Penis Envy (album)
Encyclopedia
Penis Envy, released in 1981, was the third LP by anarchist
punk
band Crass
.
Named as a reference to some of Freud
's ideas concerning sexuality
, this release marked something of a departure from the somewhat 'macho', 'hardcore punk' image that The Feeding of the 5000
and its follow up Stations of the Crass
had to some extent given the group, for it featured more obviously complex musical arrangements, as well as exclusively female vocals provided by Eve Libertine
and Joy De Vivre
(although Steve Ignorant
remained a group member and is credited on the record sleeve as not on this recording). The album addressed feminist
issues and once again attacked the institutions of 'the system' such as marriage
and sexual repression
.
One track, not actually listed on the album cover, was a deliberately sacharine (described in fact by the band themselves as pure, unadulterated shit) parody of a "MOR" love song entitled "Our Wedding" http://www.southern.com/southern/label/CRC/09410.html. This was given away as a flexi disc
with a teenage girl's romance magazine called Loving after having been offered it by an organisation calling itself Creative Recording And Sound Services (note the initials). A minor tabloid
furore erupted once the hoax
was revealed, with the News of the World
going so far as to state that the album's title was "too obscene to print" (a leaflet giving the background to this Situationist-style prank was subsequently issued by the bandhttp://www.southern.com/southern/label/CRC/leaflet3.html). Now considered a rarity, the original flexi-disc now fetches high prices on the collectors market.
During the mid 1980s copies of this album were seized, along with other records by Flux Of Pink Indians
and The Dead Kennedys, by Greater Manchester Police
from Eastern Bloc record shop. Frank Schofield was charged with displaying "Obscene Articles For Publication For Gain".
The 'Crassical Collection' version of this release, including new artwork by Gee Vaucher
, remastered sound, liner notes by Eve Libertine
and Penny Rimbaud
and bonus material, was released in November 2010.
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Crass
Crass
Crass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
.
Named as a reference to some of Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
's ideas concerning sexuality
Penis envy
Penis envy in Freudian psychoanalysis refers to the theorized reaction of a girl during her psychosexual development to the realization that she does not have a penis....
, this release marked something of a departure from the somewhat 'macho', 'hardcore punk' image that The Feeding of the 5000
The Feeding of the 5000 (album)
The Feeding of the 5000 is the first album by Crass, released in 1978. Crass never gained a large mainstream audience, but their virulently anti-establishment lyrics and anarchist politics brought the band a committed following upon the record’s release....
and its follow up Stations of the Crass
Stations of the Crass
Stations of the Crass is the second album by Crass, released in 1979. The record, originally released as a double 12", includes live tracks from a gig recorded at the Pied Bull pub in Islington, London on August 7, 1979. The first three sides contain the studio tracks and play at 45 rpm, while the...
had to some extent given the group, for it featured more obviously complex musical arrangements, as well as exclusively female vocals provided by Eve Libertine
Eve Libertine
Eve Libertine is a British singer.She was one of the two female vocalists who worked with the influential British anarcho-punk band Crass...
and Joy De Vivre
Joy De Vivre
Joy De Vivre was the second female singer of the anarcho-punk band Crass. She was also one of two lead singers on the Crass album Penis Envy in 1981. She studied at Colchester Arts School, where she met Andy Palmer....
(although Steve Ignorant
Steve Ignorant
Steve Ignorant is a singer and artist. He co-founded the anarcho-punk band Crass with Penny Rimbaud in 1977. After Crass stopped performing in 1984, he has worked with other groups including Conflict, Schwartzeneggar, The Stratford Mercenaries, Current 93 , US punk band Thought Crime, as well as...
remained a group member and is credited on the record sleeve as not on this recording). The album addressed feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
issues and once again attacked the institutions of 'the system' such as marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and sexual repression
Sexual repression
Sexual repression, also known as sexual ethics, is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their sexuality. Sexual repression is often associated with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses...
.
One track, not actually listed on the album cover, was a deliberately sacharine (described in fact by the band themselves as pure, unadulterated shit) parody of a "MOR" love song entitled "Our Wedding" http://www.southern.com/southern/label/CRC/09410.html. This was given away as a flexi disc
Flexi disc
The flexi disc is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable...
with a teenage girl's romance magazine called Loving after having been offered it by an organisation calling itself Creative Recording And Sound Services (note the initials). A minor tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
furore erupted once the hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
was revealed, with the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
going so far as to state that the album's title was "too obscene to print" (a leaflet giving the background to this Situationist-style prank was subsequently issued by the bandhttp://www.southern.com/southern/label/CRC/leaflet3.html). Now considered a rarity, the original flexi-disc now fetches high prices on the collectors market.
