Don’t be fooled by the title: despite claiming to contain albums released between 1981-1984, this four disc set by Aussie legends Rose Tattoo actually kicks off with their self-titled album from 1978. With Lemon Records being a UK based company, the decision has been made to present that record as it was first experienced by UK audiences domestically, with its alternate title (‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaws’) and belated 1981 release date. [Further evidence of this clam shell box being pitched squarely at the British buyer can be found in the sleeve notes, when Rose Tattoo’s 1986 LP ‘Blood From A Stone’ is referenced as being an Angry Anderson solo album of the same name released in 1988.]
It’s a minor quibble, since the music remains the same, and whatever title you choose, Rose Tattoo’s debut presents a raw band whose trademark sound came roaring straight out of the gate, pretty much fully formed. ‘Rock N Roll Outlaw’ kicks everything off with a genuine menace, with Angry Anderson sneering over a mid tempo blues rock riff that marries the punch of early AC/DC with the bar room swagger of George Thorogood, and the way Peter Wells pierces the groove with sharp slide guitar helps to set the Tatts’ distinctive sound in place in record time. The much faster ‘Nice Boys’ – brought to a much wider audience outside of Australia by Guns N’ Roses when their ‘Live Like A Suicide’ EP formed half of the ‘G N’R Lies’ LP in 1988 – makes a bigger feature of Mick Cocks’s really dirty rhythm guitar work when the band throw themselves into something that sounds like Bon Scott era AC/DC brandishing flick knives, before Wells steals the show with an absolutely furious lead break. The sheer power in this track gives drummer Digger one of his sweatiest workouts, his aggressive playing sounding absolutely perfect in tandem with Angry’s whisky soaked rasping.
An instant highlight, ‘One of The Boys’ captures a slightly more accessible side of Rose Tattoo with its sharp boogie rock. Mick’s guitar work retains the same power, but hearing him launch into a choppier riff gives him an extra edge, while the stomping rhythm is perfect for Anderson’s admittedly limited vocal style. Lyrically, this is one of those tracks that sets out the band’s interests in the rough and ready very clearly with its tales of a lad who finds his place in the world by adopting an almost gang mentality as a means of survival. ‘T.V.’ stokes up the speed and guts in a way that gives the whole band a sweaty work out through two minutes’ worth of pure Aussie rock ‘n’ roll augmented with bluesy slides. It’s here that Anderson’s claim that Rose Tattoo are a “dance band” becomes clearer: just listening to the audio, it’s easy to imagine predominantly made audiences in small, packed venues, lurching about in a manner that’s almost unhinged; the furious sound of the band never allowing them to rest. ‘Remedy’ takes a very similar approach but applies a fatter guitar sound that goes head to head with one of Anderson’s best vocals, creating another glorious noise that sounds like the street brawling brother of the early AC/DC. The rough Aussie rock might already seem predictable, even at this early stage, but it’s one of those tracks that’ll make you a fan from first listen.
On the rare occasion that Rose Tattoo actually slow down on this debut, the feeling of threat certainly doesn’t subside. If anything, on ‘The Butcher & Fast Eddy’ – a track that would be a live staple – it actually increases. On the heavy blues number, Anderson tells the tale of a massive stand off where two notorious figures end up in a knife brawl. His semi-spoken delivery brings the tale to life in a natural way, and the way Cocks drops massive riffs between each line adds to the growing menace. As expected with such a bluesy number, some great lead work creates some of the stand out moments, but the slower tempo puts bassist Geordie Leech a little more in the spotlight, as he throws out pulsing notes that really build tension throughout. For those who love Rose Tattoo at full throttle, this will certainly be more of a mood piece, but it’s great to hear the band applying their talents in a different way. ‘Bad Boy For Love’, meanwhile, might seem a little simplistic through more modern ears, but it still carries all of the hallmarks of Rose Tattoo’s greatest tracks: a boogie rock groove that hits with immediate effect falls between ‘Blue For You’ era Quo and ‘T.N.T.’ era AC/DC, placing Mick Cocks in his element; Wells drops in with a perfect slide solo, a busy affair that shows how he was vital to the early Tatts sound, and Anderson’s fixation with bad behaviour only serves to make everything feel more menacing.
