The Mekons -- The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen LP

Original 1979 UK release on Virgin (UK) (catalog # V2143, Labels give the title as "The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strained"), with photo innersleeve.

AMG Review: Here's where it all began. Not the best Mekons album available, but Quality, along with their second album, Devils, Rats and Piggies, and a A Special Message from Godzilla (Red Rhino, 1980, now out of print) shows off the Mekons' noisy, avant-garde side. It's abrasive and not as user-friendly as their later records, but this was an exciting time for British punk-rock, and this music, as dense and difficult as it may be, reflects punk's seemingly limitless possibilities.

Trouser Press: Punk's reigning contrarians, the Mekons, were formed in Leeds, England, in 1977 by art students Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh. Their first single, "Never Been in a Riot," took dead aim at one of punk's sacred cows, the Clash's "White Riot," and the Mekons have gladly been outsiders ever since. The group has survived countless personnel changes, miserable fortune with record companies and a constant state of near-poverty by adapting to the times, its music expanding beyond punk to embrace twisted versions of country, reggae and electronica. And singer/guitarist Langford has become a pivotal figure in the underground rock and art scenes, as a producer, songwriter, bandleader, sideman, cartoonist, painter, writer, critic and all-around instigator. (He was also one of the first to make multiple band membership a habit, starting with the Three Johns.) All the while, the Mekons have continued to put out records of bewildering variety, erratic musical quality and enormous heart. These function almost without exception as critiques of power and the abuse of power — whether in government, the record industry or, less frequently, the bedroom.

The early albums are significant for their socialist bent and utter disregard for Brit-punk fashion. The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, is a major landmark erected by one of the few late-'70s British bands that didn't want to be either the Sex Pistols or the Clash.

Tracks:

A1 Like Spoons No More 2:05 A2 Join Us In The Countryside 2:05 A3 Rosanne 2:34 A4 Trevira Trousers 4:05 A5 After 6 4:53 A6 What Are We Going To Do Tonight 1:48 B1 What 2:08 B2 Watch The Film 3:18 B3 Beetroot 4:12 B4 I Saw You Dance 2:17 B5 Lonely And Wet 5:03 B6 Dan Dare 2:32

CONDITION: Cover VG+ / Vinyl NM-   price sticker on cover, which has a tiny tear at opening, otherwise fine; vinyl is excellent, just shy of NM with very slight wear.

Graded conservatively using Goldmine standards [G / G+ / VG / VG+ / NM / ]
grade only used if record is brand new.
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