Review

Forgotten Rebels - Tomorrow Belongs To Us


Vic Gedris

First of all, WOW!

I've been waiting for this gem for years now.  Here's somewhat of a review.

First of all, the packaging is GREAT.  It contains the original front and back covers of the EP, plus many pictures of the Rebels in their early days, plus a whole bunch of show posters.  Possibly the most intersting part of the packaging is what's WRITTEN.  When you open the booklet up, the first thing you'll see is a picture of Mickey and his explanation of what all the lyrics to the whole EP were all about.  Here you'll see the almost-soft-side of Mickey as he explains that it was all meant as shock value (only the gullible thought otherwise!  Way to go!). 
Next, there's a page written by Stephen Berman who recorded/produced the original EP and the Buring The Flag demos.  This is all about the earliest of early days of the forming Rebels.
After that, is an excerpt from "The Chris Houston Chronicles" which explains the whole story behind the Trudeau picture!
There's also a list of all the past and present Rebels' members.... And, of course an explanation of where all the different parts of this CD came from originally.

As for the music, you know the answer already...EXCELLENT!  If you haven't heard the Tomorrow Belongs to Us EP yet, it's pretty basic/raw/pissed punk rock with really blunt, sarcasting, in-yer-face lyrics.  All four songs are gems.
Next is the "Burning The Flag" EP, recorded in early 1978.  These tracks were all released on the "In Love With The System" reissue CD.....however, the versions on here are MUCH clearer and the sound doesn't totally fade out in a couple of parts like the previous CD.
The "Chris Houston Demos, 1980" section gives you four more tunes, including the never-heard-before "Poppies".  This song goes along with that tune (can't remember what the original is called) that goes like: "Where have all the poppies gone, long time passing....where have all the poppies gone, long time ago".  This song then ends off by transforming itself into "The Answer is Blowing in the Wind".  Strange indeed, but pretty interesting. Finally, the "Cedar Lounge Live 1980" section is quite good too.  It starts off with the Rebels w/the crowd singing Birthday to Mickey.  It was his 24th, so that makes him about 41 years old now.  :-)  There's another uheard-before song on here too called "White Trash of America", which I like alot.  I has a bit of a Misfits-style bassline...I kinda wish they did a real recording of this one.  Of course, the live recording has plenty of Mickey's ranting and raving on stage.

So...to sum it all up, I love this CD!  The people at OPM did a fabulous job putting it together.  The music and the historical value of what's in the booklet's pages make this a perfect CD for any hardcore Rebels fan.

Now that the CD is out, those of you who want to get rid of that crappy piece of vinyl that may be taking up valuable space in your home can send it to me.

Cheers!
Vic