by Ned RaggettOriginally released as a bootleg by the shadowy Totonka outfit, The Hole Truth got the highest form of legitimacy around when Surfers' drummer King Coffey simply took a copy and released it on his own label Trance Syndicate. More bands and labels should be so clever: given its bootleg origins, The Hole Truth sounds fairly good throughout on its collection of mostly live material, including an early 1983 studio demo featuring the song "*** Surfer" and three numbers from a date on the Saloon tour. As a ten-year snapshot of the band's evolution from freakish punk weirdness into a more professional but no less insane band, it's manna from heaven for the hardcore fan. Casual listeners probably shouldn't start here, but could find a lot to like nonetheless. Some of the best moments come from hindsight; the 1983 demo of "Something," a slow stomp and throb with what almost sounds like a horn section coming from Leary's deathdrone guitar work, sounds utterly unlike the Pioughd version. Haynes' screeching makes everything even nuttier. The four songs from a 1985 San Antonio gig are mighty strong, with a straightforward version of "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and a snippet of the Beatles' "Come Together" as a bit of out of nowhere fun. Other highlights include an even more ridiculous version of "Lady Sniff" taped in San Francisco in 1986 and a 1987 interview on a New York college station featuring various insults about Oliver North and bizarre takes on "Kum Ba Yah" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."