THE MISFITS

THE MISFITS
BOX SET (1996)
256 KBPS

The Misfits' legend grew over the years following the original band's breakup to warrant an increasing number of compilations like Legacy of Brutality and the boldly titled Collection (followed some years later by, but of course, Collection II). Sometimes worthwhile, sometimes incredibly slapdash, they fueled the fire but still did the fans a major disservice, especially given the repetition and overlap on many releases. Though it has its flaws, the coffin-shaped Box Set finally put things as right as seems possible with the Misfits, exhaustively covering all the releases the late-'70s/early-'80s version of the group put out (the exception being Walk Among Us due to a label-rights situation). The first two discs feature, respectively, the material on the two Collection releases and Legacy of Brutality, Evilive, and Earth A.D.. The third compiles a slew of different demo and recording sessions, including the original trio lineup (with Danzig on electric piano) on the "Cough/Cool"/"She" single takes, while the fourth presents the planned-but-never-released-as-such Static Age for the first time. Though recording quality itself varies widely over the discs and arguably some of the mastering could have been sharper (Danzig's own occasional remastering jobs in previous years weren't used here), it's still an explosive and exhaustive effort that any fan needs. The biggest downside: While the sessions on the third disc are thoroughly detailed, the studio cuts on the first two discs are placed without comment as to which sessions produced them, while aside from Evilive and Earth A.D. most of the time it's not clear in the slightest which takes were the ones actually released at the time by the band. The accompanying booklet does a good job in making up for this, though; besides a great band history from then-roadie/photographer and future Danzig bassist Eerie Von, there are complete lyrics for every song, a slew of amazing photographs from concerts and other shoots, and an exhaustive discography.

Disc 1
Collection 1
1. She
2. Hollywood Babylon
3. Horror Business
4. Teenagers From Mars
5. Night of the Living Dead
6. Where Eagles Dare
7. Vampira
8. I Turned Into a Martian
9. Skulls
10. London Dungeon
11. Ghouls Night Out
12. Astro Zombies
13. Mommy, Can I Go Out & Kill Tonight?
14. Die, Die My Darling
Collection 2
15. Cough/Cool
16. Children in Heat
17. Horror Hotel
18. Halloween
19. Halloween II
20. Hate Breeders
21. Braineaters
22. Nike-A-Go-Go
23. Devil's Whorehouse
24. Mephisto Waltz
25. Rat Fink
26. We Bite

Disc 2
Legacy of Brutality
1. Static Age
2. T.V. Casualty
3. Hybrid Moments
4. Spinal Remains
5. Come Back
6. Some Kinda Hate
7. Theme for a Jackal
8. Angelfuck
9. Who Killed Marilyn?
10. Where Eagles Dare
11. She
12. Halloween
13. American Nightmare
Evilive
14. 20 Eyes
15. Night of the Living Dead
16. Astro Zombies
17. Horror Business
18. London Dungeon
19. Nike-A-Go-Go
20. Hate Breeders
21. Devil's Whorehouse
22. All Hell Breaks Loose
23. Horror Hotel
24. Ghouls Night Out
25. We Are 138
Earth A.D.
26. Earth A.D.
27. Queen Wasp
28. Devilock
29. Death Comes Ripping
30. Green Hell
31. Wolfsblood
32. Demonomania
33. Bloodfeast
34. Hellhound
.

Disc 3
Sessions 1977
1. Cough/Cool
2. She
Date unknow, no studio
3. Who Killed Marilyn?
4. Where Eagles Dare
5. Horror Business
6. Teenagers From Mars
7. Children in Heat
Date unknow, songshop
8. Night of the Living Dead
9. Where Eagles Dare
10. Vampira
11. Violent World
12. Who Killed Marilyn?
13. Spook City USA
14. Horror Business
9/5/80
Master Sound Production
15. I Turned Into a Martian
16. Skulls
17. Night of the Living Dead
18. Astro Zombies
19. Where Eagles Dare
20. Violent World
21. Halloween II
8/81
Reel Platinium
22. 20 Eyes
23. I Turned Into a Martian
24. Astro Zombies
25. Vampira
26. Devil's Whorehouse
Date unknow,
Mix-O-Lydian or Newsoundland
27. Nike-A-Go-Go
Date unknow, studio unknown
28. Hate Breeders
29. 20 Eyes
30. Violent World
.

