Classic Royal Trux Box Reissued

Rarities collection gets rescued from eBay purgatory.

By Fred Mills

The date was Nov. 4, 1997, and now the date is Nov. 8, 2011: Singles, Live, Unreleased was a 32-song, 3-LP, deluxe box set odds ‘n' sods collection from skronk-punk duo Royal Trux, and now it returns from the grave courtesy Drag City after more than a decade of being out of print. Loaded with rarities, including some genuinely oddball covers (such sa the "M.A.S.H." theme and a Grace Slick-penned Jefferson Airplane tune), it was a twisted favorite among Trux aficionados and collector-scum indie rock kids en route to becoming eBay catnip. Yours truly was working in a record store at the time of its initial release and it disappeared faster than the manager's morning coffee.

The original tracklisting tells the tale:

Side one

"Esso Dame" - 1:51

"Mercury" - 3:50

"No Fixed Address" - 3:29

"Red Tiger" - 5:12

"Lucy Peaupaux" - 3:44

Side two

"June Night Afternoon" - 3:54

"Steal Your Face" - 3:10

"Back to School" - 4:12

"Faca Amolada" (Ronaldo Bastos/Milton Nascimento) - 4:39

"Luminous Dolphin" - 3:16

"Spike Cyclone" - 3:59

Side three

"Vile Child" - 3:44

"Law Man" (Grace Slick) - 2:53

"Shockwave Rider" (Mike Fellows/Hagerty/Herrema) - 3:59

"Chairman Blow" - 7:02

"Womban" (Larry Kessler) - 3:49

Side four

"Cut You Loose" - 2:58

"Baghdad Buzz" - 4:08

"Hero/Zero" - 2:28

"Statik Jakl" - 4:03

"Gett Off" - 2:41

"Teeth" - 4:21

Side five

"Cleveland" - 4:00

"Theme from M*A*S*H" (Johnny Mandel/Mike Altman) - 2:11

"Strawberry Soda" - 1:50

"Sunflavor" - 3:08

"Love Is..." - 3:00

Side six

"Ratcreeps" - 4:47

"Hair Beach" - 3:42

"Sometimes" - 1:33

"Signed, Confused" (Hagerty/Herrema/Rian Murphy) - 5:56

"Aviator Blues" - 4:11

Get those credit cards ready, kids. As the label puts it ever-so-eloquently:

You may never understand unless you sit in a crouch for three days, on the balls of your feet with the keens pointing out like arrows before you. And then MAYBE you'll know how it feels. Some people in this life have no choice, they've been Indians since the day they were born. Others take it upon themselves. This was Royal Trux.