During the mid 1980s copies of this album were seized, along with other records by Flux Of Pink Indians
Flux Of Pink Indians
Flux of Pink Indians were an English anarcho-punk/post punk band, that originated from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.-Biography:...
and The Dead Kennedys, by Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
from Eastern Bloc record shop. Frank Schofield was charged with displaying "Obscene Articles For Publication For Gain".
The 'Crassical Collection' version of this release, including new artwork by Gee Vaucher
Gee Vaucher
Gee Vaucher is a visual artist who was born in 1945 in Dagenham, East London.Her work with Anarcho-punk band Crass was seminal to the 'protest art' of the 1980s. Vaucher has always seen her work as a tool for social change. In her collection of early works Crass Art and Other Pre Post-Modernist...
, remastered sound, liner notes by Eve Libertine
Eve Libertine
Eve Libertine is a British singer.She was one of the two female vocalists who worked with the influential British anarcho-punk band Crass...
and Penny Rimbaud
Penny Rimbaud
Jeremy John Ratter , better known under his pseudonym of Penny Rimbaud, is a drummer, writer, poet, former member of performance art groups EXIT and Ceres Confusion, and co-founder of the anarchist punk band Crass with Steve Ignorant in 1977.-Biography:Rimbaud Jeremy John Ratter (born 8 June 1943,...
and bonus material, was released in November 2010.
Track listing
- "Bata Motel"
- "Systematic Death"
- "Poison in a Pretty Pill"
- "What the Fuck?"
- "Where Next Columbus?"
- "Berkertex Bribe"
- "Smother Love"
- "Health Surface"
- "Dry Weather"
- "Our Wedding" (unlisted track, also released as a flexi disc (see above))
- "Yorkie Talk" (Compiled from archive material. Southern Studios, January 2009)*
- "Yes, Folks" (Collage of "Our Wedding"/Loving hoax. Southern Studios, January 2009)*
- "The Unelected President" (Rewrite/remix of "Major General Despair" - previously released on "Peace Not War". Southern Studios, Spring 2003)*
- 'Crassical Collection' bonus tracks.
Line up
- Eve LibertineEve LibertineEve Libertine is a British singer.She was one of the two female vocalists who worked with the influential British anarcho-punk band Crass...
- Vocals - Joy De VivreJoy De VivreJoy De Vivre was the second female singer of the anarcho-punk band Crass. She was also one of two lead singers on the Crass album Penis Envy in 1981. She studied at Colchester Arts School, where she met Andy Palmer....
- Vocals on "Health Surface" - Phil Free - Lead Guitar
- B.A.Nana - Rhythm Guitar
- Pete WrightPete Wright (musician)Peter Wright, better known as Pete Wright, was bass guitar player and vocalist for anarchist punk band Crass from 1977 until 1984. Occasionally he is credited as Pete Wrong on the bands' record covers. After the dissolution of Crass he formed the performance art duo Judas 2.-References:...
- Bass - Penny RimbaudPenny RimbaudJeremy John Ratter , better known under his pseudonym of Penny Rimbaud, is a drummer, writer, poet, former member of performance art groups EXIT and Ceres Confusion, and co-founder of the anarchist punk band Crass with Steve Ignorant in 1977.-Biography:Rimbaud Jeremy John Ratter (born 8 June 1943,...
- Drums - GGee VaucherGee Vaucher is a visual artist who was born in 1945 in Dagenham, East London.Her work with Anarcho-punk band Crass was seminal to the 'protest art' of the 1980s. Vaucher has always seen her work as a tool for social change. In her collection of early works Crass Art and Other Pre Post-Modernist...
- Harmonium on "What the Fuck?" - CRASS Member not on this recording - Steve IgnorantSteve IgnorantSteve Ignorant is a singer and artist. He co-founded the anarcho-punk band Crass with Penny Rimbaud in 1977. After Crass stopped performing in 1984, he has worked with other groups including Conflict, Schwartzeneggar, The Stratford Mercenaries, Current 93 , US punk band Thought Crime, as well as...
- Engineered by John Loder
- Paintings by G
- Design by Crass at Exitstencil Press