...For the Whole World to See is a studio album by the Detroit band Death, released in 2009 and consisting of various demos originally recorded in the mid 1970s.
| ...For the Whole World to See | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 17, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Studio | United Sound[1] Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 26:23 | |||
| Label | Drag City | |||
| Producer | Death | |||
| Death chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and recording
editIn 1975 the band entered a studio to record a 12-song album. After refusing to change their group's name, Death was turned away by Clive Davis of Columbia Records. Only seven songs were completed and the album was never released.[3] The surviving songs were released as ...For the Whole World to See in 2009 by Drag City.[4]
Just prior to and right after the record's release, the songs on ...For the Whole World to See were performed live by Rough Francis, a band formed by the three sons of Death's original bassist. With the record's critical acclaim and praise from many other musicians, the two surviving members of Death reformed the band with a new guitarist to promote the record themselves.[citation needed]
Reception and legacy
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 76/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.1/10)[5] |
| Sputnikmusic |  [6] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [7] |
Initial critical response to ...For the Whole World to See was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 76, based on 8 reviews.[4]
Jack White of The White Stripes related his first reaction to the album in a New York Times article: "I couldn't believe what I was hearing. When I was told the history of the band and what year they recorded this music, it just didn't make sense. Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time."[3]
The song "You're a Prisoner" was featured in the 2011 film Kill the Irishman.[8]
The song "Freakin Out" is played in the main action sequence on the sixth episode of the Starz show Ash vs. Evil Dead.[citation needed]
The song "Keep on Knocking" was used for the soundtrack for the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.[citation needed]
The song "Politicians in My Eyes" was covered by the band Black Pumas in the deluxe release of their debut album (2019).[citation needed]
The song "Freakin Out" was featured in the 2022 film Wendell & Wild.[9]
In 2024, Ultimate Guitar named the album as one of the greatest proto-punk albums. Staff writer Greg Prato wrote: "What's interesting about this selection was while the other entries on this list were pointed to by many for decades as important punk stepping stones, this release did not enter the public's eye until 2009. The story goes that this all-black Detroit trio had entered the recording studio in 1975 to record an album for Columbia Records, which ultimately was shelved for 34 years. And when it finally emerged, it showed that Death, which is not to be confused with the death metal band of the same name, was one of the first to begin to dial up punk's intensity, and sounded uncannily similar to early Bad Brains."[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Keep on Knocking" | David Hackney, Bobby Hackney | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Rock-N-Roll Victim" | D. Hackney | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Let the World Turn" | D. Hackney, B. Hackney | 5:56 |
| 4. | "You're a Prisoner" | D. Hackney, B. Hackney | 2:24 |
| Total length: | 13:52 | ||
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Freakin Out" | B. Hackney | 2:48 |
| 6. | "Where Do We Go from Here???" | B. Hackney | 3:50 |
| 7. | "Politicians in My Eyes" | B. Hackney | 5:50 |
| Total length: | 12:29 | ||
Personnel
edit- Death
- David Hackney – guitar
- Bobby Hackney – bass, lead vocals
- Dannis Hackney – drums
- Technical
- Death – producer
- Tammy Hackney – photography
- Jim Vitti – engineer
References
edit- ^ SoulfulDetroit - United Sound Systems - Great Soul Music Recording Studios of Detroit
- ^ a b c Jurek, Thom. "Overview:...For the Whole World to See". Allmusic. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ a b This Band Was Punk Before Punk Was Punk
- ^ a b c "Death: ...For the Whole World to See (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
- ^ Moerder, Adam (February 8, 2009). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Death: ...For the Whole World to See". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ Butler, Nick. ...For the Whole World to See review sputnikmusic.com. 2009-10-21. Retrieved on 2011-08-14.
- ^ Woodbury, Jason P. ...For the Whole World to See review tinymixtapes.com. 2009-02-19. Retrieved on 2011-08-14.
- ^ Soundtracks for Kill the Irishman (2011) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1416801/soundtrack
- ^ Soundtrack for Wendel & Wild (2022) https://m.imdb.com/title/tt5181830/soundtrack
- ^ "Top 5 Proto Punk Albums". www.ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