Disc 4
Static Age
1. Static Intro
2. Static Age
3. T.V. Casualty
4. Some Kinda Hate
5. Last Caress
6. Return of the Fly
7. Hybrid Moments
8. We Are 138
9. Teenagers From Mars
10. Come Back
11. Angelfuck
12. Hollywood Babylon
13. Attitude
14. Bullet
15. Theme for a Jackal
16. Static Outro

SHELTER

SHELTER
MANTRA (1995)
320 KBPS

Straight edge has been a popular philosophy within portions of the hardcore community almost from day one, but New Yorkers Shelter arguably took it to its ultimate extreme with their incrementally strict interpretation of the concept, motivated by their Hare Krishna faith. If only their stylistic choices had walked as straight a path or showed as much creative integrity, because Shelter seemed to have an uncontrollable habit of switching musical gears with almost every new release, and 1995's Mantra was certainly no exception. The band's first album for Roadrunner Records, it countered the surprisingly mellow direction pursued by 1993's Attaining the Supreme with a partial return to their pure hardcore roots via welcome energy blasts like "Appreciation" and "Chance," yet also made plenty of room for surprisingly "establishment-friendly" melodic hard rock in "Here We Go Again" and "Letter to a Friend," as well as pop-punk like "Empathy," "Surrender to Your T.V.," and the title cut (which may or may not have been inspired by the mid-'90s successes of Green Day and the Offspring). Surprisingly, additional hardcore hybrids such as "Message of the Bhagavat," "Civilized Man" and "Not the Flesh" also contain serious attempts at honest-to-goodness rapping (!), and an inspired but confusing amalgam of all of the above crowds inside tellingly named album closer "Metamorphosis." This last song wasn't quite capable of elucidating (or justifying) the whys behind Shelter's head-spinning eclecticism to most conservative hardcore fans, but at least the quality of the material at hand — like the band's Krishna-driven message — was comparatively consistent (if at times tiresomely preachy) enough to make Mantra one of the band's strongest, most popular efforts.

1. Message of the Bhagavat
2. Civilized Man
3. Here We Go
4. Appreciation
5. Empathy
6. Not the Flesh
7. Chance
8. Mantra
9. Surrender to Your T.V.
10. Letter to a Friend
11. Metamorphosis

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE
THE CORRECT USE OF SOAP (1980)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

This is something of a return to standard operational form for Magazine, who thawed after recording Secondhand Daylight to throw together an energetic batch of colorful and rhythmically intricate songs. It's an unexpected move considering that they enlisted Martin Hannett (Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, Crispy Ambulance), master of the gray hues, as the producer. A looser, poppier album than its predecessors — somewhat ironically, a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" is the most subdued song — it features the rhythm section of John Doyle and Barry Adamson at their taut, flexible best and guitarist John McGeoch at his most cunningly percussive. Save for the called-for razzle-dazzle on "Sweetheart Contract," keyboardist Dave Formula takes more of a back seat, using piano more frequently and no longer driving the songs to the point of detracting from the greatness of his mates, as the most frequent complaint of Secondhand Daylight goes. Howard Devoto's lyrics are also a little less depressive, though they're no less biting. The closing "A Song from Under the Floorboards" — another near-anthem, an unofficial sequel to "The Light Pours Out of Me" — includes sticking Devoto-isms like "My irritability keeps me alive and kicking" and "I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit." His themes of distrust and romantic turbulence remain focal, evident in "You Never Knew Me" ("Do you want the truth or do you want your sanity?") and "I Want to Burn Again" ("I met your lover yesterday, wearing some things I left at your place, singing a song that means a lot to me"). "Because You're Frightened" is the closest they came to making a new wave hit, zipping along with as much unstoppable buoyancy as Lene Lovich's "New Toy" or the Teardrop Explodes' "Reward," yet it's all fraught nerves and paranoia: "Look what fear's done to my body!" Song for song, the album isn't quite on the level of Real Life, but it is more effective as a point of entry.

