Plasmatics - Coup D'Etat (1982) [2005 Rock Candy Remastered]

They came from the era of punk. They literally turned the New York rock music scene on its head back in 1978. Wendy Orleans Williams was the driving force of the band, a focal point who made female peers like Joan Jett, Pat Benatar and Ann Wilson look pussy-cat tame by comparison.
The Plasmatics blazed their own path through the turn of the Seventies. At one point, they were a headline act without actually being signed to a label.

Venues all over New York City were fair game, the band introducing audiences to exploding cars, chainsaw threatened guitars, destroyed TV sets and speaker cabinets, and of course ‘the Mohawk’, which is where it all started for that hairstyle. Thank you Jean Beauvoir…
Yeah, in the early days, Beauvoir was the bassist in the band, but he had departed by the time they landed this third studio full-length album – for the first time on a major label, Capitol Records – in 1982, titled ‘Coup D’Etat’.

Produced by Dieter Dierks (Scorpions) and engineered by Michael Wagener (you know the guy), this has got ‘big ticket’ written all over it. Certainly this is less punk and a more hard rock / metal album.

“Coup d’Etat” is the most impressive, most inflammable album in Plasmatics’ career, an aggressive but at the same time very polished record (thanks Dierks) plenty of punchy songs full of attitude.
This is a good listen years later.


Tracks:

01 – Put Your Love In Me
02 – Stop
03 – Rock N Roll
04 – Lightning Breaks
05 – No Class
06 – Mistress Of Taboo
07 – Country Fairs
08 – Path Of Glory
09 – Just Like On TV
10 – The Damned
BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Uniformed Guards (Work-In-Progress Recording)
12 – Put Your Love In Me (Demo)
13 – Stop (Demo)
14 – Coup D’etat Radio Ad

Personnel:

Wendy O. Williams – vocals
Richie Stotts – lead guitar
Wes Beech – rhythm guitar (lead guitar on “Just Like On TV”, “No Class” and “Stop”)
Junior Romanelli – bass, keyboards
T. C. Tolliver – drums, percussion