Scottish school friends Stump Monroe (drums), Floyd London (bass) and Ricky Warwick (guitar, vocals) formed The Almighty with guitarist Tantrum in 1988. After recording three LPs of hard-hitting rock and metal for Polydor Records between 1989 and 1993, The Almighty signed to Chrysalis Records in 1994. Shifting to a sound more informed by the punk that had initially inspired them, their punk rock credentials were further brought to the fore on "Crank" (1994) by the Jamie Reid cover design, famed for his iconic and highly influential Sex Pistols artwork. Featuring the singles 'Wrench' and 'Jonestown Mind', "Crank" reached No. 15 in the UK charts. Recording a second record for Chrysalis, "Just Add Life" (1996) was eventually released by UK independent label Castle. Featuring the singles 'All Sussed Out' and 'Do You Understand', "Just Add Life" is also notable for it's artwork by design legend and album cover guru, the late Storm Thorgerson. Following "Just Add Life", The Almighty decided to call it a day, with singer Ricky Warwick perusing a solo career. Reforming in 2000 around a line-up of Ricky, Stump and Floyd, they were joined by guitarist Nick Parsons. By 2000, Castle Music had morphed in Sanctuary Records, who released the self-titled "The Almighty" (2000) swiftly followed by "Psycho-Narco" (2001), by which time Gav Gray had joined them on bass. Whilst on tour in Japan supporting the release of "Crank", the band recorded the live album "Crank and Deceit: Live in Japan", recorded at Osaka's IMP Hall on 16th July 1995, captured here on CD5. It features Almighty classics 'Wild And Wonderful', 'Addiction' and 'Crucify', as well as newer cuts such as 'Ultraviolent' and 'United State Of Apathy'. The Almighty aren't just an albums band, having released plenty of singles across their career, many with exclusive bonus tracks. Collected together on CD 6 are Ruts and Therapy? remixes of 'Jonestown Mind', as well as non-album cuts, 'DSS (Desperately Seeking Something)' and 'Tense Nervous Headshake'. Also included on disc six are tracks from some of their heroes and influences, including covers of Eddie & The Hot Rods' 'Do Anything You Wanna Do' and Charged G. B. H. 's 'Give Me Fire'. The seventh and final disc is based around a number of live recordings, including a show recorded on 3rd October 1994 at Stuttgart's Kongret Zentrum whilst touring to support "Crank". Many tracks had appeared as B-Sides, but have been collected together here for the first time. The band effectively split up following "Psycho-Narco" in 2002, but reformed their classic line-up of Ricky, Stump, Floyd and Pete Friesen in 2006 for well received live gigs, playing their final show in 2009. As well continuing his solo career, Ricky Warwick was invited to join Thin Lizzy in 2009, with a line-up that formed the basis for Black Star Riders, who have subsequently released four very successful studio albums.
1. Ultraviolent 2. Wrench 3. The Unreal Thing 4. Jonestown Mind 5. Move Right in 6. Crank and Deceit 7. United State of Apathy 8. Welcome to Defiance 9. Way Beyond Belief 10. Crackdown 11. Sorry for Nothing 12. Cheat 13. Shitzophrenic 14. Ongoing and Total 15. Do You Understand 16. All Sussed Out 17. How Real Is Real for You 18. Dead Happy 19. Some Kind of Anything 20. Coalition Star 21. 8 Day Depression 22. Look What Happened Tomorrow 23. 360 24. Feed the Need 25. Afraid of Flying 26. Independent Deterrent 27. Broken Machine 28. I'm in Love (With Revenge) 29. La Chispa de la Muerte 30. Big Black Automatic 31. For Fuck's Sake 32. Poison Eyes 33. White Anger Comedown 34. TNT 35. Stop 36. Usak-47 37. Alright 38. Barfly 39. Fat Chance 40. Misery Guts 41. Galvanize 42. 427 Freak Horsepower 43. Ruse 44. Soul on a Roll 45. Begging 46. Hate the World 47. Waiting for Earthquakes 48. If I Knew What I Wanted 49. 7 X 50. Big Idea Idiot 51. Mondo Balordo 52. Blowout Kit for the Underdog 53. Witness Relocation Programme 54. Million Times Nothing 55. Jonestown Mind 56. Crank and Deceit 57. Addiction 58. Move Right in 59. The Unreal Thing 60. Takin' Hold 61. Sorry for Nothing 62. Wrench 63. 360 64. Way Beyond Belief 65. United State of Apathy 66. Over the Edge 67. Wild and Wonderful 68. Cheat 69. Welcome to Defiance 70. Ultraviolent 71. Crucify 72. Jonestown Mind (Therapy?Remix) 73. Jonestown Mind (Ruts Remix) 74. Thanks Again, Again 75. Knocking on Joe 76. State of Emergency 77. Hellelujah 78. Do Anything You Wanna Do 79. Give Me Fire 80. Superpower 81. DSS (Desperately Seeking Something) 82. Tense Nervous Headshake 83. Canned Jesus 84. Wrench 85. Move Right in 86. Addiction 87. Welcome to Defiance 88. Sorry for Nothing 89. The Unreal Thing 90. United State of Apathy 91. Crank ; Deceit 92. Do You Understand 93. Jesus Loves You 94. I Fought the Law