1. Because You're Frightened
2. Model Worker
3. I'm a Party
4. You Never Knew Me
5. Philadelphia
6. I Want to Burn Again
7. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
8. Sweetheart Contract
9. Stuck
10. Song from Under the Floorboards
Bonus Tracks
11. Twenty Years Ago
12. Book [B-Side]
13. Upside Down
14. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) [A-Side]
15. Light Pours out of Me [Version]

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.
PLASTIC BOX (1999)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Most who own Plastic Box probably use the second half as coasters. Those who don't probably get headaches when listening to the first two, and a select few find much to love about the whole thing. As if conceding to the consensus that PiL's early years were their best, the first half is devoted to the band's first three studio LPs cut over four years, while the second half covers the remainder. Listeners get the entirety of Public Image/First Edition sans "Fodderstompf." The majority of Metal Box (issued as Second Edition in the U.S.) is included, with three of the original versions sacrificed for Peel Session counterparts that really take the cake. "Careering" is especially wonderful and harrowing, arguably the collective's finest recorded moment. Keith Levene goes bonkers with the keyboards, perhaps fostering the increased intensity amongst the remaining members. The 12" mix of "Swan Lake" ("Death Disco") gets the box set upgrade too, as well as a couple other worthwhile Metal Box outtakes. Closing out the second disc is the entirety of The Flowers of Romance, sequentially shuffled with an additional non-album track. The second half of Plastic Box hits upon each of the remaining studio LPs, with the odd rarity, single mix and Peel Session thrown in for completist bait. For those who want improved sound over their early CD issues, the money spent is a smart investment. A quick comparison of the first 20 seconds of "Annalisa" to the version found on an old copy of Public Image should be evidence enough; the bassline of "Chant" makes the gut feel as if it's being endlessly pummelled by a bouncing battering ram. Plastic Box is an excellent introduction, if only for the adventurous.

.

Disc 1
1. Public Image
2. The Cowboy Song
3. Theme
4. Religion 1
5. Religion 2
6. Annalisa
7. Low Life
8. Attack
9. Poptones (Bbc Session)
10. Careering (Bbc Session)
11. Chant (Bbc Session)
12. Death Disco (12" Remix)
13. 1/2 Mix Megamix
14. No Birds Do Sing
15. Memories

Disc 2
1. Another
2. Albatross
3. Socialist
4. The Suit
5. Bad Baby
6. Radio 4
7. Pied Piper
8. Flowers Of Romance
9. Four Enclosed Walls
10. Phenagen
11. Track 8
12. Hymie' S Him
13. Under The House
14. Banging The Door
15. Go Back
16. Francis Massacre
17. Home Is Where The Heart Is

Disc 3
1. This Is Not A Love Song
2. Blue Water
3. Bad Life
4. Question Mark
5. Solitaire
6. Tie Me To The Lenght Of That
7. Where Are You ?
8. The Pardon
9. 1981
10. The Order Of Death
11. F.F.F.
12. Rise
13. Fishing
14. Round
15. Home
16. Ease

Disc 4
1. Seattle
2. Angry
3. The Body
4. Selfish Rubbish
5. Disappointed
6. Happy
7. Warrior (12" Extended Version)
8. Usls 1
9. Don' T Ask Me
10. Criminal
11. Luck' S Up
12. God
13. Cruel (Bbc Session)
14. Acid Drops (Bbc Session)
15. Love Hope(Bbc Session)
16. Think Tank (Bbc Session)

METAL BOX (1979)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

PiL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and Metal Box is undoubtedly the apex. It's a hallmark of uncompromising, challenging post-punk, hardly sounding like anything of the past, present, or future. Sure, there were touchstones that got their imaginations running — the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the open and rhythmic spaces of Can, and the dense pulses of Lee Perry's productions fueled their creative fires — but what they achieved with their second record is a completely unique hour of avant-garde noise. Originally packaged in a film canister as a trio of 12" records played at 45 rpm, the bass and treble are pegged at 11 throughout, with nary a tinge of midrange to be found. It's all scrapes and throbs (dubscrapes?), supplanted by John Lydon's caterwauling about such subjects as his dying mother, resentment, and murder. Guitarist Keith Levene splatters silvery, violent, percussive shards of metallic scrapes onto the canvas, much like a one-armed Jackson Pollock. Jah Wobble and Richard Dudanski lay down a molasses-thick rhythmic foundation throughout that's just as funky as Can's Czukay/Leibezeit and Chic's Edwards/Rodgers. It's alien dance music. Metal Box might not be recognized as a groundbreaking record with the same reverence as Never Mind the Bollocks, and you certainly can't trace numerous waves of bands who wouldn't have existed without it like the Sex Pistols record. But like a virus, its tones have sent miasmic reverberations through a much broader scope of artists and genres.
Note: This rip comes from the new CD edition, reproducing the original package of the first U.K. vinyl edition, is also the first CD edition on which the sound pays justice to the original vinyl release.

