Dead Kennedys - Frankenchrist 12"

Although I consider "In God We Trust" to pretty much be an album in itself, this is technically the third LP from the Dead Kennedys; Frankenchrist. For reasons I'm not entirely sure of, I hadn't heard anything from this album until it arrived on my doorstep (Well, technically when I went and got it from the mail place). I had heard this was a bit of a departure from the traditional DK sound into a more 'psychedelic' atmosphere, so I didn't know what to expect. Of course I wasn't disappointed, the album is just overall fantastic. 

I have no idea if any colour variations are available for this release, somehow I think those would be bootlegs. Anyway, I've just got a plain black version of the record off Ebay. For a second hand record that is over 26 years old, it has kept bloody well. Thanks to be Ebay seller for keeping it in such great condition all this time.

My record came inside a standard white dust sleeve, but this was also inside the case. This would have been the original dust sleeve, and it contains the pretty standard information about the recording and all that. On the reverse is the lyrics, and let me tell you, there are a lot of them. This album features much longer songs than previously seen by the band, and this is really evident by the quantity of lyrics.

The seller truly did a good job of keeping the included pieces in all their entirety. Alongside the original dust sleeve and poster (see below), was an original order sheet from Alternative Tentacles! I'm envious of how cheaply DK stuff could be bought at the time.

I considered for a while whether to include a photo of the included poster or not. As you've probably guessed, I thought I would include it for completeness. If you don't like what you see, just don't look at it. For those who don't know, this album stirred up quite a bit of controversy in its day, and the reason is this Giger penis landscape. 

Yes it is pretty grotesque, but that was the point of it really. If you take a look back at the sticker on the front cover, you'll notice a black warning sticker on it. It is too hard to read in the photo, but says " ..is a work of art..that some people may find offensive, shocking...life can be sometimes be that way". Sadly this actually got the band and label into quite a lot of trouble in '85. Consequently, the band faced a trial for for distributing harmful material to minors which almost brought Alternative Tentacles to bankruptcy. To be honest, I don't like looking at it much. Although I am glad it came along with the record, and is in such fantastic condition. 

This record certainly did come with a lot of extras, I'm glad they've survived the test of time.