Este recopilatario tras un buen numero de escuchas uno llega a la conclusion de que es una continuacion de Citadel desde el pais vecino, presentado por un formate especial como es el 10", en formato doble y recopiiando en su mayoria a bandas australianas que sin duda han crecido escuchando cosas de ese sello.

El primero en lanzarse es Joe Algeri con su banda (Jack & the Beanstalk) atacando una animalada como "Slave Girl" de los Lime Spiders, y haciendo de este tema una leccion de garage punk sesentero y dejando un poco de lado las raices de pop con las que se nutre esta banda y arremetiendo con feroces solos de guitarras.
Les siguen cuatro nuevas bandas, a las que el mismo Rob Younger produce. Este es uno de los motivos por lo que este tributo tiene un nivel tan elevado, un colaborador habitual del sello, tambien participa en este disco. Las bandas son Challenger 7 que practicamente bordan el tema de Screaming Tribesmen "Move A Little Closer", los Hunchbacks con guitarras cargadas de sentimiento reviven el "Virginia" de los Bamboos, Sheek The Shayk & His Royal Camels arremeten con otros olvidados de lujo Lipstick Killers y su "Liquor Fit", mientras que unos Mother Jones igualan el "Sad TV" de los Visitors, el amigo Steve Gardner bajo el pseudonimo Tendion recupera a los Trilobites y su "Legacy Of Morons", unico participante de estados unidos ademas de su reconocida pasion por las bandas australianas como bien demostraba en su impressionante fanzine "Noise For Heroes".
Cierran este primer disco Indignation con un tema de Porcelain Bus en donde su vocalista Ian James da vida propia a "Sister Life", una verdadera maravilla cargada de sensibilidad.

En el secundo disco Rob se hace carge de sonido de tres de las cinco bandas que aparecen. Panadolls haciendo otro classico del rock australiano de los 80's "Voodoo Slaves" de los Minuteman, los Asteroid B-612 dando su particular toque al tema de Died Pretty "Mirror Blues" y uno de los momentos mas intenso del disco es cuando Louis Tillett, que grabo un album para este sello, junto a Charlie Owen guitarra de los indispensables New Christs y que colaboro en el disco de Tillett, hacen una version de la banda de Owen, el clasico "Headin' South" a base de piano y guitarra con el particular toque de Mr Owen, un temas desnudo comparado con la version original pero lleno de matices.
Los Someloves son la banda a la que rinden tributo nuestros queridos Pyramidiacs con el tema "Don't Talk About Us", puro power pop como no podia ser de otra manera. La otra banda que no es australiano sino de Francia son Backsliders, banda que funciono en el sello frances Spliff (otro buen sello de R&R a tener en cuenta) y que recuperan a una banda de leyenda en el punk rock de los 70's en australia, Fun Things y recuperan su "Savage".

A meld of the past and the present, you've got tracks by The Died Pretty, New Christs, Lime Spiders and others covered by Asteroid B-612, Mother Jones and The Backsliders (among others), most produced by Radio Birdman frontman Rob Younger.

For anyone who remembers the originals this is an incredible trip down memory lane - you will, for example, be amazed just how clearly the lyrics of the Lime Spiders' Slave Girl come back.

It's hard to pick highlights out of such a good line-up, but Louis Tillet and Charlie Owen's version of the New Christs' Headin' South is suitably dark, while Asteroid B612 do things to Mirror Blues you can guarantee Died Pretty never imagined.

Available only on vinyl and only through the 'Net, try www.sdv.fr/pages/dgieff/rob.htm"

Dynamiteurs communs Citadel Records fond� par John Needham guitaris-te de Minuteman et g�N°alogie discogra-phique de Radio Birdman N° de la rencontre sonique entre Rob Younger de Sydney et de Deniz Tek de Detroit. Historiquement, l'Australie a un fichu poids de parpaings de guitares. Les Stooges via les Scientists, les Groovies et les Seeds de Sky Saxon via les Hoodoo Gurus, les Kinks et les Remains via les Sunny Boys � la une du magazine Nineteen. Ramones, MC5, 13th Floor Elevator, Yardbirds, Sonics, Gun Club, Kingsmen sont au pinacle chez les Wet Taxis, Lime Spiders, Celi-bate Rifles, Lipstick Killers, City Kids, Visi-tors...