With no obvious filler among the ten tracks ‘Rose Tattoo’ (aka ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Outlaws’) is a more than solid record, but as good as that album is, it’s the next two (1981’s ‘Assault & Battery’ and 1982’s ‘Scarred For Life’) that make this box set an essential purchase.
‘Assault’ confronts the listener with thirty seven minutes of raucous, sweaty rock ‘n’ roll where Angry and the lads attack with immediate effect…and it rarely lets up until the disc stops spinning. The opening track takes their AC/DC with a knuckleduster blueprint and toughens the edges with the help of a slightly rawer production sound (again with Harry Vanda and George Young at the helm), pushing Mick’s rhythm guitar further forward in the mix, but also allowing Angry to share a rougher vocal tone. By the time the track closes with a rousing slide guitar and gang vocal refrain, it becomes one of the archetypal Tatts numbers, paving the way for ‘All The Lessons’ capturing the lads hammering through a world of speed oriented riffs that make the previous LP’s ‘T.V.’ appear rather soft, and for the full tilt, full throttle ‘Menzil Madness’ to make ‘All The Lessons’ sound half-arsed a short while later.
Where ‘Assault & Battery’ really comes alive, though, is on the title cut, and on the punchy ‘Let It Go’, tracks which take the band’s love of boogie rock and amps the riffs to the point where even the studio cuts could reduce the audience to a sweating mess. Much like the best moments of the debut, the title cut, in particular, acts as a superb showcase for the twin guitar interplay between Cocks and Wells. Even as this album starts to draw to a close, there’s no sign of fatigue or filler, and ‘Sidewalk Sally’ shows what can be done by ramming Stones riffs from 1972 through a much sleazier filter, sharing sounds that would later inspire Izzy Stradlin, while ‘Suicide City’ blends the boogie and speed to create a track that hits like a fist to the jaw. For those hoping for something a little meatier, and perhaps less trashy, the chorus driven ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Is King’ applies a (relatively) more melodic touch, allowing for a rousing hook that will be a part of the band’s live experience going forward.
The bulk of the third album in this set, 1982’s ‘Scarred For Life’, very much models itself on the old theory that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, leading to a disc that will feel familiar from the very first listen. With Angry in great, raw vocal form and some big choruses in tow, this isn’t a bad thing. The intro to title cut sounds even more like a 1979 AC/DC offering than anything else in the Tatts cat up until this point, but naturally once Anderson starts to roar, there’s no mistaking the artist. His rollocking tale of “being jailed for crimes [he] didn’t commit”, getting tattoos and fighting “tooth and nail every inch of the way” helps to make this classic fare, but beneath the rough surface, there’s some great melodic textures from Wells. Naturally, there’s little here to convince the unconvinced, but the band sound great when giving their all. A similar approach is taken for ‘Branded’ – complete with hard man-centric lyrics – but with even more slide guitar applied and the presence of a great gang vocal, any obvious recycling still sounds great. Those gang vocals really come into their own on ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’, an anthemic call to arms that really suits the band’s sweaty sound and an even shoutier vocal, and ‘Who’s Got The Cash’ which, killer slide work aside, sounds like a deep cut from AC/DC’s ‘For Those About To Rock’. Naturally, this will appeal to those who might not be over familiar with the Rose Tattoo back-catalogue.
Despite being issued at a time when it was common practice to front-load albums with the best tracks, ‘Scarred For Life’ takes an unusual stance and really comes into its own towards the end. ‘Sydney Girls’ places some sharp slide work over Leach’s rock solid bass work, and the band take a rare excursion into something funky which, contrary to what you might think, doesn’t actually sound silly when applied behind Angry’s sneering tones. Sounding a little more like a Cold Chisel deep cut – the lyric, especially, could pass for one of Don Walker’s trashier affairs – this provides a great insight into how well Rose Tattoo could actually play without relying on pure bluster.
