The Unsatisfied Real Gone Pale Face Review
The Unsatisfied
Real Gone Pale Face (Remaster/Reissue)
LyRic Unlimited Co
1999/2025
When I was tasked with reviewing this album, I experienced a myriad of emotions. One was nostalgia because I was examining a now stone-cold classic underground rock ’n’ roll/punk record. Not many know of it, but those who do - KNOW. The second was a combination of sadness and anger. Why, you ask? Because The Unsatisfied should be mentioned in the same breath as bands like Gluecifer, Backyard Babies, The New Bomb Turks, Turbonegro, etc. And… they’re just not. It’s one of music’s greatest tragedies that these Chattanooga, TN natives have been toiling away in obscurity for over two decades. Their story isn’t unique, but we have been graced with the newly remastered and reissued Real Gone Pale Face via LyRic Unlimited Co. Rockers the world over, rejoice, and let’s get to the nuts and bolts of this whiskey-soaked slab of badass.
The Unsatisfied First Bestowed this fine record upon the unsuspecting masses in 1999, and it remains their most popular release. The track “.44 Caliber” is their biggest single/hit. The lineup at the time was as follows: vocals – Eric Scealf, guitars – Johnny Stockman, bass – Damien Lawless, and drums – Dave Schenk. Johnny and Eric are the only OGs left. Throughout lineup changes, trials, tribulations, and maybe a few arrests, they have remained a beacon of hope for those who worship sleazy, punk-fueled, three-chord, catchy, down-and-dirty rock ’n’ roll. Real Gone Pale Face showcases this in spades. The thirteen songs here also benefit from the remix and remaster treatment — the guitars scream a little louder with more clarity, the drums are more discernible, the bass is thumping harder, and the acerbic vocals are a slap-back and reverb-soaked knife cutting through the center nicely. We are still left with a raw, live, and chaotic-feeling album, but it has just enough sheen to match the looseness.
If you’ve never heard The Unsatisfied, the only way I can describe them is if Iggy and The Stooges married The Cramps, with The Humpers and Electric Frankenstein officiating the ceremony. Throw in some “kick out the jams”-isms of the MC5 with some country and gospel-like moments, and you’re on the right track. They keep things moving - high energy and fun. From the beginning of “Pretty Weird Huh” through to the last chord of “Heaven,” Scealf (who might be the love child of Iggy and Lux Interior) laments women who are bitches, boney fingers of truth, alcoholic hazes, and even an ode to Wendy Torrence. The tempos are quick, and the guitars have enough grimy, blues-based licks to make Robert Johnson jealous. The Unsatisfied occupy a very specific niche of punk-infused rock ’n’ roll, and they do it with such vigor, venom, and tongue-in-cheek humor here that I’m still at a loss as to why they aren’t bigger. However, now this reissue exists, and here’s hoping a whole new audience discovers them and they finally get their due. If not, I imagine that they can’t be bothered and will just continue doing it for the love and the spite of it. After all, it’s been said it’s a long way to the top… you know the rest. Pick this up and blow your speakers with it, wearing your old Lip Service skull pants and tattered Damned T-shirt, with a fifth of whiskey in one hand and the other fist firmly in the gutter.
RIYL: The Stooges, New Bomb Turks, Turbonegro, The Supersuckers, The American Plague
~TB