Despite releasing one of the most devastating debut albums of all time (1977's eponymous "Suicide"), seminal New York duo SUICIDE have staggered along a bizarre, chequered career path that has yielded only four further full length LPS over the course of the next 25 years, as well as struggling to sustain ragged solo careers for vocalist Alan Vega and keyboard whiz partner Martin Rev.
Besides, while their landmark debut album (featuring legendary stuff like "Ghost Rider", "Rocket USA" and the unmitigatingly bleak and hellish "Frankie Teardrop") is now justifiably recognised as a classic, Suicide were surely the most hated of all the Punk groups of the 70s. And yes, I even include Crass in there. After all, when Suicide toured with the likes of The Clash and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, full scale riots regularly broke out and the audience - frustrated at being confronted by two ugly geezers with only a primitive synth and a microphone instead of the expected guitars and drums - usually took out their ire on the band themselves. If you don't believe me, check out the remarkable live recording "23 Minutes Over Brussels": The Stooges' "Metallic K.O" is a picnic in the woods by comparison.
Yet somehow Rev and Vega managed to escape, bloodied but unbowed, and continued to make sporadic forays into the studio over the years. "A Way Of Life" is their third album, originally released in 1988, and unfairly passed over at the time, especially as it's virtually as abrasive and visceral as their debut.
With this is mind, it's hard to believe that it's Mr.Glossy Pop, Ric Ocasek of The Cars, who occupies the producer's chair. But then, if the idea of the man who produced the multi-million selling "Drive" twiddling the knobs for Rev and Vega churns your stomach, you need to remember Ocasek was also responsible for albums by Guided By Voices and Washington DC's dread-infused hardcore outfit Bad Brains' amazing "Rock For Light" LP. The uncompromising streak Ocasek let loose on those albums is again a factor here, and "A Way Of Life" is a manic success in its' own right.
The juddering, house-informed "Wild In Blue" kicks us off. It's concerned with the plight of a planet on the verge of collapse and Vega's trademark Iggy-knifes-Elvis yelps are to the fore in a big way. Indeed, "A Way Of Life" makes it clear just how open to the pioneering sounds of Detroit techno and house Vega and Rev were. "A Way OF Life" is pock-marked with the duo's pressganging of such hard-edged rhythms, and tracks like the weird and slippery, trance-like "Sufferin' In Vain", the brutal, circular hymnal "Love So Lovely" and the glowering and scary closing track "Heat Beat" find this burgeoning techno mentality bubbling to the surface of Suicide's musical acid bath.
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Naturally, there's still room for the band's trademark, minimal strut as well. "Rain Of Ruin" and "Dominic Christ" are both vintage Suicide, with the nagging, Stooges-style grooves of the former sounding like a precursor to the kind of sound The Young Gods would muster on their driving "TV Sky" album in 1992, and the latter's cocksure attack both blasphemous and funny all at once.
But, even allowing for the excellence that abounds around it, "A Way Of Life" is worth it purely for "Surrender" alone. Arguably the prettiest song Suicide have ever recorded, it's a mini-Spectorian epic helmed to perfection by Ocasek's production and demonstrates Vega and Rev were always romantic cats underneath it all. Awww. It's entirely lovely and later spawned an equally adept cover version from ex-Josef K vocalist Paul Haig.
And that's not all, folks. "A Way Of Life" now comes with a second disc featuring an entire gig from London's Town & Country Club from the tail end of '87. By this stage, Suicide's audience were actually catching up, and while Vega is still dealing with hecklers, it's a considerably more respectful crowd who lap up fine ghostly versions of classics such as "Cheree" and "Girl" as well as the new streamlined welterweights like "Devastation" and "Dominic Christ." The only real disappointment is a lazy, shrugged off "Surrender", although when Vega concludes it with: "it's gonna be a hit....better fuckin' buy the record, all 12 of ya!", he's won you back, and the closing "Harlem" is a creepy, repetitive crawl that even gives Mark.E.Smith a run for his money.
Having clearly influenced both the dance AND rock fraternities, with the likes of The Prodigy, Spiritualized, Primal Scream and REM regularly singing their praises, Suicide are still ahead of the pack. This re-issue of their undervalued third opus is a timely one, and while it suggests an innovatory existance can be a trying one, it's nonetheless "A Way Of Life" worth pursuing. Finally, their uncompromising ways are earning them the respect they deserve.
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