Over the course of the forty plus years covered by this collection, the one and only Billy Childish has worn a multitude of musical hats and worked with enough people to fill a phone book. His sound may change with each project (a little anyway), but what's at the center of each one are the rough qualities that make Childish unique. His cock-eyed, unblinking stare at life, his devotion to the power of three chords, his rough-and-tumble recording style, and his way with a simple hook and a lyric that can lop the listener's head off with one blow. Every few years someone, usually Damaged Goods, updates the Childish story with a collection that brings people up to date on the various bands and sounds Childish has undertaken; the one previous to Punk Rock Is Nicht Tot! -- Archive from 1959: The Billy Childish Story -- ended in 2009, so that leaves a lot of ground to cover here. Like previous editions that have come out, this rounds up tracks from his punk band the Pop Rivets, beat group revivalists the Milkshakes, raw garage rockers Thee Mighty Caesars, the freakbeat-influenced Buff Medways, primitive bluebeat combo the Blackhands, and the politically charged MBE's. It covers his work writing and producing garage rock girl group Thee Headcoatees, his collaborations with Holly Golightly and Sexton Ming, and the ragged folk blues of the Chatham Singers. That is about three careers' worth of bands right there, but Childish wasn't done. Collected here is a track from a one-off spy record single done under the name the Guy Hamper Trio, another excellent girl group the Shall I Say Quois, an amazing band called the Spartan Dreggs that blends Greek mythology with the mod sound of the Who, and one of Childish's longest-running groups, CTMF, a high-powered garage punk band co-run with his wife, Nurse Julie. It's a breathtaking collection of hard-boiled, high-energy rock & roll that's polished to a fine point by Childish's unflagging determination and barely containable passion. It might seem like 48 songs are too many -- that one might tire of his shouted vocals, focused lyrical concerns, and love-hate relationship with fidelity -- but, if anything, the set leaves one wanting more. Almost every band collected here has many albums to explore, each worth the effort and time spent seeking them out and listening. Punk Rock Is Nicht Tot! is a history lesson, a much-needed update, and yet more proof that Childish is a musical genius. ~ Tim Sendra

Rovi