Beta Lactam
1994
Rock'n Roll Station
About This Album
Rock 'n' Roll Station is not your typical Nurse with Wound record, either nowadays or back in 1994; the only other album getting close to it is Who Can I Turn to Stereo, which came out right after this one. Here, Steve Stapleton obviously went for something more palatable, even dancefloor friendly. The result remains controversial to this day. Sure, with its shorter pieces and insistent beats, Rock 'n' Roll Station is more accessible or listener friendly, but is it a good Nurse with Wound album? Or a good album, period? The answer is a reluctant "no," for two main reasons. First of all, Stapleton does not tackle the song format very well. The two most serious contenders for the title of "song" on the album, the title track and "A Silhouette and a Thumbtack (Dance in Hyperspace)" are surprisingly light on ideas -- these from a man known for stuffing countless interesting elements in his sound collages. They quickly get repetitive or even annoying, paradoxically overstaying their welcome, despite the strange recitation in "Rock 'n' Roll Station" ("R+B Through Collis Browne," a beat-heavy dance tune with ethereal female vocals and noise guitar, fares much better in that vein).
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 5)

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