Too Many Cowboys

Too Many Cowboys
Live album by The Ex
Released	1987
Recorded	Partly live and partly at Emma's Koeienverhuurbedrijf, Amsterdam.
Genre	Anarcho-punk
Label	Ex Records (Netherlands) Ron Johnson Records (U.K.) Mordam Records (U.S.)
Producer	Dolf Planteijdt
The Ex chronology
1936, The Spanish Revolution (1985) Too Many Cowboys (1987) Aural Guerrilla (1988)

Too Many Cowboys is the second double-album and first album of live recordings by Dutch anarchist punk band The Ex. Recorded partly live and partly in the studio, Too Many Cowboys was the first of the Ex's records to be issued simultaneously in more than one country on both the band's own Ex Records in the Netherlands, by Ron Johnson Records in England, by Mordam Records in the United States, and by Di-Di Records in Greece.^[1]

In addition to material not available on any other Ex release, the album contains live versions of songs previously found on the band's double-single/book about the Spanish Civil War and from their then-forthcoming Peel Sessions compilation album, as well as a cover versions of songs by seminal communist Dutch punks The Rondos and contemporary British anarcho-punks Chumbawamba. The original vinyl double-LP came packed with newsprint posters and comics designed by members of the band and their friends, plus a single-sided flexi-disc featuring poet Nico Van Apeldoorn. The Ex reissued Too Many Cowboys on a single CD in 1993.

Track listing

1. "Red + Black"
2. "White Shirts"
3. "Adversit" (originally by Chumbawamba)
4. "People Again"
5. "Knock"
6. "Hands Up! You're Free"
7. "Ignorance"
8. "Butter or Bombs"
9. "Dumbo"
10. "How Can One Sell the Air"
11. "Business as Usual"
12. "Olympigs"
13. "Choice"
14. "A Job"
15. "Stupid"
16. "Oops"
17. "No Fear"
18. "Vivisection" (originally by The Rondos)
19. "A Piece of Paper"
20. "They Shall Not Pass"
21. "Pigjump" (vinyl only)
22. "Wie Vermoordde Hans K.?" (bonus flexi-disc issued with the original double LP)

Personnel and recording

• Terrie (guitar)
• G.W. Sok (vocals)
• Luc (bass)
• John (vocals)
• Katrin (drums)

On "Wie Vermoordde Hans K.?":

• Nico Van Apeldoorn (lyrics)
• Beat Cornaz (guitar)
• Kees Van Der Haak (saxophone)

Recorded partly live and partly at Emma's Koeienverhuurbedrijf, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Produced by Dolf Planteijdt.^[2]

Notes

• Cogan, Brian. Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-313-33340-8.
• Mount, Heather. "Three Looks into The Ex". In Crane, Larry. Tape Op: The Book about Creative Music Recording, Volume 2. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2010. pp. 230–233.
• Robbins, Ira A., ed. The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The all-new 5th edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0684814374.
• Sok, G.W. A Mix of Bricks & Valentines: Lyrics 1979–2009. New York: PM Press, 2011.
• Temporary Services. Group Work. New York: Printed Matter, March 2007.

References