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AK 79 - COMPILATION
| Originally released by Ripper Records in 1980, AK79
was an album that documented Auckland's punk and postpunk music scene of the late '70s.
Over the ensuing years, copies of the AK79 LP have probably done more serious partying,
worn more beer stains and endured painful etchings by Fountain three-in-one needles than
most records from the era. Even worse, many precious copies have disappeared down black
holes in record collections the nation over. A secondhand copy could set you back as much
as $40. Flying Nun's 1993 release of AK79 does even more than replace those vinyl copies of an essential artefact and put the album on CD and tape for the very first time. Recompiled by Simon Grigg of Propellor Records, who was there in AK77, right at the outset of NZ punk, this reissue of AK79 contains a further 13 tracks from the era, creating a definitive compilation of the Auckland scene and arguably one of the greatest albums from that period anywhere. These additional tracks are made up of singles and unreleased songs. Alongside the Scavengers' "Mysterex", "Toy Love Song", Proud Scum's "I Am A Rabbit" and other choice cuts on the original album, AK79 now includes classics like the Suburban Reptiles' "Megaton" and "Saturday Night Stay At Home", Proud Scum's "Suicide 2", the Features' "City Scenes", Terrorways' "Short-Haired Rock'n'roll", and the Spelling Mistakes' "Feel So Good". Extensive new liner notes by Kerry Buchanan, Simon Grigg and Bryan Staff complete a package that lovingly puts AK79 in its well-deserved historical context. The album will be essential for fans and collectors of NZ music everywhere.
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