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Product Description
In December of 1987, R.E.M. was chosen by Rolling Stone as "America's Best Rock And Roll Band." This title that was quickly dismissed by drummer Bill Berry. "We're not the best rock'n'roll band in America." Pylon, he declared, was much more deserving of the honor than his group. Yet, at the time, Pylon had been broken up for four years.

Such is the legacy of Pylon. Word of mouth and a relatively small but vital cache of music has kept the story of the fiercely independent and highly influential band alive for three decades.

DFA is proud (and quite lucky!) to be the ones to announce the release of Pylon's debut LP "Gyrate", originally unleashed in 1980 and appearing here for the first ever time on CD, beautifully remastered from the original reels. The CD release also includes the addition of their landmark debut 7" single "Cool" b/w "Dub" (1979) and the 10" EP "Pylon!!". The CD also includes one track from 1979, never before released, entitled "Functionality". 16 tracks total, with liner notes from Fred Schneider (B-52's), Hugo Burnham (Gang of Four) and Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), it is amazing something so praised in its day and still quite modern-sounding had yet to make its way onto CD.

Pylon's first single, "Cool" / "Dub" was released on Atlanta's DB Recs label in early 1980, earning a slew of excited press that immediately heralded Pylon as a major underground act. The band's jagged rhythms, scratchy guitar and insistent bass lines were the perfect foil for Vanessa's whisper-to-a-shriek vocals and the band's live shows were sweaty dance parties. Their debut LP Gyrate, was released in November of '80, also on DB, amid a heady time for the band. A string of sold-out club shows across the US was highlighted by east coast opening dates for the Gang of Four and an opening slot for The B-52's in New York's Central Park.

Glowing reviews came flooding in, including attention from Rolling Stone, Trouser Press and seemingly every other magazine on the planet. "Gyrate is a very good record that, in its humor, drive and purposeful innocence, sums up everything that's best about the new American rock bands," wrote Tom Carson in Rolling Stone. "[Pylon] bears scant relation to anything," cooed a writer in NME, defining them as a trailblazing band of the times. Pylon continued to tour and played more dates with like-minded acts Mission of Burma and Public Image Ltd.

The band followed up Gyrate with the like-minded album "Chomp" and continued the party on the road, both headlining as well as remaining the opening act of choice for many larger acts from overseas. But the minute the band became more a job than a party for it's members, they called it a day. No regrets. In 1990, the band quickly reared it's head one more time, released the college radio smash album "Chain" and toured stadiums opening for R.E.M. Then they disappeared again.

Since 2004, Pylon has been playing random surprise gigs around Georgia, slowly warming for something new, realizing the sound they so innocently yet confidently defined had hardly gone out of style. They had more admirers now than they ever imagined and DFA was certainly one of many. The song "Danger" had been a staple of James Murphy's DJ sets since 1999, much to the curiosity and bewilderment of a new generation of kids just discovering the many layers of the post punk movement. It is an honor for DFA to finally be able to bring this cherished music into the public domain in such a dignified manner.

Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Oh great, the Brooklyn hipsters at DFA have been looking at my LPs again October 18, 2007
6 out of 15 found this review helpful

from "MAKE IT BIG: CULT FAVES, CRITIC'S DARLINGS, AND ALSO-RANS" by David Cohen and Jonathan Green, c. 1992:

While the B-52's moved from Athens, Ga., to New York to make their mark, the next band to come from Athens would stay at home to keep it simple. Pylon, aptly taking their name from a William Faulkner novel, featured post-modern scritch-a-scratch guitars over an incessant pop-dance beat and the thrift-store voodoo-doll incantory wailings of Vanessa Briscoe-Hay. From their first release, 1979's "Cool," Pylon was highly regarded, although never more highly than in Athens, where people came to expect the start of a new scene.

Pylon opted not to follow the B-52's route to success. They played outside of their hometown, but never really left it. They opened for several dates on U2's War tour; it was not out of the realm of the possible that they could have picked up some of U2's momentum. When they were offered the spot for the entire tour, the band decided that, rather than play to crowds too big to enjoy and spend an increased amount of time in the studio, they would break up while it was still fun. In 1990, they reunited briefly for an album, a tour, and a going-out-of-business rummage sale.

5 out of 5 stars

A Post Punk New Wave Masterpiece December 8, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Without question one of the best, most defining albums of the early eighties post punk/new wave scene. Sounds just as fresh today as it did when it was originally released. Punky, spikey, dancy rhythms, jagged guitars, pulsing bass, pounding drums and one of the best female vocalists ever! Vanessa is amazing. An absolute must!

4 out of 5 stars

hip southern alternate rock February 17, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

this is a great recording of a great band. sharp 3 minutes songs led by drums and base guitar with choppy lead guitar and some snarling vocals.

5 out of 5 stars

A much needed reissue - DFA, how about a reissue of "Chomp" too? June 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I can't believe there aren't more reviews here on Amazon of this classic postpunk cornerstone. DFA have done a wonderful job of digging up all of Pylon's early recordings - The Gyrate LP, Pylon! 10" EP, Cool/Dub single, and a previously unreleased track - and finally making them widely available. Contemporaries of the tense, angular, bass-heavy art/punk bands like Gang of Four, Au Pairs, Delta 5, Mekons, Mission of Burma, etc., that were flourishing at the time, Pylon are essential listening for anyone interested in that amazingly creative period from about 1978 to 1982 when, inspired by punk, bands were inventing new sounds and expanding rock & roll's horizons in amazing leaps. It seemed like a completely innovative new band was emerging every week, and Pylon were one of the very best. Their early recordings sound just as fresh as the day they were recorded, and are even more vital listening now in our current era where good but mainstream artists like The Pretenders or Elvis Costello probably wouldn't even get major label record deals if they were just starting out. As my subject header says, DFA, since you've gotten the process started, it would be great if you'd also reissue Pylon's second album "Chomp," along with the singles the band released at about that time (Crazy/M-Train, Beep/Altitude/Four Minutes), plus unissued surprises from the vaults. And if you have the inclination, another great Athens, Georgia postpunk band from the time, The Method Actors, deserves a wider audience via a CD reissue.

2 out of 5 stars

I came, I read, I purchased . . . June 11, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful

and what can I say? I'm not going to be listening to this CD. In fact, I'm going to copy it and trade it in at the local record store for something else. Really, I appreciate that this band was THERE, that they were an integral part of the Athens music scene. And I do appreciate that they influenced (and even moreso, were influenced by) some great bands, notably the B-52's whose James Bond/Duane Eddy guitar style is clearly evident on GYRATE in certain places.

Musicians whom I like much better have sung the praises of Pylon and no doubt had some great times with them. I've loved R.E.M.'s cover of Pylon's "Crazy" since the day I first heard it (probably the very week it was first released on the DEAD LETTER OFFICE collection).

GYRATE is primal and the instrumentation is primitive. The guitars are indeed scratchy a la Gang of Four and Pylon does in fact sound somewhat like that band. Both feature vocalists who aren't too concerned with, ah, sounding pretty. In fact, I find the Pylon vocalist to be rather atonal and annoying. I'm not really much of a Gang of Four fan either, but I do like them in small doses. I can imagine reaching for this album once in a blue moon, especially to groove on the dubby "Danger!" (quite unlike the song actually titled "Dub"). But it will never be a favorite and I can frankly see why they never blew up the way those other bands did. Rating: caution.

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