Spurts - The Richard Hell Story

Album Review

Richard Hell has produced a rather small body of work as a musician — two albums as a frontman — Blank Generation and Destiny Street — and one in collaboration with a handful of downtown-New York all-stars, released under the handle Dim Stars. But the work casts a very long shadow; Hell has more than earned his reputation as one of the groundbreaking figures of the New York new wave/punk scene, not just for being there at the right place and time but for creating some powerful and startling records with a handful of gifted collaborators (most significantly, guitarist Robert Quine), and the literacy and force of his songwriting has stood the test of time better than many of his peers' work (with the exception of Patti Smith). But for a man with such a small legacy, Richard Hell certainly seems fond of anthologizing his work, and Spurts: The Best of Richard Hell marks the third time he has attempted to sum up his life in rock & roll in one convenient package. Spurts focuses a bit harder on the more recognizable facets of the Hell canon than either 1984's R.I.P. or 2002's expanded and revised version, Time — since Spurts draws from a variety of sources rather than just unreleased material, it includes the most familiar versions of "Love Comes in Spurts" and "Blank Generation," as well as cuts from Destiny Street (in newly remixed form) and the latter-day Dim Stars sessions. There are a few historically important rarities on-board as well, most notably a live recording of "Blank Generation," from Hell's brief tenure with Television, a radically different version of "Love Comes in Spurts" recorded with the Neon Boys (Hell's pre-Television collaboration with Tom Verlaine), and a one-off, one-song reunion with the original Voidoids from 2001 ("Oh," which stands as a potent reminder of how great that band was). To look at the pieces, this is certainly the most career-inclusive Hell collection of the three, and serves as a vivid testament to his talents. But despite the fact this set gets a ringing endorsement from Hell himself (who compiled it), as a whole it isn't quite as satisfying as his two albums with the Voidoids, and doesn't flow with the same jagged grace as R.I.P. or Time. (Spurts also lacks Time's witty and revealing liner notes, though the enclosed interview with Robert Christgau and Carola Dibbell certainly has its moments). As an introduction to Hell's music, Spurts is an appropriately intelligent, absorbing, and challenging anthology, but no one who is at all intrigued with his work should stop here.