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Richard Hell Repairs the Voidoids’ 1982 Album “Destiny Street”

7/8/09, 2:11 pm EST


In 1982, Richard Hell & the Voidoids released their second and final album Destiny Street, the follow-up to the group’s punk epic Blank Generation. Now, 27 years after Destiny Street’s release, Richard Hell is revisiting the album and putting it out as Destiny Street Repaired — Hell rerecorded the entire album with the help of three guitarists: Tom Waits collaborator Marc Ribot, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and original Voidoid Ivan Julian. The album, which features fresh vocals but the original rhythm track, will be released in multiple formats via Insound on September 1st.

“At the time of the original recording I was so debilitated by despair and drug-need that I was useless,” Hell says in a press release. “The record ended up being a high-pitched sludge of guitar noise. It was a shame because the songs were clean, simple, and well-constructed, but those values were sabotaged by the inappropriate arrangements and production.” Destiny Street has been unavailable since 2006, when Hell deliberately made the album out-of-print after regaining the rights to the LP. Upon finding the original rhythm tracks, Hell decided to remake the album as it was originally intended. “I couldn’t resist trying to use them to fill and patch up the sinking feeling that the thought of the record had always produced in me,” Hell adds.

Destiny Street Repaired will come in two formats: The standard CD and the limited-edition deluxe CD/vinyl/poster set. The CD and the vinyl will both carry the 10 repaired Destiny songs — which include covers of Bob Dylan and the Kinks — however the deluxe will feature a bonus CD sporting two songs: the unreleased 1979 demo “Smitten” and the demo for “Funhunt,” which was previously only available in a hard-to-find live version. Plus, all 1,000 of the limited-edition Destiny sets come hand-numbered and signed by Hell himself. For more details on the album, check out Hell’s Insound page.

Related Stories:

• Richard Hell Tells Story
• Hell Remembers Quine
• Painterly Punk

Daniel Kreps

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Comments

The Intl | 7/9/2009, 12:37 am EST

hmm…I don’t know about this. On one hand we had a sick junkie lp, now we got a 50-something re-recording of the same lp. I’m gonna look for the original on blogsites.

dlt | 7/9/2009, 7:34 am EST

I like the original myself. It’s probably better than the first album, Blank Generation. But the version of Down At the Rock & Roll Club on my CD is not as good as the version on my scratchy vinyl. And it has nothing to do w/ the scratchiness.

Iggy remixed Raw Power, but that’s something else. I’ll buy Hell’s new and improved Destiny Street because I don’t really listen to cassettes anymore. And he probably (like everybody else) needs the money

Nige | 7/9/2009, 8:46 am EST

You can’t tell by the album cover photo that he was a smackhead.

Just kidding. He looks like a confused zombie having a bad day

wrecksracer | 7/9/2009, 11:37 am EST

I used to own this cd. To me, it didn’t measure up to Blank Generation. He can try to fix it, but it was a bad attempt to slick up his sound in the first place. I’ll listen to it, but I don’t think it will be any better.

spud simpson | 7/9/2009, 8:22 pm EST

i am sure he will sell about 100 copies as there are about 100 people who even remember richard hell anymore.

ferfreem | 7/9/2009, 10:58 pm EST

This is great news. Can’t wait to hear it and actually worried that I’m too used to the original version. “Time” is a masterpiece.

dlt | 7/10/2009, 8:11 am EST

Time
Is a killer

Markus | 7/19/2009, 1:04 am EST

Bob Quine said in an interview that he went in with the other guitar player (a guy named Naux), added a bunch of overdubs and remixed the album. It was a Quine production, in other words. And now his parts are getting erased?

If Quine was alive, I think he would punch Richard’s lights out. And Hell would deserve it.

greg neate | 8/30/2009, 8:41 pm EST

i just got it. it’s cool they did a limited version on vinyl. you should be able to get a copy of the original vinyl for fairly cheap on eBay but the redone version is all i’m going to get since it was limited to a pressing of 1000.

goober | 9/6/2009, 5:05 pm EST

Who has in fact listened to the new CD? It’s a tremendous record. And in its entirety its better than the original. You may prefer this or that about the 1982 version, but altogether as the collection of great songs it is, the 2009 version is a way better 35 minutes.

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