Coup d'Etat (Plasmatics album)

Coup d'Etat
Studio album by Plasmatics
Released	1982
Recorded	Dierks Studios, Cologne, Germany, 1982
Genre	Punk rock, heavy metal
Length	47:09
Label	Capitol
Producer	Dieter Dierks
Plasmatics chronology
Metal Priestess (1981) Coup d'Etat (1982) Maggots: The Record (1987)

Coup d'Etat is the third studio album released by punk rock band The Plasmatics in 1982.

Background

In 1982, a deal was inked with Capitol Records and Dan Hartman offered to produce a demo of the album for Capitol with Rod at Electric Lady Studios, Jimi Hendrix's old studio, in New York. A demo was arranged, recorded and mixed within a week, but not released. It would be released only 20 years later as Coup de Grace.

Recording

The album was recorded at Dierks Studios, near Cologne, Germany and was produced by Dieter Dierks, who had just come off a number one album with the Scorpions.

Coup d'Etat was a breakthrough album that began to blend the punk and heavy metal genres, something that would later be done time and time again by bands such as S.O.D., Anthrax, and the Cro-Mags by the end of the 1980s. Singer Wendy O. Williams also broke ground for her unique singing style; she pushed her vocals so hard she had to travel into Cologne each day for treatment to avoid permanent damage to her vocal cords.

Release

Despite the band's rise in fame, the band was dropped by Capitol Records shortly after the album's release.

In 2005, Rock Candy Records re-released the album with expanded liner notes, bonus tracks, and a re-master of the entire original album.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Los Angeles Times called Coup d'Etat the "best slice of...heavy metal since the last AC/DC album," adding that, "Williams makes Ann Wilson and Pat Benatar sound like (the folk singer) Judy Collins". The newspaper's question about whether a 'male-dominated' heavy metal audience would "accept a female screecher" (sp) underscored how ground breaking what Wendy was doing was. This was previously entirely male territory. As far as the sheer power of the vocals, the Aberdeen Press from Janis Joplin's home state said that Wendy was "doing vocally what nobody since Janis Joplin" has done, while a review in Creem called it a "breakthrough" record and Wendy "an aggressive female"; the review went on saying it was "kicking down traditional barriers". Wendy's "physicality...is (now) coming out of her voice." The Creem review, by Cyril Blight, attacked the sexism of those who "can't handle" or 'even resent the very idea of a woman like Wendy Williams singing rock and roll with ferocity-which is to say the same qualities they would applaud if they were coming from a man, providing there was a man around today with the balls to do that."

Tour

In early 1983, as a part of the support for the album and an attempt to continue their transition toward a metal audience, the band opened for Kiss on their Creatures of the Night tour. It was during this time that Gene Simmons approached manager Rod Swenson about producing the next Plasmatics album (ultimately becoming the initial Wendy O. Williams solo offering, WOW).

Covers

The song "The Damned" was covered by German thrash metal band Destruction on the Mad Butcher EP in 1987. During the 1990s, Beavis & Butt-Head showed the video often. The electro band Japanese Car Crash would perform "The Damned" live on their tours from 2007-2013. They replaced the guitar solo with a theremin solo.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Put Your Love in Me" (Richie Stotts, Rod Swenson) - 3:55
2. "Stop" (Wes Beech, Swenson) - 4:40
3. "Rock 'n' Roll" (Stotts, Swenson) - 4:23
4. "Lightning Breaks" (Beech, Swenson) - 3:58
5. "No Class" (Eddie Clarke, Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Taylor) - 2:36

Side two

6. "Mistress of Taboo" (Stotts, Swenson) - 3:16
7. "Country Fairs" (Beech, Swenson) - 3:37
8. "Path of Glory" (Stotts, Swenson) - 4:45
9. "Just Like on TV" (Beech, Swenson) - 3:17
10. "The Damned" (Junior Romanelli, Swenson) - 4:21

2005 CD re-issue bonus tracks

11. "Uniformed Guards (work-in-progress)" (Stotts, Swenson) - 4:07
12. "Put Your Love in Me (demo)" (Stotts, Swenson) - 4:13
13. "Stop (demo)" (Beech, Swenson) - 4:35
14. "Coup D'Etat Radio Ad" (previously unheard) - 1:00

Personnel

Plasmatics

• Wendy O. Williams - vocals
• Richie Stotts - lead guitar
• Wes Beech - rhythm guitar (lead guitar on "Just Like On TV", "No Class" and "Stop")
• Junior Romanelli - bass, keyboards
• T. C. Tolliver - drums, percussion

Production

• Dieter Dierks - producer
• Michael Wagener - engineer
• George Marino - mastering

References

1. Heibutzki, Ralph. "Plasmatics - Coup d'Etat review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-06-13.