Originally released in Germany in 1997,
Two Monkeys really was one of
Cock Sparrer's best-written albums, marred by some of their worst ever production. It's hard to say what went wrong, but the fact is, songs like "Battersea Bardot," "East End Girl," and "Before the Flame Dies" deserved far more than the weedy sound and tinny blare with which they were ultimately released. Pick up the original as a collector's item, but save your ears for the 2009 Captain Oi! reissue, which remixes the original master tapes and reveals the album for the all-round masterpiece it ought to have been. Plus, four bonus tracks from the band's San Francisco show in 2000 capture
Cock Sparrer in equally seething form. ~ Dave Thompson