
• Following “Just Add Life”, The Almighty decided to call it a day, with singer Ricky Warwick perusing a solo career. Reforming in 2000 around a line-up of Ricky, Stump and Floyd, they were joined by guitarist Nick Parsons. By 2000, Castle Music had morphed in Sanctuary Records, who released the self-titled “The Almighty” (2000) swiftly followed by “Psycho-Narco” (2001), by which time Gav Gray had joined them on bass.
• Whilst on tour in Japan supporting the release of “Crank”, the band recorded the live album “Crank and Deceit: Live in Japan”, recorded at Osaka’s IMP Hall on 16th July 1995, captured here on CD5. It features Almighty classics ‘Wild And Wonderful’, ‘Addiction’ and ‘Crucify’, as well as newer cuts such as ‘Ultraviolent’ and ‘United State Of Apathy’.
• The Almighty aren’t just an albums band, having released plenty of singles across their career, many with exclusive bonus tracks. Collected together on CD 6 are Ruts and Therapy? remixes of ‘Jonestown Mind’, as well as non-album cuts, ‘DSS (Desperately Seeking Something)’ and ‘Tense Nervous Headshake’. Also included on disc six are tracks from some of their heroes and influences, including covers of Eddie & The Hot Rods’ ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’ and Charged G.B.H.’s ‘Give Me Fire’.
• The seventh and final disc is based around a number of live recordings, including a show recorded on 3rd October 1994 at Stuttgart’s Kongret Zentrum whilst touring to support “Crank”. Many tracks had appeared as B-Sides, but have been collected together here for the first time.
• The band effectively split up following “Psycho-Narco” in 2002, but reformed their classic line-up of Ricky, Stump, Floyd and Pete Friesen in 2006 for well received live gigs, playing their final show in 2009. As well continuing his solo career, Ricky Warwick was invited to join Thin Lizzy in 2009, with a line-up that formed the basis for Black Star Riders, who have subsequently released four very successful studio albums.
Tracklist
DISC ONE:
CRANK (1994)
1. ULTRAVIOLENT
2. WRENCH
3. THE UNREAL THING
4. JONESTOWN MIND
5. MOVE RIGHT IN
6. CRANK AND DECEIT
7. UNITED STATE OF APATHY
8. WELCOME TO DEFIANCE
9. WAY BEYOND BELIEF
10. CRACKDOWN
11. SORRY FOR NOTHING
12. CHEAT
13. SHITZOPHRENIC
DISC TWO:
JUST ADD LIFE (1996)
1. ONGOING AND TOTAL
2. DO YOU UNDERSTAND
3. ALL SUSSED OUT
4. HOW REAL IS REAL FOR YOU
5. DEAD HAPPY
6. SOME KIND OF ANYTHING
7. COALITION STAR
8. 8 DAY DEPRESSION
9. LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TOMORROW
10. 360
11. FEED THE NEED
12. AFRAID OF FLYING
13. INDEPENDENT DETERRENT
DISC THREE:
THE ALMIGHTY (2000)
1. BROKEN MACHINE
2. I’M IN LOVE (WITH REVENGE)
3. LA CHISPA DE LA MUERTE
4. BIG BLACK AUTOMATIC
5. FOR FUCK’S SAKE
6. POISON EYES
7. WHITE ANGER COMEDOWN
8. TNT
9. STOP
10. USAK-47
11. ALRIGHT
12. BARFLY
13. FAT CHANCE
14. MISERY GUTS
DISC FOUR:
PSYCHO-NARCO (2001)
1. GALVANIZE
2. 427 FREAK HORSEPOWER
3. RUSE
4. SOUL ON A ROLL
5. BEGGING
6. HATE THE WORLD
7. WAITING FOR EARTHQUAKES
8. IF I KNEW WHAT I WANTED
9. 7 X
10. BIG IDEA IDIOT
11. MONDO BALORDO
12. BLOWOUT KIT FOR THE UNDERDOG
13. WITNESS RELOCATION PROGRAMME
14. MILLION TIMES NOTHING
DISC FIVE:
CRANK AND DECEIT –
LIVE IN JAPAN (1995)
1. JONESTOWN MIND
2. CRANK AND DECEIT
3. ADDICTION
4. MOVE RIGHT IN
5. THE UNREAL THING
6. TAKIN’ HOLD
7. SORRY FOR NOTHING
8. WRENCH
9. 360
10. WAY BEYOND BELIEF
11. UNITED STATE OF APATHY
12. OVER THE EDGE
13. WILD AND WONDERFUL
14. CHEAT
15. WELCOME TO DEFIANCE
16. ULTRAVIOLENT
17. CRUCIFY
DISC SIX:
B-SIDES & REMIXES (1994-1996)
1. JONESTOWN MIND (THERAPY? REMIX)
2. JONESTOWN MIND (RUTS REMIX)
3. THANKS AGAIN, AGAIN
4. KNOCKING ON JOE
5. STATE OF EMERGENCY
6. HELLELUJAH
7. DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA DO
8. GIVE ME FIRE
9. SUPERPOWER
10. DSS (DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMETHING)
11. TENSE NERVOUS HEADSHAKE
12. CANNED JESUS
DISC SEVEN:
LIVE B-SIDES & SESSIONS (1994-1996)
1. WRENCH
2. MOVE RIGHT IN
3. ADDICTION
4. WELCOME TO DEFIANCE
5. SORRY FOR NOTHING
6. THE UNREAL THING
7. UNITED STATE OF APATHY
8. CRANK & DECEIT
9. DO YOU UNDERSTAND
10. JESUS LOVES YOU
11. I FOUGHT THE LAW