PROVO/PROTO

In a recent Middle Class post by my good friends here, none other than Henry Rollins is quoted saying the first two hardcore records were the Middle Class EP and "some Dutch record from about 1972". Commentators were quick to point out this had to be the legendary Sound Of Imker 45, actually from around 1968, that has been on the top of many want lists (including Jello Biafra's, someone told me recently) for years. The story goes, the record was never released but the record company did give one of the Imker brothers two boxes, which they used for playing frisbee, target practice etc. So "rare" is an understatement here! Rarity aside, it's a good record and pretty fast as well, but to my ears really nothing special. But maybe that's because a lot of Dutch 60's music sounds like some kind of secret punk/HC forebear, not just in the music, but also in its attitude. Just take a look at the names: Outsiders, Zipps, Selfkick, 12345, Fallouts, Soft(enon)s sound more like '77 than '66. Lyric-wise, most songs weren't about love but either about various things bugging them, like war ("Stengun"), parents ("Paarse Broek"), TV ("Zet Die TV Af" ="turn off the TV"), work ("Ik Heb Geen Zin Om Op Te Staan" ="don't feel like getting up"), etc. or just silly for some reason often food-related nonsense ("Kejje Nagaan", "Waaro"). Rather than being a uber-hip style bible, leading Dutch 60's zine Hitweek would let any provincial bumpkin write in to tell the world about their plight being in the middle of nowhere having long hair and purple trousers, much like punk zines like MaxRock&Roll and Koekrand would later. And regarding speed... Well, we must have the Dutch "hoom-pah" folk music embedded in our genes, because there's lots of superfast ("proto-hardcore", if you like) stuff around; here's some examples that are hardly rare... Q65's "You're The Victor" was their first hit in Holland, it even has some traces of "oompah" left in the bass line...! This isn't the place to expound on the greatness of the Outsiders, possibly Holland's greatest band ever, and equally at home doing tender ballads or Stooges-type sludge-a-thons. Apart from 2 fast 'uns, I've also posted their ultra-primitive early 45 "Thinking About Today", that in my book could easily have been a self-released Dutch punk record from 1980 or thereabouts; it could fit on Utreg Punx or some such sampler!

Q 65 - You're The Victor (1965)
Outsiders - Won't You Listen (1967)
Outsiders - The Man On The Dune (1968)
Outsiders - Thinking About Today (1966)