Marky Ramone & The Speedkings – Good Cop Bad Cop 7″

I’d heard about the Speed Kings before I’d actually heard them and the write-up was less than flattering, but after just one spin I was asking, Why? The pairing of Marky and a bunch of young Eurotrash punks actually works a treat – think the second Intruders album or, at a stretch, “Halfway to Sanity” – and the songs are solid singalongs. It’s more straight-rock than uber thrash, but from the screaming sirens of the A side to the hyped up guitars of the flip, it’s a winner. Marky might have star billing but the rest of the guys aren’t slouches. Gotta lean towards “Good Cop Bad Cop” and the flip’s lyrical references to their drummer’s previous long-term band are a little too obvious, but I can’t think of too many reasons not to play this. Suppose I shouldn’t have passed on the album when I saw it, huh?

3/4