Disc 1
1. Albatross
2. Memories
3. Swanlake

Disc 2
1. Poptones
2. Careering
3. No Birds
4. Graveyard

Disc 3
1. The Suit
2. Bad Baby
3. Socialist
4. Chant
5. Radio 4

SKA-P

SKA-P
EUROSIS (1998)
320 KBPS

A ska-punk outfit based in Madrid, Spain, Ska-P (the name is a take on the Spanish word for escape) formed in 1994. At times political and at other times humorous, Ska-P released their first album, the self-titled Ska-P, in 1994. From there, the left-leaning ensemble released a number of hit full-lengths, culminating in 2002's Que Corra la Voz. In 2005, Ska-P announced an open-ended hiatus so that members could focus on other musical directions and projects. A farewell show outside of Madrid on September 24 of that year sold more than 10,000 tickets. The hiatus came to an end in 2008, and a re-formed Ska-P released their sixth album, Lagrimas y Gozos in October of that year, and also embarked on a short tour.

1. Circo Iberico
2. Villancico
3. España Va Bien
4. Paramilitar
5. Simpatico Holgazan
6. Kemalo
7. Poder Pa'l Pueblo
8. Juan Sin Tierra
9. Kacikes
10. America Latina !Libre!
11. Al Turron
12. Seguimos En Pie

CHINA DRUM

CHINA DRUM
GOOSEFAIR (1996)
320 KBPS

Seven years into their career, these melodic punks from the chicken town (as John Cooper Clarke might call it) of Ovingham-Upon-Tyne (just south of Scotland) finally release an LP after a bracing batch of great import singles (some of which were culled into their first U.S. mini-LP, Barrier). Maybe every band should spend so long honing their skills; Goosefair is as close to spotless as post-Descendents punk-pop gets. Reminiscent of Australia's late the Happy Hate Me Nots and our own Agent Orange, China Drum attack with a super-clean edge, yet with plenty of firepower, and drummer Adam Lee's singing is crystal clear. His voice is nervy, brisk, and committed, and his energetic, grasping harmonies never miss the mark. Best of all, the production just enlivens the humming effectiveness of new tracks such as the blasting "Can't Stop These Things" and the pop-sweet "Last Chance," which compete well with familiar tracks "Biscuit Barrel," "Simple," and the acoustic "Meaning" (which Leatherface covered on their final single). Goosefair is really goosebumps-intense fun, wildly catchy pop, and charged rock & roll.

1. Can't Stop These Things
2. Cloud 9
3. Fall into Place
4. Situation
5. Simple
6. Biscuit Barrel F. M. R.
7. God Bets
8. Pictures
9. Find the Time
10. (Had a Good Idea on) Monday
11. Last Chance
12. Take It Back
13. Meaning
14. Better Than Me
15. Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush cover)

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE
SECONDHAND DAYLIGHT (1979)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

