In the liner notes to his 1975 Metal Machine Music Lou Reed quips, My week beats your year. It's a brazen, yet fitting, introductory statement to THE RATCHETS Odds & Ends LP; a collection of outtakes, B-sides, early demos, and covers that beat more than most bands' official releases. This 13-track collection begins with a cover of Rock & Roll, written by the aforementioned Mr. Reed, and sung in a first take, from start to finish, by frontman Jed Engine (kids, that is not normal studio behavior). When the dust settles on their version of Reed's classic they move into the reggae-flavored Federal Girls and proceed to bash their way through four rare punk-rock-n-roll bangers, including Hoist A New Flag and True Deceiver, which remind us how unique, passionate, and inspiring this band is, and continues to be. The Ratchets have always been self-aware of their own musical prowess-- they did boast of recording their 4-song (2004) demo after only three practices (included at the start of side B). These early demos show how organic The Ratchets sound and craft were from the get-go. Lucky for everyone, these small batch demos and other leftovers are finally seeing the light of day! After much prodding on our part, Pirates Press Records is thrilled to announce the release of Odds & Ends and to get these hard-to-find rarities out of our archive and into the hands of fans across the globe.