Storming the Citadel s'inscrit dans la tradition pure et dure des tributes du pays consacr�s � Alex Chilton ou aux Plimsouls, r�veillant le souvenir d'un PIay New Rose for me, bouillon familial ou Sky Saxon reprenait Roky Erickson, Willie Alexander les Lyres, Alex Chilton les Troggs ou les Dead Kennedys Bobby Fuller. L�, c'est Jack & the Beanstalk qui reprennent Slave girls des Lime Spiders et Challenger 7 qui interpr�te Move A Little Closer des Screaming Tribesmen, Mother Jones (des mem-bres des Pranksters, de Naked Lunch...) choisit Sad TV des Visitors et les Panadolls craquent sur Voodoo Slaves de Minu-teman. Il y a Hunchbacks vs Bamboos, Sheek the Shayk vs Lipstick Killers, Tension vs Trilobites, Indignation vs Porcelain Bus, Pyramidiacs vs Someloves, Louis TillIett & Charlie Owen vs New Christs, Asteroid B-612 vs Died Pretty et nos excellents Backsliders (François Lebas ex-Fixed Up) vs Fun Things. Que du tr�s bon enregistr� � Sydney et produit par Rob Younger en personne... "

CITADEL Records has been a trademark of quality for many rabid fans of "Australian Rock" (a tag which might annoy a lot of Australians down there, for obvious reasons, but which's still helpful for fans trying to define this wonderful tidal wave of first-class rock n 'roll to eager newcomers!), and although the label has been very discreet for the past ten years, its early releases are still fondly remembered and cherished and played again and again by thousands of die-hard high-octane rock n 'roll addicts everywhere!

Thus it comes as no surprise that one of these fine lads finally shifts into action Divine Rites Webmaster, the man behind the Internet site of Citadel, is launching his own brand new label, Divine Rites, with a top-notch pack of two distinct 10" dedicated to his oz rawk obsession Storming The Citadel, or 12 contemporary bands doing covers of songs selected among the finest singles and lps released by the label between 1982 and 1888.

When Citadel Rds appeared in '82, out of the unknown (Darllnghurst, a Sydney suburb), it was mainly for guitarist John Needham a means to put out the first and only single of his own band, Minuteman, whose only claim to fame was getting future Hoodoo Gurus' bass player Clyde Bramley in the studio for the single' sessions (although he wasn't a member of the band). The 7" didn't sell much but soon JN started releasing more singles, such as a Deniz Tek(Radio Birdman split or long time friend Rob Younger's band's cult-classic 7", the New Christs' Like a Curse (Younger ended up producing many Australian and foreign bands from all over the world). Then things went a bit out of control and Citadel finally managed to reach a broader audience with the Lime Spiders' 1st effort for the label (after a debut double-7" on Green Rds), and Died Pretty's debut, Mirror Blues, in 1984. (The rest is history; if you want to learn more about the label, check out the discography and try to find issue #17 (1986) of Bucketfull of Brains, the famous Brit fanzine. You'll learn everything from the man himself, plus there is a top-notch interview with Mick Blood, the Spiders' screamer.)

What's striking about Storming the Citadel is that obviously Didier put a hell of a lot of love and work in the two resulting 10". You may or may not dig the sleeve design and artwork but just check out the flipsides and you'll find yourself overwhelmed with information: color repros of all the original sleeves, color photos of each covering band with line-ups and contacts, short summaries about both the songs and the bands, pieces of info about Citadel itself,... all in all as much stuff to read as to listen to! And what you've got on the vinyl is no wimpy halfhearted shit either: with 7 songs produced by Rob Younger himself, the first fans of the early Citadel releases will feel the thrill of this Big Bad Aussie Sound again, and from Move a little closer (originally by the Screaming Tribesmen great version here by Challenger 7, a Sydney 4-piece featuring ex-Kryptonics Ian Underwood) to Don't talk about us (by the Someloves, covered here by spiritual sons The Pyramidiacs), every song gets a tasteful new treatment and every band develops its own vision while paying its dues.

