Good lord - how to even approach this. Claw Hammer released a slew of albums, EPs, 7 inches, comp tracks, and assorted other stuff in their 8 year recording career. Here is what I know of. Any additions, feel free to email me and let me know. Thanks!
Full Length Releases
- Claw Hammer (Sympathy For The Record Industry, LP only 3/90) - I've also seen this one listed as "FUBAR". Here's a tracklisting:
- Shell Shocked
- Warm Spring Night
- Brother Brick Says
- Drop 2
- Sundown
- Hey Old Lady and Bert's Song
- Papa's Got Us All Tied In Knots
- Mr. Pizzazz
- Petri Dish
- Poor Robert (CD release only)
- Final Solution (CD release only)
- 3:15 (CD release only)
- Candle Opera (CD release only)
- Drop (CD release only)
This is one of my favourite Claw Hammer records. Though there's some shades of darker ideas that would later permeate their later releases, it mostly sounds like a bunch of incredibly talented guys having the time of their life. The cover of "Sundown" has to be heard to be believed.
- Get Yer Za Za Yout! (Trigon Records, 11/90) (cassette only)
- Shell Shocked
- Sick Fish Belly Up
- Poor Robert
- Brother Brick Says
- Don't Walk Away
- Blank Frank
- Petri Dish
- Car Down Again
- Naked
- Bullet In My Head
- Papa's Got Us All Tied In Knots
- Final Solution
- Drop II
- Succotash
- 3:15
- Pumping My Heart
Recorded live at KPFK Studios 8/1/90. This is a great live performance from the band, and the christening (I think?) of Mr. Bob Lee on the kit! It's like the ultimate early Claw Hammer mix tape.
- Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Not Devo! (SFTRI, LP only, 10/ 91)
- Spawning Of A New Error (CD only)
- Uncontrollable Urge
- Satisfaction
- Praying Hands
- Space Junk
- Mongoloid
- Jocko Homo
- Too Much Paranoias
- Gut Feeling
- Come Back Jonee/ Slap Yer Mammy
- Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')
- Shrivel Up
- Blank Frank (CD only)
- Pumping My Heart (CD only)
- Slappy Sings Dead Zeppelin
I love this record! It takes a certain amount of balls to go re-make an entire album, and Claw Hammer were certainly up to the task. Wait 'til you hear how they do the keyboard thing for "Gut Feeling". The CD release of this came with a whole stack o' stuff from the Double Pack Whack Attack EP, among other things. I only hope they weren't making fun of Led Zeppelin!
- Ramwhale (SFTRI, LP/CD, 2/92)
- Naked
- Succotash
- Mahaney Bus Ride
- Beat Rice
- Sticky Thing
- Crave
- The People In My Peephole
- 3:15
- Don't Walk Away (CD only)
A lot of people remark this is Claw Hammer's weak spot due to Jon being involved with the Red Aunts at the time or whatever. That totally overlooks half these songs were written a year previous - proved by their appearance on the Trigon cassette! I don't think this record is accessible as the first one, but there's some incredible songwriting on here as well as some fine playing. Bob Lee! DO I HAVE TO SAY ANYMORE?
- Pablum (Epitaph LP/CD/Cass, 3/93)
- Vigil Smile
- William Tell
- Montezuma's Hands
- Speak Softly And Carry A Big Shtick
- Nick
- Nut Powder
- Shitting Gold Bricks
- Malthusian Blues
- Pablum On My Mind
- Day Of The Triffids (CD only, unlisted)
If Claw Hammer were ever to have the Big Hit Single in some weird alternate world where good music got on the radio, it's on here - "Malthusian Blues". The song "William Tell" (about W.S. Burroughs) is also a keeper....ah, fuck it, there's not a bad track on this album. It's my brother's favourite Claw Hammer record ever! And if you can't trust him, who can ya trust?
- Thank The Holder Uppers (Interscope CD/LP/Cass, 2/95)
- Super Things
- Dan's In Town
- Sweaty Palms
- Five Fifths Dead
- Bums On The Flow
- Hollow Legs
- Bedside Coffee Table Roses
- Blind Pig
- Each Hit
- Olfactory Blues
Finally, a Claw Hammer release you can feel safe buying on vinyl. Okay, my favourite record always wavers between this and the last. This record is INSANE. Just put on "Dan's In Town" and try to keep in a sitting or prone position - you CAN'T. It's like weird voodoo or somethin' going down. This is a fantastic rock and roll album.
