In 2004, Urrke Thunman, bassist, vocalist, and leader of Maryslim, had just released the band’s second album, Split Vision. Exhausted from touring, he decided to record some covers of obscure punk songs he loved.
When he shared this idea with his friend Robert Eriksson, drummer of The Hellacopters, he found his first supporter and collaborator. Eriksson then suggested guitarist Mans P. Mansson from The Maggots. After discussing the project with Dregen, who had just left The Hellacopters, they secured their second guitarist.
The group entered the studio and recorded four covers: “Cranked Up Really High” by Slaughter & The Dogs (which became the title of their first EP), “Raggare” by FF Commando, “Vital Hours” by Outsiders, “I Need Nothing” by Menace. “Cranked Up Really High”, along with three subsequent EPs (which included original songs), was released through Bootleg Booze Records. Interestingly, the back cover explicitly stated that the band had no website, no email, and no way to contact them!
Now, Wild Kingdom has taken the admirable initiative to release all of Midlife Crisis’ material on CD and vinyl under the clever title “45 Turns to 33″—a playful reference to both the members’ ages and the vinyl record’ spins per minute.
The music is a blend of The Hellacopters, MC5, The Stooges, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Zombies, and more. In fact, if you didn’t know some of the songs were covers, you wouldn’t be able to tell! The tracklist follows the exact chronological order of the EP releases, maintaining the original sequence of the songs. This is truly the soundtrack of an entire generation—whether it’s the lesser-known punk tracks from 1976-1978 that shaped the sound, the Scandinavian rawk of the ’90s, or the original songs that blend so seamlessly with the covers that you can’t tell them apart!
A real treasure!
