Records like this make me actually ask philosophical questions about the nature of album reviews. Weird, right? I know. Well, the issue at hand is how exactly to evaluate Spiritual, Mental, Physical, a rough album of pre-1975 demos and impromptu jam sessions from Detroit’s unsung punk heroes, Death.

As a musical distillation of the band’s journey — from the moment Alice Cooper planted rock in the Hackneys brothers’ hearts to the realization of what would become …For the Whole World to See — it’s a fascinating listen. There are explorations in fast and loose proto-hardcore punk, parenthetical psychedelic flourishes and laid-back melodies, all of which paint a picture of how the trio developed into a band that almost makes Bad Brains look like a tired rehash in retrospect (bold words, I know; that’s why I said almost).

Taken as a standalone record apart from Death’s made-for-the-movies story, however, it’s just a meandering conflagration that showcases stellar musicianship without an eye toward crafting stellar songs. That’s not to say no stand-out tracks exist, but you can certainly tell the band’s time-tunnel-riding sound hadn’t yet crystallized.

So the final decision on my obviously authoritative rating ends up somewhere in between. Spiritual, Mental, Physical is historically significant (especially within the narrative of the band), and it’s a somewhat lackluster album that was never really intended to be an album in the first place.

Also, this isn’t the metal band. Sorry to ruin your day.

While discussing some rare tracks on The Complete Elvis Presley Masters collection (which is 30 CDs of every single Elvis master tape, in addition to outtakes, demos and live cuts), archivist and Elvis aficionado Ernst Jorgensen piqued my interest with a statement about which tracks would never be uncovered:

We don’t have our hands on everything. In 1959, RCA Records destroyed about 20,000 tapes to save space in some warehouse building in Indianapolis. There were lots of Elvis Sun tapes and ’50s records. These were not the masters, but the outtakes. On that, I have given up. I’ve known every vault keeper there was, I’ve known the paperwork… With the Internet and eBay, most people who have something worth any money have been out shaking it trying to sell it.

The interesting part here isn’t so much the “Oh noes, we don’t have four Elvis songs for our $750 box set!” It’s more the realization that record companies have lost so much music in the past 60 years. Sure, this is hardly news — but it still barely registers with most folks.

Whether you’re talking about warehouse fires, master tape thievery, degraded hard drives or outright destruction, a lot of historically significant music will never be heard again. Or maybe never even heard in the first place.

When you consider this in concert with the discovery of Detroit punk progenitors Death in 2009, you have to wonder if some other potentially game-changing unreleased records were destroyed in a fit of space-saving shortsightedness.

In addition to thrilling fans at Boomslang with a breakneck set that included “new” stuff, Death made a pretty exciting announcement: Drag City will be releasing a new Death album!

This next part is going to sound like real journalism, so avert your attention if the periodic appearances of “professionalism” around here make you gag/laugh/wince.

Buzzgrinder has also learned from multiple reliable sources that the record will contain select rough cuts — some of which appeared in a more polished form on the band’s initial Drag City release — from pre-production and demo sessions prior to their hallowed 1975 United Sound recordings. The album is likely to get a January 2011 release, though there’s an outside chance a November street date could happen.

Additionally, rumor has it that very preliminary plans are under way for a Detroit show which would include Death, Iggy Pop (possibly with The Stooges), the surviving members of MC5 and a few other Motor City luminaries. No word on a timetable for this all star concert, but man that sounds like the show of the century — and we’re only 10 years in.

See the Death photos from Boomslang Festival.

:: Morrissey told Katy Perry not to marry Russell Brand. Maybe Moz’ gaydar is picking something up.

:: Russian Circles‘ van and trailer were recently totaled three days into a tour with Boris. If you can give a hand, then give a shout.

:: Oh noes!

:: It seems like more and more bands — Oh, Sleeper in this instance — are following the trend of being honest about how much money they make.

:: Derf Scratch, the original bassist of Fear, has passed away after an extended illness.

:: Bob Pollard and J Mascis together? Yes, please.

:: New York fans of Detroit rock and roll (read it again, it’ll make sense) got a treat this past Saturday: Death!

:: NPR had a little chat with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

:: What we’ve long expected is now official: Cassettes are back, baby. Or does this mean they’re over — again?

:: Looks like we’ll be getting a new record from The Walkmen come September.

:: Dr. Dre and Jay-Z together. Yowza.

:: Speaking of collabs, Beck is bringing in some friends (Tortoise and Sonic Youth‘s Thurston Moore) for his Record Club project.

:: Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman took some time to discuss the impact of civil rights leader John M. Perkins.

:: A truer headline has never been written by Axl Rosenberg (some of equal truth, but none more true).

