Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Punk 45’ album is a collection of tracks of twisted, raw and energized proto-punk music from the early 1970s, ahead-of-its-time music which led the way for the birth of punk in the second half of the 1970s.

‘Punk 45: Sick On You! One Way Spit! After The Love & Before The Revolution: Proto-Punk 1969-77’ is the third volume in this series, following on from two earlier albums as well as Soul Jazz Records’ massive 400-page ‘Punk 45’ cover art book (compiled by Jon Savage, author of the seminal punk book ‘London’s Dreaming’, and Stuart Baker of Soul Jazz Records). This new album is compiled and has extensive sleevenotes by Jon Savage.

While the first in the series, ‘Punk 45: Kill The Hippies! Kill Yourself!’, focused on the rise of underground punk in America, and the second album, ‘Punk 45: There Is No Such Thing As Society’, did the same for punk and post-punk in Britain, this album draws upon some of the stripped-down hard garage and post-glam sounds of mainly obscure bands that existed in the early 1970s – that were to prove the template for the forthcoming punk movement.

This new ‘Punk 45’ album is a unique collection of proto-punk tracks from across the USA – Cleveland’s Electric Eels, San Francisco’s Crime, Los Angeles’ Zolar X, Baltimore’s George Brigman and more – as well as from the UK, with Joe Strummer’s pre-Clash 101ers, the speed-induced R&B of the Count Bishops and others.

The album comes complete with text, biographies on each of the bands, exclusive photos and original record artwork.

The album is released on limited-edition, super-loud, superheavy, double gatefold-sleeve vinyl edition, complete with full sleevenotes and free download code. These ‘Punk 45’ releases are also the first that Soul Jazz Records are making available as worldwide digital releases.