Albums:Suicide Suicide (Red Star/Blast First BFFP133CDL)

A landmark recording, as fresh and disquieting today as when it was first released in 1977, Suicide's eponymous debut has a stark, severe beauty quite unlike anything else in rock. The Suicide sound is a weird, contradictory blend of romanticism and minimalism, with Alan Vega's breathless Elvis croon riding Martin Rev's primitive electronic pulses and simple melodies. But unlike most synthesiser-based music since, it's powerfully emotional stuff, aimed more at the head and the heart than the feet.

Vega's songs pare back the business of rock'n'roll to three basic elements, dealing with American icons ("Rocket USA" and the exhilarating "Ghost Rider"), sex ("Cheree" and "Girl"), and street pressure, most notably in the harrowing 10-minute epic "Frankie Teardrop", an urban update of Dylan's "Ballad of Hollis Brown". This reissue comes with a free second CD which compiles together their two live releases, Live At CBGB's 1978 and 23 Minutes Over Brussels, the latter of which is about as close as performance gets to a riot.