This is the third of three brand new singles released by Amphetamine Reptile of the pop combo known as Melvins, and this one welcomes in a guest and longtime friend of the band. A Tribute To The Scientists honors the Australian band who were known for their mixture of punk and garage/roots/swamp rock. Buzz and Dale bring in Mark Arm, the man of Green River/Mudhoney/The Monkeywrench fame who introduced me to Melvins back in the fall of 1986 when I ordered a copy of Green River’s “Together We’ll Never”/”Ain’t Nothin’ To Go” 45 from him. He included Melvins’ first 7″ on C/Z as a bonus. Hearing Arm backed by Osborne and Crover in “Swampland” makes me wish the three of these guys would do more material together, it sounds incredible, and Arm pushes himself to level that might be able to push this song into a hit of the state of the music industry was a bit better. “Set It On Fire” grinds beautifully, and with Buzz taking on both guitar and bass duties, there’s just a sense of heaviness that may very well be in my head but it sounds damn good.
It was one thing when Melvins covered Mudhoney’s “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More” for a single, but another for Arm to step into the band’s realm and make it sound as if he has been “in the waiting” to play with these guys. Each AmRep 7″ in this series has been very nice, and it’s difficult to say which one is better, and I’m not going to because they all have qualities that I like. There are six more singles to come, including a Throbbing Gristle tribute where Buzz plays everything heard so I look forward to it all.
This Is Book's Music 