With their unique blend of raucous punk rock laced with reggae and dub, the Ruts were one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Britain’s late-’70s scene. Their career was cut cruelly short by the death of their singer in 1980, but still the group released six crucial singles and a seminal album in their short lifetime. They were also a powerful force within Britain’s Rock Against Racism movement, ensuring a political legacy at least as vital as their music.
This is a 74 track four CD box set featuring pretty much all the band recorded during their time with Virgin Records. Includes the hit singles ‘Babylon’s Burning’ (No.7), ‘Something That I Said’ (No.29), ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’ (No.22) and ‘West One (Sine On Me)’ (No.43).
Disc 1 has the No.16 charting debut LP ‘The Crack’ bolstered by six non LP bonus tracks. Disc 2 features the Top 30 ‘Grin N Bear It’ odds n sods LP which now comes with two bonus tracks plus previously unreleased BBC Radio 1 Kid Jensen session that is something of a ‘Holy Grail’ amongst Punk collectors. The third disc comes with three John Peel sessions plus a lively nine track BBC In Concert show from 1979. The fourth disc is a warts n all show from The Marquee in July 1979, never before officially released and capturing the band at their ‘in yer face’ confrontational best. Packaged in a clam shell box with a 20 page booklet featuring detailed liner notes by Roland Link who has just published the bands biography ‘Love In Vain’.
Disc 1:
1. Babylon´ Burning
2. Dope For Guns
3. S.U.S
4. Something That I Said
5. You´re Just A
6. It Was Cold
7. Savage Circle
8. Jah War
9. Criminal Minds
10. Back Biter
11. Out Of Order
12. Human Punk
13. Babylon´s Burning
14. Society
15. Something That I Said
16. Give Youth A Chance
17. Jah War
18. I Ain´t Sofisticated
Disc 2:
1. West One [Shine On Me]
2. Staring At The Rude Boys
3. Demolition Dancing
4. Secrect Soldiers
5. H-Eyes
6. In The Rut
7. Love In Vain
8. S.U.S.
9. Babylon´s Burning
10. Society
11. West One [Shine On Me]
12. The Crack
13. In A Rut
14. Babylon´s Burning
15. Something That I Said
Disc 3:
1. Savage Circle
2. Babylon´s Burning
3. Dope For Guns
4. Black Man´s Pinch
5. Criminal Mind
6. S.U.S.
7. Society
8. You´re Just A
9. It Was Cold
10. Something That I Said
11. Staring With The Rude Boys
12. Demolition Dancing
13. In A Rut
14. Serect Soldiers
15. You´re Just A
16. It Was Cold
17. I Ain´t Sofisticated
18. Dope For Guns
19. S.U.S.
20. Babylon´s Burning
21. Jah War
22. Criminal Minds
23. In A Rut
Disc 4:
1. Something That I Said
2. H-Eyes
3. Gotta Little Number
4. I Ain´t Sofisticated
5. S.U.S.
6. Criminal Mind
7. Dope For Guns
8. Babylon´s Burning
9. Backbiter
10. Jah War
11. You´re Just A
12. It Was Cold
13. Out Of Order
14. In A Rut
15. Human Punk
16. Savage Circle
17. Babylon´s Burning [Encore]