:: If you’re in Toronto this weekend for NXNE, go say hi to Buddyhead.

:: Forgot to mention this initially, but Tim at the Dayton, Ohio music/fashion blog You Indie asked me a few questions, and I responded.

:: Random tracks that don’t suck:

:: High on Fire has a full slate of dates in April, as well as only one appearance at SXSW. Guess that means HOF won’t be playing the Buzzgrinder/Buddyhead two-day SXSW showcase, then.

:: I’ve thought for a while that Vampire Weekend can at times write decent songs, only to ruin them by performing said songs. Turns out, they’re pretty good at ruining other people’s music, too.

:: Michael Jackson‘s doctor was officially charged with manslaughter. That will almost certainly absolve Jacko of any culpability in his own death for most folks. And that’s good, because we all know he was never guilty of anything strange or bad. Obviously.

:: Sounds like the real reason Noel said no thanks to Oasis was so he could fulfill his secret dream of being a soccer referee.

:: Proof of the impending apocalypse number 3,149: Pete Wentz and Craig Owens are joining forces for a band.

:: You’re hurting my heart here, Slash. Did you have to pick the Alter Bridge dude to front your band on tour? Then again, you could’ve done worse. At least he doesn’t have red cornrows and bad plastic surgery.

:: Random tracks that don’t suck:
Death – Politicians in My Eyes
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Sound
My Morning Jacket – Heartbreakin’ Man

I’d read the story and heard the music. It was pretty undeniable that the black Detroit proto-punk band Death really did capture punk rock before most of its peers. Plus the songs were good. That was about as far as it went for me. Until I saw them at Fun Fun Fun Fest. I knew it would be a legendary deal beforehand, but again, that was mere intellectual assent.

Then they took the stage, black robes draped over their bodies. At that moment, I felt it. The electricity in the air was tangible. From that point forward, I was like a baby wrapped in a warm blanket of face-melting guitar solos, Detroit rock propulsion, punk attitude and Under Armour shirts.

After the performance, the whole phenomenon was made even more real to me, because I got to hear this story that had been bandied about so often the last year or so — straight from the band. It was a humbling and tear-jerking experience, to say the least.

When it was all said and done, frontman Bobby Hackney intoned, “This isn’t the end of Death. This is just the beginning.” I pray that he’s right. You should, too.

Death – Politicians in My Eyes

See the Death photos.

So Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009 is over, sadly. While I missed Danzig (rain and mud was unbearable for a guy wearing torn-up Vans and carrying a heavy bag full of equipment who had a 15-hour drive ahead of him), I did get to see some other legendary acts (punk progenitors Death, Jesus Lizard, Coalesce).

Add that to the “regular” bands who were equally insane (like Les Savy Fav, when frontman Tim Harrington ventured into the crowd riding a ladder), and you’re talking about a face-melting weekend.

I’m already looking forward to next year. Kudos, Transmission Entertainment. You guys hit it out of the park this weekend.

Some bands on the Fun Fun Fun Fest’s 2009 lineup have been trickling out for a little while now, and even after just the first dozen or so, it’s already looking like a high-class affair.

The latest name to be added is the proto-punk outfit Death — and that’s in addition to Jesus Lizard, Lucero, WHY?, Melt Banana and others. So needless to say, Fun Fun Fun Fest is going to be top notch this year.

Aside from the obvious big ones (Thursday, Morrissey, Trail of Dead, M. Ward, The Appleseed Cast, etc.), there are a few intriguing releases out today that might be flying a bit under the radar.

Neal Casal, second in command behind Ryan Adams in The Cardinals, has his new one out. Amazon says it’s an import, so maybe it’s not actually out yet or it came out a while ago. Either way, Casal is a solid songwriter that will scratch that alt.country itch.

Protected: Massive Samples collects the original songs that Massive Attack has sampled over the years.

Dark Was the Night is a two-disc comp to raise money for AIDS relief. It includes original tracks by pretty much everyone awesome: Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, Spoon, Arcade Fire… you get the picture. Definitely worth checking out.

:: Abe Vigoda, Reviver EP (PPM)

:: The Acorn, Heron Act (Paper Bag)

:: Alela Diane, To Be Still (Rough Trade)

:: …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, The Century of Self (Richter Scale)

:: The Appleseed Cast, Sagarmatha (The Militia Group)

:: Arise and Ruin, Night Storms Hail Fire (Victory)

:: Asobi Seksu, Hush (Polyvinyl)

:: Audrye Sessions, Audrye Sessions EP (Black Seal)

:: Bang Camaro, Bang Camaro (8th Impression)

:: Beirut / Realpeople, March of the Zapotec / Holland (Pompeii / Ba Da Bing)

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