Wells provides a storming intro with some solo slide work on ‘Dead Set’, then at the point where the listener might be expecting something bluesy, the lads throw themselves head first into a boogie that sounds like one of Cold Chisel’s party rockers colliding with a supercharged Quo. It’s pure, unadulterated Tatts, more about clearing the cobwebs than making their audience think, but it’s absolutely fantastic. The blues finally comes through on closing number ‘Revenge’ which, on its slow, swaggering verse comes across like an old John Lee Hooker jam through a ‘Butcher And Fast Eddy’ prism, Naturally, that helps it to sound far more like something that’d fit the debut LP, but ensuring its also a good fit here, a faster “chorus” section adds more of a boogie-centric rhythm, allowing bassist George a little more muscle. Formulaic as some of the material may be ‘Scarred For Life’ still plays like one of the essential Tatts discs.
By the time Rose Tattoo returned in 1984, their dyed in the wool, late 70s sound was beginning to sound rather out of time. To try and counter this, their fourth LP ‘Southern Stars’ was given a slightly shinier production sound. This has the effect of making most of the release sound rather thin. Combine that with the fact that only Angry and bassist Gordie remained from the previous line up, Rose Tattoo could easily be written off as past their best. However, this album isn’t without its own charm. Elements of the melodic ‘Let Us Live’ hint at an influence from early 38 Special but delivered with bigger boots; ‘Freedom’s Flame’ uses gang/harmony vocals to great effect, offering something that would certainly be an easy crowd pleaser/singalong within the live setting, on a track that sounds like an early attempt at courting MTV without diluting the Tatts’ signature sound so much, and ‘Saturday’s Rage’ still plays like an enormous 80s rocker, by now applying familiar Rose Tattoo sounds to an arrangement that teeters on the fringes of a more commercial, less bluesy, US influenced hard rock.
Elsewhere, the title cut fuses a classic Tatts boogie with a harmony driven chorus that feels a little like another misjudged attempt at breaking the MTV audience. This time around, that doesn’t quite work as well for them, but the ringing guitar sounds, punchy bass, and featured slide solo (courtesy of new boy Greg Jordan) bring a fair amount of gusto. One of the record’s biggest surprises comes via ‘No Secrets’ which, at times, taps into a US heartland sound that owes more to John Mellencamp than the earlier, raucousness of Aussie rock that had, in many ways, been the Tatts’ bread and butter. It’s commercial, but without feeling at all disposable. It still doesn’t suggest there’s a big power ballad on the horizon with ‘Suddenly’ in ’86, but the band are certainly branching out here.
You’d never consider ‘Southern Stars’ one of the essential Rose Tattoo LPs, but it’s certainly not an unwelcome inclusion within this largely excellent package. Assuming, that is, you ignore the rather nasty ‘Pirate’s Song’ which marries cod reggae sounds (what is it with that generation of Aussie bands and loving reggae?) with bright melodic rock guitar work and a really tuneless vocal. Easily the worst track within the early Rose Tattoo canon, this is a sure fire skipper for anyone with a pair of working ears. It would be unnatural for a band of this nature not to deliver a couple of duds, but this is offensively bad. Thankfully, the poor quality tunes within this four disc set are few and far between.
As is traditional with clam shell box sets from the Cherry Red family, you’ll find a selection of bonus tracks rounding out each of the discs. ‘Rose Tattoo’ (aka ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaws’) only features the one extra track, but from a UK buyer’s perspective, it’s an absolute classic. ‘Snow Queen’ originally appeared on the b-side of the ‘Bad Boy For Love’ 7” in Australia, but the studio version hasn’t always been the easiest to track down. It appeared on CD in 2008, as a bonus track, courtesy of a Repertoire Records reissue of the debut, but like most of that label’s releases, it wasn’t exactly a common sighting on UK record shop shelves. Musically, ‘Snow Queen’ captures the band in fine form. The chords beneath the crashy intro are pure Aussie rock – like Status Quo in size twelve boots – and these eventually explode into a no-nonsense boogie that combines a heavy chug with some brilliant blues drenched leads, whilst Angry drawls with intent. Lyrically, he’s in his element, seemingly recounting a tale involving sexual encounter in a car with a coked up woman. In terms of all round grubbiness, it’s peak Tatts, making Bon Scott’s sauciest tales seem tame by comparison.
