Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction — Planet Girl

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction -- Planet Girl

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction
• Title: Planet Girl
• Year: 1988
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1988 – Bought it at our store, RIP Records, in Norfolk, VA
• Keeper: No

Here we go again. More Zodiac. This process of weeding out is a good thing. Who needs all these 12 inch singles? When it comes to Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction I definitely have a lot of stuff I would never listen to again if it weren’t for this web log. Zodiac is kind of like Motorhead to me. You gotta have some of it, but after a couple essential pieces the rest is really not necessary.

“Planet Girl (Invader Mix)” is typical Zodiac and two other songs here are typical Zodiac b-side filler. By that I mean they sound like half-developed demos. Those songs are “Dog Face Driver” and “Go Go Baby Dream Show.” Another decent track is a cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.” The Cult had also covered this song on Electric. A note below the title on the back cover declares “This track was recorded in a fit of childish petulance with the specific intention of making The Cult look like a pile of shit.” Okay.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Planet Girl Picture Disc

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Planet Girl Picture Disc

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Planet Girl Picture Disc
• Year: 1988
• Format: Vinyl 10 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1988 – Probably at our store RIP Records in Norfolk, VA
• Keeper: Maybe

I selected “Vinyl 10 in.” for the format on this one but I suppose it depends on how you measure it. This Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction single “Planet Girl” is a solid rocker. The flipside song “Dog Face Driver” is a lot more electronic, like it’s a demo, but not bad. The most interesting part is the most obvious: a picture disc that’s also cut in the shape of a cross. One-time fanatic that I was of course I had to have this. Now, I don’t know. I think these versions of both songs are on other records I have. And who wants to be a completist? That’s for nerds. Weeding out my record collection in public in nerdy enough.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Tattooed Beat Messiah

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Tattooed Beat Messiah

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Tattooed Beat Messiah
• Year: 1988
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1988 – Got the domestic from our store RIP Records, and the UK from Venus Records, both in Norfolk, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

Oh man, how I used to love this Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction stuff. Even when it was new I thought it was completely silly, but fun and rocking when little else was. We saw them once, at what Mary and I still call the old 9:30 Club (Wikipedia) in D.C. The old one on F Street was a lot smaller, but super fun. I think it moved in the mid-1990s. Anyhow, the show rocked and they seemed to have fun mocking the rockstar thing.

This ain’t really doing it for me now. “Tattooed Beat Messiah” was the first full LP, and on major labels in the US and UK. I have both versions. They’re mostly the same except for some minor typographical differences on the back cover. The UK version also came with a large poster and liner notes. By the time this record came out I think most of the really entertaining songs had already been released in whatever version on EPs and 12 inch singles. And the same ol’ sleazy lyrics–big riffs and solos–horn section schtick gets pretty tired over the course of full length album.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Interview Picture Disc No. 2

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Interview Picture Disc No. 2

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Interview Picture Disc No. 2
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: No

OK, this is getting a little embarrassing. I have way too much Zodiac Mindwarp stuff, and this second “Interview Picture Disc” is proof enough. At least this one is a decent interview, with good sound quality, good pictures, etc. But it’s gotta go.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Interview Picture Disc

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Interview Picture Disc

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Interview Picture Disc
• Year: 1988 ?
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 1
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: Not sure.
• Keeper: No

If you’re a fanatic about Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction you may want to have this “Interview Picture Disc.” I was a pretty big fan, but even I don’t want it now. Sure, there are a couple cool pics of the band, in the record itself, but the “interview” is pretty unlistenable. I doubt this recording was intended to be released to the public. It sounds like it was conducted in a busy office, complete with people opening and closing doors, and phones ringing loudly and often.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Back-Seat Education

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Back-Seat Education

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Back-Seat Education
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – I probably got it when I was working at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

With titles like “Back-Seat Education”, “Whore of Babylon”, “Lager Woman from Hell”, and “Messin’ With My Best Friend’s Girl” if you can’t guess that this is another Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction record then you’ve probably never heard of the band. On this 12 inch single these kings of sleaze rock stay true to form, lyrically and otherwise. The main track, “Back-Seat Education”, is by far the slickest with big time production and even a horn section. It’s full of the usual Zodiac hard rock hooks. The other three, for the most part, sound like the silly dashed off ditties destined for B-sides that they are.

What’s probably most interesting is the packaging. If you look closely at the picture you’ll see that the cover is a heavy vinyl material with ridges, like you might find in the back seat of an older car

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Prime Mover

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Prime Mover

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Prime Mover
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy / Mary – Both had copies.
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Another Zodiac Mindwarp 12 inch. “Prime Mover” like some other singles would eventually end up on their first full LP. “Prime Mover” is fun single with the usual silly/funny/stupid lyrics and a rocking mid-tempo riff perfect for the dance floor. The flipside has a couple throw-away cuts that aren’t worthy of description, but the back cover artwork is cool. For some reason despite a couple rounds of purging our dupes we still have two copies of this one. I probably wouldn’t keep either, but I do have somewhat of a Zodiac collection going.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Wild Child

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Wild Child

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Wild Child
• Year: 1987 ? No year listed anywhere.
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

House hunting across the USA is not always fun. I got home at 2 AM after 8 hours of driving with my brother and his wife. We were checking out Asheville, NC, and it was definitely cool. After talking over some options with Mary I called my realtor to get an offer going on a house we really liked. He called me back with the bad news that someone had made an offer a couple hours before and the buyers had accepted it. What the hell?

Anyhow… this is a 12 inch single. I’m not really a completist, but I do have tons of Zodiac records. The only reason I may keep this mediocre disk is just because it’s part of the collection. Maybe I’m being hard on this record because of my mood, but I listened to it before I left so I don’t think so. It’s dance hall mixes of sleaze rock and there are some fun moments but overall it’s just dull. And Mark Manning/Zodiac Mindwarp’s picture on the cover is a bit much don’t you think? Still a fan, but damn.

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction — High Priest Of Love

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction -- High Priest Of Love

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction
• Title: High Priest Of Love
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I was working at Mother’s Record & Tapes in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

This EP came out at just the right time for me. There was a dearth of heavy guitar rock, at least any that I could stand to listen to. I’m not saying these guys are smart, but they are smart-assed. And that makes the otherwise completely sleazy lyrics funny. Get a load of these song titles: High Priest of Love, Hymn of The Speed Kings, High Heel Heaven, Kick Start Me For Love, etc.

There are only six songs in all and it sounds like they could barely pull those off, not that they can’t play. It’s just that this kind of rock and roll chaos clearly could be sustained much longer. This is not the most important music ever made, but it sure was fun.