You're probably not reading this unless you already know who Magazine was. If that is true and you haven't ever heard this album, there is only one thing to say: you've been waiting far too long. Get it now.
For the rest of you: Magazine was probably the first "post-punk" band, really before there even was a "post" punk. This is a brilliant, sophisticated album that stays true to the spirit of its late 70s punk roots while enormously refining and expanding that sound. Let me be clear, this most certainly isn't a "punk" record in the usual sense. It uses keyboards, textures and complex arrangements that add enormous scope to the work, yet it is never in danger of slipping into the art-rock excesses that (in part) prompted the punk explosion in the first place. Just trying to list all the bands that came after which owe a debt to this work would fill the entire review.
This is not bright and bouncy pop. If you've never heard Magazine, it may be a good idea to start with "Real Life", the group's first album. Though less coherent and powerful than Secondhand Daylight, Real Life is not as dark and has more direct, traditionally structured tunes and shows its punk roots a bit more clearly.
The musicians are all solid professionals and there are just no words to properly praise Barry Adamson's sublime bass work on this record. Howard Devoto's lyrics are incisive and powerful, albeit not gentle, and add depth and intelligence to this record. Although a few of the keyboard effects have become a bit dated, overall the album sounds quite fresh and vital and has held up as well as, if not substantially better than, any other rock music of comparable age.
I know that it may be a bit hackneyed to describe something as an "unappreciated" or "overlooked" or "undiscovered" (etc., etc.) masterpiece, but that doesn't mean it isn't a valid description. There is no final arbiter of this issue. In the end it's all just a matter of opinion and in my opinion, Secondhand Daylight is a classic.

1. Feed the Enemy
2. Rhythm of Cruelty
3. Cut-Out Shapes
4. Talk to the Body
5. I Wanted Your Heart
6. Thin Air
7. Back to Nature
8. Believe That I Understand
9. Permafrost
Bonus Tracks
10. Give Me Everything
11. I Love You, You Dig Dummy
12. Rhythm of Cruelty (Original Single Version)
13. TV Baby

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE
MAGIC, MURDER AND THE WEATHER (1981)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Magazine's final studio album, Magic, Murder and the Weather, finds Dave Formula's washes of cold, brittle keyboards dominating the bitter and cynical music. Occasionally, Howard Devoto's weary lyrics surface through the icy mix, but it's clear that Devoto and Magazine have both had better days. It's not a graceful way to bow out, but the album has enough strong moments to prevent it from being an embarrassment as well.

1. About the Weather
2. So Lucky
3. The Honeymoon Killers
4. Vigilance
5. Come Alive
6. The Great Man's Secrets
7. This Poison
8. Naked Eye
9. Surburban Rhonda
10. The Garden
Bonus Tracks
11. In the Dark
12. The Operative

THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES

THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES
DON'T KNOW HOW TO PARTY (1993)
320 KBPS

An attempt to mainstream the Bosstones' sound and accentuate their metal influences backfires somewhat here. The band's connection to ska has sometimes seemed tenuous at best, but on Don't Know How to Party, the ska is reduced to a mere stylistic quirk punctuating a set of essentially heavy metal songs, which mutes the band's originality. "Holy Smoke" and a cover of the Stiff Little Fingers' "Tin Soldiers" do manage to make an impact, and "Someday I Suppose" is recycled (in an inferior version). I heard many people claiming this is the Bosstones' finest and I'm puzzled at how they can produce such argument. It sure isn't a bad album but it remains the weakest of the MMB's discography. But, who knows, I might be wrong so, if you want to know what the metal side of the Bosstones sounds like or just want the too few good songs featured here, this might be a good idea to try it anyway.

1. Our Only Weapon
2. Last Dead Mouse
3. Don't Know How To Party
4. Someday I Suppose
5. A Man Without
6. Holy Smoke
7. Illegal Left
8. Tin Soldiers
9. Almost Anything Goes
10. Issachar
11. What Was Was Over
12. Seven Thirty Seven/Shoe Glue