There are a generous six tracks appended to ‘Assault & Battery’. A 1981 b-side ‘I Had You First’ manages to be faster than most of its album counterparts, with furious slide work augmenting a speed driven boogie, joined by another one of Anderson’s unpleasant sexual exploits. It’s best not to focus on him too much here – as tough as that is, when he’s in full rasp – and enjoy Peter’s cutting slide work against the sound of Digger absolutely destroying his drum kit. A 7” edit of ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Is King’ is included for completeness’s sake, but following these, you’ll find the real gold. No source is given for the four live tracks, but they’re the same ones from the Repetoire reissue of ‘Rose Tattoo’ and a little digging confirms they’re not from any of the shows collected on the unmissable ‘Scarred For Live 1980-1982’ box set. What you’ll find here is essentially four stray live recordings of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw’, ‘Bad Boy For Love’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Is King’ and ‘Suicide City’ each presented in excellent audio quality. They don’t have the rawness of the band’s 1980 show from the Bondi Lifesaver [a radio broadcast that appears to open with Angry yelling “Fuck me, if they ain’t gonna tear the place down on Mond’y!” with the utmost enthusiasm], but there are glimmers of a fiery band at work. In terms of bonuses, these tracks definitely come under the category of “nice to have” if you’re any kind of fan.
A single edit of ‘Branded’ props up ‘Scarred For Life’, along with two period leftovers.‘All Hell Broke Loose’ doesn’t bring any real surprises, but lovers of the dirty rhythm guitar and slide combo at the heart of the Rose Tattoo signature sound should still love the simple and rather shouty number’.‘Fightin’ Sons’, meanwhile, marks a departure from the norm. It re-introduces the band’s bluesy sound on a track with some really fat bass work, but joining the muscle is a huge, very American, very Southern rock inspired melody. In some ways, it sounds like Rose Tattoo playing Blackfoot. As you could probably guess, this finds Wells in his element, whilst Digger’s slow drum groove comes through with a serious presence. This is far too good to be an offcut, but had it been placed on ‘Scarred’, it would have felt out of place, disrupting the flow of the record, but even placed at the end, it would’ve sounded like an afterthought. The opportunity to revisit the track here is most welcome. The three bonus tracks on ‘Southern Stars’, meanwhile, eclipse most of the parent album. With a bigger production sound and trashy lyrics, ‘Never Too Loud’ is a perfect throwback to the band’s classic, earlier work – all balls and bluster; ‘Wild One’ is a boogie laden rocker working the chopping rhythm guitar into a frenzy before a shouty chorus reminds everyone of the Tatts’ no frills approach in full flight, and a 7” edit of ‘Freedom’s Flame’, in some ways, plays a little more effectively than the LP cut, presenting a near perfect example of the early Rose Tattoo at their most commercial sounding.
If the first three albums are heard one after the other, Rose Tattoo’s musical approach can start to feel a little samey. With that in mind, it’s no wonder they were encouraged to branch out a little on the more commercial ‘Southern Stars’, even if the end product doesn’t quite hit the mark in the same way. That said, what this collection demonstrates – and very effectively too – is that, during those halcyon days, Angry and the lads’ lack of variety was more than made up for with vitality and sheer musical force. In fairness, the various live recordings collected on ‘Scarred For Live 1980-82’ demonstrate that even better, but in terms of the band’s studio recorded output, this four disc set gives you all of the raw essentials and more. Granted, there’s nothing here that a long term fan wouldn’t already have, but getting these albums back out there to British record buyers feels like some kind of public service. If you’ve somehow always thought about picking up a Rose Tattoo album or two but haven’t got around to it, this is a set that’s not to be missed.
January/February 2026