- 'Scuse The Excursion (SFTRI CD, 8/96)
- Caravan
- Nightmare
- All Blues
- Sick Fish Belly Up
A quick dip back in the minors for this essential, if strange EP. 3 jazz songs and a cool re-recording of "Sick Fish Belly Up".
- Hold Your Tongue and Say Apple (Interscope CD/LP/Cass, 4/97)
- The Day It Rained Pigeon Shit
- Valley So High
- Black Eyed Blues
- Queen's Lead Helmet
- Sugar Breath
- Gnashville
- Hind Sight
- Ass Kisser's Union
- Water
- Air Plant
- Formaldyhyde
- Caravan
Produced by Jim Dickinson; and if you know anything about Jim Dickinson this is like John Paul Jones producing the Butthole Surfers. I was worried he'd wreck this album like he did "Pleased To Meet Me" but damn if this isn't the best produced Claw Hammer of 'em all. There's a lot of added sounds and instruments which really give it a spooky vibe at times - it's probably their "artiest" release, which you should of guessed by the Eno reference in the titles (I won't tell you which one). Spooky, filled with weird voodoo, but still IT DOES ROCK. Ya think Claw Hammer would lay something down that wouldn't shake yr ass? This is a great album - as just a collection of songs, as an artistic statement, and something you can throw in as background music while you watch the room spin after the last greasy gin&tonic.
SINGLES
- Poor Robert/ Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey/ Car Down Again. (Grown Up Wrong, Australia, 3/89.)
- Sick Fish Belly Up / Moonlight On Vermont. (Trigon Records, 5/89.)
- Candle Opera/ Drop (SFTRI, 8/89.)
- Brother Brick Says/ Don't Walk Away (live) (Trigon Records, 5/90)
- Double-Pack Whack Attack! Blank Frank/ Gut Feeling/ Pumping My Heart / Final Solution(SFTRI, 10/90.)
- Malthusian Blues/ Day Of The Triffids (SFTRI, 2/93) (From the CD Pablum)
- Car Down Again/ RED AUNTS: My Impala 65 (Gearhead Magazine, split-single included with issue, 6/94.) (there's a CD out now of all the Gearhead 7"s you can get this on....and trust me, you should)
Comps With Unreleased Songs
- Gimme The Keys! (Trigon Records, 1988) Includes Bullet In My Head; Self- Destruct
- Cowboy Teashow (Magnaphone1992, incl live Moonlight On Vermont)
- Welcome To Our Nightmare (Triple XXX 1993, Alice Cooper tribute LP, incl Generation Landslide)
- Fuck That Weak Shit Vol. 2 double-7" comp (Pitsbull, Belgium, 1994, live version of Sundown
- Happy Birthday Baby Jesus (Vol. 1) (Sympathy FTRI 1994, incl The Night Before Xmas)
- Is It A Dream or Just Random Sounds of Awakening (Morpheus 1994, incl live version of Crave)
(I thought the above section would be a bitch to track down, but I found most of it on Bob Lee's page already typed out for me!
Unauthorized Live Recordings
Yes, I'm talking about tape tradin' boots. Note that it is illegal to own these or trade them or ask for them. Please think of me as only a source for information. Of course, if you have any such "information", please get in touch with me (law enforcement officials, RIAA representatives and postal employees NEED NOT APPLY). I don't even know the band's outlook on trading shows anyway, so this may be a very short-lived section...
- Live At The Whiskey A Go-Go, Hollywood, California
- Hey Old Lady And Bert's Song
- Mahaney Bus Ride
- Vigil Smile
- William Tell
- Montezuma's Hands
- Speak Softly (cut)
Only a partial show - not sure what happened, maybe the guy was running out of tape? Great sounding show, though, and the band is just brutal.
- Live at the Troubador, March 3 1995
No information about this show at all, except that it's out there somewhere, and they did "Superthings".
- Live at Spaceland, July 6, 1996
- Mission To Mars
- Caravan
- Gnashville
- Malthusian Blues
- Pigeon Shit
- Valley So High
- Formeldehyde
- Water
- Bums On The Flow
- Succotash
- Moonlight On Vermont
- Gut Feeling
- Slap Yo Mammy
Great sounding show, with some nice covers at the end. Probably audience sourced, but a good one.
- Live At Spaceland, November 1, 1999
Again, this is one I know is out there, somewhere, but haven't heard a copy with my own two ears.