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE
REAL LIFE (1978)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Howard Devoto had the foresight to promote two infamous Sex Pistols concerts in Manchester, and his vision was no less acute when he left Buzzcocks after recording Spiral Scratch. Possibly sensing the festering of punk's clichés and limitations, and unquestionably not taken by the movement's beginnings, he bailed — effectively skipping out on most of 1977 — and resurfaced with Magazine. Initially, the departure from punk was not complete. "Shot by Both Sides," the band's first single, was based off an old riff given by Devoto's Buzzcocks partner Pete Shelley, and the guts of follow-up single "Touch and Go" were rather basic rev-and-vroom. And, like many punk bands, Magazine would likely cite David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Roxy Music. However — this point is crucial — instead of playing mindlessly sloppy variants of "Hang on to Yourself," "Search and Destroy," and "Virginia Plain," the band was inspired by the much more adventurous Low, The Idiot, and "For Your Pleasure." That is the driving force behind Real Life's status as one of the post-punk era's major jump-off points. Punk's untethered energy is rigidly controlled, run through arrangements that are tightly wound, herky-jerky, unpredictable, proficiently dynamic. The rapidly careening "Shot by Both Sides" (up there with PiL's "Public Image" as an indelible post-punk single) and the slowly unfolding "Parade" (the closest thing to a ballad, its hook is "Sometimes I forget that we're supposed to be in love") are equally ill-at-ease. The dynamism is all the more perceptible when Dave Formula's alternately flighty and assaultive keyboards are present: the opening "Definitive Gaze," for instance, switches between a sci-fi love theme and the score for a chase scene. As close as the band comes to upstaging Devoto, the singer is central, with his live wire tendencies typically enhanced, rather than truly outshined, by his mates. The interplay is at its best in "The Light Pours out of Me," a song that defines Magazine more than "Shot by Both Sides," while also functioning as the closest the band got to making an anthem. Various aspects of Devoto's personality and legacy, truly brought forth throughout this album, have been transferred and blown up throughout the careers of Momus (the restless, unapologetic intellectual), Thom Yorke (the pensive outsider), and maybe even Luke Haines (the nonchalantly acidic crank).

1. Definitive Gaze
2. My Tulpa
3. Shot by Both Sides
4. Recoil
5. Burst
6. Motorcade
7. The Great Beautician in the Sky
8. The Light Pours out of Me
9. Parade
Bonus Tracks
10. Shot by Both Sides (Original Single Version)
11. My Mind Ain't So Open
12. Touch and Go
13. Goldfinger

SUBLIME

SUBLIME
STAND BY YOUR VAN (1998)
320 KBPS

A little over two years after Bradley Nowell's tragic death, Sublime released its second posthumous album, Stand by Your Van. Sublime never had the chance to tour the material from Sublime, which turned out to be their most popular album. That means that all 16 tracks on Stand by Your Van are taken from their first two albums, before Nowell's songwriting had truly come into its own. Nevertheless, he had several good songs on 40 Oz. to Freedom and Robbin' the Hood, and by consolidating the best moments from those two relatively uneven albums, the live record offers something of a "greatest hits" of their early years. If the performances aren't that different from the studio versions — they're simply a little rawer, a little faster, a little looser — they're still strong and energetic, capturing the essence of the group's live show. Ultimately, that energy is what makes Stand by Your Van the best posthumous Sublime record to date. Nobody outside of hardcore fans needs this record, but the quality of the music is better than either the What I Got... EP or the haphazard outtakes album Second Hand Smoke, and that alone makes its release somewhat noteworthy.

1. Don't Push
2. Right Back
3. New Thrash
4. Let's Go Get Stoned
5. Greatest Hits
6. Date Rape
7. S.T.P.
8. Badfish
9. D.J.S.
10. Work That We Do
11. Poolshark
12. Ebin
13. All You Need
14. Waiting For My Ruca
15. Caress Me Down
16. KRS-One

RANCID

RANCID
...AND OUT COME THE WOLVES (1995)
320 KBPS

In the wake of the Offspring's success, Rancid became a hot band, earning a dedicated cult and sparking a major-label bidding war. After flirting with a handful of major labels, the band decided to stick with Epitaph and returned with And Out Come the Wolves. While the title is a veiled reference to the attention the band gained, the album doesn't mark an isolationist retreat into didactic, defiantly underground punk rock. Instead, Rancid develop their own identity on the record, which ironically makes them more accessible. Although they continue to draw heavily from the Clash and the Specials — and their roots in the ska-punk band Operation Ivy are quite clear throughout the record — the band plays with such energy and conviction, it's easy to forgive their derivativeness. On the whole, And Out Come the Wolves is a little too long to make a major impact, but individual tracks are classic moments of revivalist punk, including the skittering 2-Tone tribute "Time Bomb."

