Thee Caesars Of Trash

The Mighty Caesars expanded their sonic palette somewhat on their third album, released in 1986. Leader Billy Childish’s vocals were as nasal and desperate as ever, his guitar full of the usual bite, but the primitive garage rock of their self-titled debut and 1985’s Beware The Ides Of March was augmented by harmonica, extra percussion, flute, organ, and even harp, almost all played by drummer Graham Day of the Prisoners, garage-rock peers who’d shared bills and a split LP with the Milkshakes. As always, the album is a mix of originals and cranked-up covers, this time including Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah,” Rufus Thomas’s “All Night Worker,” Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” Link Wray’s “Jack The Ripper” and the Sonics’ “Psycho.” The energy level never flags, and it feels like most of the performances were single takes; Childish cracks himself up midway through “All Night Worker” but barrels through.