Plastic Surgery Disasters

Plastic Surgery Disasters is the second full-length album released by punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Recorded in San Francisco during June 1982, it was produced by the band and punk record producer Thom Wilson, with Geza X getting a "special thanks" underneath the DK's/Wilson credit for additional production. (DK's guitarist East Bay Ray redundantly added his own name to the production credits on Manifesto reissues of the album.) The album is darker and more hardcore-influenced than their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables as a result of the band trying to expand on the sound and mood they had achieved with their 1980 single "Holiday in Cambodia".[10] It was the first full-length album to feature drummer D.H. Peligro, and is frontman Jello Biafra's favorite Dead Kennedys album.[11]

Plastic Surgery Disasters
Studio album by
Dead Kennedys
ReleasedNovember 1982
RecordedJune 1982
StudioHyde St. Studios and Möbius Music in San Francisco
Genre
Length42:56
Label
Producer
Dead Kennedys chronology
In God We Trust, Inc.
(1981)		 Plastic Surgery Disasters
(1982)		 Frankenchrist
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[2]
AllMusic [3]
The Austin Chronicle[1]
Drowned in Sound8/10[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Kerrang![6]
OndaRock7/10[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[9]

According to Jello Biafra, the main musical influences for the album were Bauhaus, Les Baxter and the Groundhogs.[12]

Artwork

The album's cover features the band's name superimposed over the black-and-white photograph "Hands" by photojournalist Michael Wells. Wells's photo depicts the emaciated forearm and hand of a malnourished Ugandan child in the palm of a European missionary to highlight the horrors of famine in parts of the African continent during the 1970s and 80s. The same image was used by another San Francisco-based punk band called Society Dog for their 1981 EP .....Off of the Leash..

Most pressings of the album include a booklet containing lyrics and pieces of collage artwork by Biafra and Winston Smith that thematically tie in to the lyrics of each song on the album.

Track listings

On the album's original vinyl and cassette releases, the A-side comprises tracks 1–8, ending with “Winnebago Warrior”, and the B-side tracks 9–13, kicking off with “Riot”. Some reissues parse out Melissa Webber's spoken intro to the album from the opening song, "Government Flu", and list it as a separate track entitled "Advice from Christmas Past". Similarly, Webber's spoken outro after "Moon Over Marin" revisits "Advice from Christmas Past" and is listed as such on some editions of the album.

All tracks are written by Jello Biafra, except when specified

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Advice from Christmas Past" 0:55
2."Government Flu" 2:04
3."Terminal Preppie" 1:30
4."Trust Your Mechanic" 2:55
5."Well Paid Scientist" 2:21
6."Buzzbomb"Biafra, East Bay Ray2:21
7."Forest Fire" 2:22
8."Halloween"Biafra, Ray3:35
9."Winnebago Warrior" 2:09
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Riot"Dead Kennedys5:57
11."Bleed for Me"Dead Kennedys3:24
12."I Am the Owl"Dead Kennedys4:51
13."Dead End"Ray3:56
14."Moon Over Marin"Biafra, Ray4:29
Total length:42:56

The compact disc of the album has been reissued to include the EP In God We Trust, Inc. as eight tracks added onto its end and also appear on streaming versions of Plastic Surgery Disasters.

Personnel
Dead Kennedys
Additional Performers
  • Dave Barrett – saxophone on "Terminal Preppie"
  • Bruce Askley – saxophone on "Terminal Preppie"
  • Melissa Webber – backing vocals (credited as "The Voice of Christmas Past")
  • Ninotchka (Therese Soder) – backing vocals on "Forest Fire" and "Winnebago Warrior"
Production
  • Thom Wilson – production
  • East Bay Ray – production
  • Oliver Dicicco – engineering
  • John Cuniberti – engineering, mixing
  • Winston Smith – artwork
  • Jello Biafra – artwork

Charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[13] 2

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Dead Kennedys".
  2. "Welcome to the Official Website for Dead Kennedys".
  3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000652753
  4. "Album Review: Dead Kennedys - Reissues". 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  5. Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  6. Kerrang! 24 March 2001 issue
  7. "Dead Kennedys - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto".
  8. Catucci, Nick (2004). "Dead Kennedys". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Arnold, Gina (1995). "Dead Kennedys". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 106–107. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  10. "Jello Biafra - Songfacts Interview". Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  11. "Jello Biafra Walks Us Through his Entire Discography". Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  12. Ray Flores (1 July 2000). "Jello Biafra". Juice Magazine. p. 52. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Interviewer: "Who else influenced you?" Jello Biafra: "...When I wrote Plastic Surgery Disasters, the main stuff I was listening to was Bauhaus, Les Baxter and The Groundhogs."
  13. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  14. "British album certifications – Dead Kennedys – Plastic surgery disasters". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Plastic surgery disasters in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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