1. Maxwell Murder
2. The 11th Hour
3. Roots Radicals
4. Time Bomb
5. Olympia Wa.
6. Lock, Step & Gone
7. Junkie Man
8. Listed M.I.A.
9. Ruby Soho
10. Daly City Train
11. Journey to the End of the East Bay
12. She's Automatic
13. Old Friend
14. Disorder and Disarray
15. The Wars End
16. You Don't Care Nothin'
17. As Wicked
18. Avenues & Alleyways
19. The Way I Feel

SUBLIME

SUBLIME
SECOND-HAND SMOKE (1997)
320 KBPS

Most posthumous albums are shrouded in a sense of morbid nostalgia and grim curiosity. In Sublime's case, there was also some cruel irony to contend with: the California nuevo-punk outfit's promising self-titled major-label debut and commercial breakout was released barely a month after frontman Brad Nowell's death from a heroin overdose--and their de facto demise. But such was the Long Beach band's longtime following that raiding the vaults, however sparse, was inevitable. Released 18 months after Nowell's death, Second Hand Smoke more than lived up to its title, cobbling together a collection of outtakes from their debut and padding them out with (sometimes multiple) remixes of old tracks like "Doin' Time," "April 29," and the Gwen Stefani duet, "Saw Red." There's a standout cover of Bob Marley's "Trenchtown Rock," but a lot of the rest feels like the incomplete discards and second (or third) choices they obviously were. Still, for the few brillant cuts available here, this is something somebody who enjoyed Sublime eponymous album should try.

1. Doin' Time (Uptown Dub)
2. Get Out! (Remix)
3. Romeo
4. New Realization
5. Don't Push
6. Slow Ride
7. Chick On My Tip
8. Had A Dat
9. Trenchtown Rock
10. Badfish
11. Drunk Drivin'
12. Saw Red
13. Garbage Grove
14. April 29th, 1992 (Leary)
15. Superstar Punani
16. Legal Dub
17. What's Really Goin' Wrong
18. Doin' Time (Eerie Splender Remix)
19. Thanx Dub

THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES

THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES
QUESTION THE ANSWERS (1994)
320 KBPS

From the leadoff track, the sizzling and real-life-realization of "Kinder Words," to the sizzling, real-life observation of "Jump Through the Hoops," the Bosstones opened up wide and said "ahh!" on "Question the Answers." Packing a sonic punch they had only hinted at in many of their earlier releases, the 'Tones brought ska core to the fore several years before the world's second (or maybe 10th) ska revival became all the rage. It was frat-party music for the thinking crowd: social commentary quite frequently pops up on their earlier albums, but the lyrics are especially strong here, especially on "We Should Talk" (actually one of the weaker cuts) and "Hell of a Hat." If you want to sample the Bosstones and their ilk, this is the one to try.

1. Kinder Words
2. A Sad Silence
3. Hell Of A Hat
4. Pictures To Prove It
5. We Should Talk
6. A Dollar And A Dream
7. Stand Off
8. 365 Days
9. Toxic Toast
10. Bronzing The Garbage
11. Dogs And Chaplains
12. Jump Through The Hoops

THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES

THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES
PAY ATTENTION (2000)
320 KBPS

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' newfound willingness to take their time working out material paid off with Let's Face It, and thus, Pay Attention didn't appear until three years later. Even if ska's commercial momentum had slowed, the album was still worth the wait. Thanks to the band's tight quality control, the tunes here are catchy, but not quite as immediately poppy as much of Let's Face It — there's more punk and hard rock, with ska rhythms more integral to some tracks than others. The party anthems of yesteryear are pretty much gone, but in their place is a tone of reflective maturity; personal and social concerns are given an equal airing, and the band's sense of humor is still very much in evidence. Moreover, the Bosstones are still trying new musical approaches, as evidenced by the summery island feel of "She Just Happened" and the surprising Irish turn of "Riot on Broad Street." Other highlights include the alternately swinging and skanking opener "Let Me Be," the hard-rocking lead single "So Sad to Say," the bouncy sing-along "Where You Come From," the up-tempo "The Skeleton Song," and the poignant (yet not overly sentimental) album closer "The Day He Didn't Die." A few weaker numbers could have been trimmed without making the album seem short; also, a fairly large percentage of the songs would simply sound like catchy hard rock if the horn section was removed. Then again, it's not the first time the Bosstones have recorded material like that, and in the end, it's hard to see Pay Attention as anything less than the band's third high-quality album in a row.