Of course, A lot of the bands who recorded for Citadel during the 80's were following the path cleared by Radio Birdman and perpetuated this seminal band's Australian heritage of 60's/Detroit/Garage Punk/White Riot Rawk n'Rawl, and therefore the tribute is packed with supercharged guitar onslaughts, such as the last track of the Lipstick Killers "Mesmerizer" live lp, Liquor Fit - excellent unrestrained version by Sheek The Shayk & His Royal Camels - or Sad TV from the Visitors' one and only self-titled Ip (one of the short-lived offshoots from the 'Birdman, featuring 3/5th of the original RB line-up) here by Sydney supergroup Mother Jones, a band which features Tony Gibson and Murray Shepherd, among other ex-members of The Melting Skyscrapers or The Fun Things.

The Fun Things whose prehistoric teenpunk anthem Savage is also revisited (which seems a trend in itself at the moment -cf the more or less recent versions by Electric Frankenstein, Teengenerate, Bum and The Vikings of this frenzied outburst of anger and sexual frustration!) by the only European combo on the tribute, The Backsliders, a French Le Havre-based power-trio led by singer-guitarist François Lebas whose previous band Fixed-Up toured Australia in the 80's to promote their singles on Citadel. A dream deal which had of course something to do with the band being managed by St�phane Saunier, the head honcho of Le Havre labels Sonics & Teenage Rds, which were dedicated to real rock n'roll and which released Citadel recordings (and other Aussie indie labels') under license, along with brother-label Closer Rds.

But Citadel was also prowling different grounds and got really beyond the fringe, far from the post -Birdman crowd with the first singles of bands such as Died Pretty or Perth's gun-totting Bamboos, whose threatening brand of countryfied rock n'roll was the perfect soundtrack for an afternoon at the hanging.. their fabulous Virginia is covered by The Hunchbacks and it's the only weak track, being too close to the original and lacking the extra humfph that would have transcended the song. Died Pretty's Mirror Blues gets the treatment it deserves from Asteroid B-612, that is to say a flamboyant rendering of that 9 minutes allucinogenic journey, a song that they could, in 'B-612's guitarist John Spittles' own words, 'fuck around with without fucking it up". And fucking playfully around they do, shifting into Pere Ubu's Final Solution and borrowing some riffs from the New Christs' Born out of time for an even more convincing result.

Other bands and people involved in the project are the Panadolls (a Sydney band featuring Al Creed, also today in the latest line-up of the New Christs), Louis Tillett & Charlie Owen (Younger's old comrades of war, doing a wonderful semi-accoustic version of Headin 'South), Indignation, Jack & The Beanstalk and Steve Gardner (ex-Gamma Men and editor of San Diego-based US fanzine Noise For Heroes), doing covers of songs by the Trilobites, Minuteman, the New Christs or Porcelain Bus, and every version is more than just worth checking out.

You may just be starting to get into Oz Rawk or you 're already a die-hard addict, but in any case get quickly in touch with Didier (hurry up 'coz each vinyl pressing is limited to 700 copies..) and get yourself ready for some ass-kickin' rawk n 'rawl; satisfaction guaranteed !!!

One such fan was Divine Rites Webmaster, a 38-year old computer programmer from Strasbourg in France. He's just started a label over there, Divine Rites Records, and his very first release is going to be a double 10" vinyl job called Storming The Citadel, a tribute to John Needham's Sydney label that was the early home of the Died Pretty, the Stems, the Trilobites, the Lime Spiders, the Screaming Tribesmen, the Bamboos, the Dubrovniks, the Moffs, the New Christs, Wet Taxis and a bunch of others. Several current Australian bands like Challenger 7, Asteroid B-612, Indignation, the Panadolls, Sheek The Shayk and Perth's Jack & The Beanstalk (doing the Spiders' Slave Girl), along with a couple of European and US outfits, will each tackle a favorite song from the Citadel catalogue.
When recorded, the tapes will be mixed by Rob Younger who, as virtual house producer for Citadel in the '80s, oversaw most of those bands' early sessions. His own bands Radio Birdman and the New Christs are still with the label today, as are DM3 and the now returned Died Pretty.