1. Let Me Be
2. The Skeleton Song
3. All Things Considered
4. So Sad to Say
5. Allow Them
6. High School Dance
7. Over the Eggshells
8. She Just Happened
9. Finally
10. I Know More
11. Riot on Broad Street
12. One Million Reasons
13. Bad News and Bad Breaks
14. Temporary Trip
15. Where You Come From
16. The Day He Didn't Die

MAXIMUM PENALTY

MAXIMUM PENALTY

As part of the original Hardcore movement, Maximum Penalty has been and still is, one of the most original hybrids of the New York Hardcore sound. From the band’s inception, the founding members have fused different styles such as Hardcore, Metal, Hip-Hop and melody which put MP’s unique stamp on the scene. The band started out at the tail end of the first wave of the hardcore movement in the late 80's. They played the infamous hardcore matinee at the now deceased CBGB's with friends and family from the N.Y. scene. From that point the Crossover Metal scene exploded into the 90’s with MP's unique brand of Hardcore, along with their peers such as Sick of it all, Killing Time & Agnostic Front.
Here are two albums demonstrating the band's quality. The production may not always be of the best quality but the music still is the enjoyable proof of the Maximum Penalty's unique signature sound. If you're into hardcore punk and have never heard of these lads, you owe it to yourself to try this double offering. And, trust me, disappointment is out of the question.

INDEPENDENT (1996)
320 KBPS
1. Face Value
2. Find a Better Way
3. Could You Love Me?
4. ...So God Help Me
5. Nowhere to Turn
6. Justice Paid
7. Where Were You
8. Life Jacket
9. Hate [Live]
10. Comin' Home [Live]
11. Be Yourself [Live]
12. Burning Bed [Live]
13. Acceptance [Live]
14. Ivory Tower [Live]

SUPERLIFE (1997)
320 KBPS
1. Believe
2. Overdue
3. Too Little, Too Late
4. Among Friends
5. 70's boXXX
6. Heartless
7. Hate
8. Life Jacket
9. Mood Swings
10. Could You Love Me
11. East Side Story
12. Identify
13. Immaculate Conception
14. For What It's Worth
15. No More Mondays

GREEN DAY

GREEN DAY
DOOKIE (1994)
320 KBPS

Green Day couldn't have had a blockbuster without Nirvana, but Dookie wound up being nearly as revolutionary as Nevermind, sending a wave of imitators up the charts and setting the tone for the mainstream rock of the mid-'90s. Like Nevermind, this was accidental success, the sound of a promising underground group suddenly hitting its stride just as they got their first professional, big-budget, big-label production. Really, that's where the similarities end, since if Nirvana were indebted to the weirdness of indie rock, Green Day were straight-ahead punk revivalists through and through. They were products of the underground pop scene kept alive by such protagonists as All, yet what they really loved was the original punk, particularly such British punkers as the Jam and Buzzcocks. On their first couple records, they showed promise, but with Dookie, they delivered a record that found Billie Joe Armstrong bursting into full flower as a songwriter, spitting out melodic ravers that could have comfortable sat alongside Singles Going Steady, but infused with an ironic self-loathing popularized by Nirvana, whose clean sound on Nevermind is also emulated here. Where Nirvana had weight, Green Day are deliberately adolescent here, treating nearly everything as joke and having as much fun as snotty punkers should. They demonstrate a bit of depth with "When I Come Around," but that just varies the pace slightly, since the key to this is their flippant, infectious attitude — something they maintain throughout the record, making Dookie a stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered.

1. Burnout
2. Having A Blast
3. Chump
4. Longview
5. Welcome To Paradise
6. Pulling Teeth
7. Basket Case
8. She
9. Sassafras Roots
10. When I Come Around
11. Coming Clean
12. Emenius Sleepus
13. In The End
14. F.O.D./All By Myself

THE TOY DOLLZ

THE TOY DOLLZ
ORCASTRATED (1995)
320 KBPS

Ninth album from the infamous fun punk british outfit the Toy Dolls. Strangely enough, their name appeared as Toy Dollz, with a Z, on the cover. What was it all about, I have no idea but maybe it's the very noticeable glam rock influence that lead the band to alter their name. Don't get me wrong, this is still classic Toy Dolls with Olga helium voice and neat guitar playing leading the music but the punk aspect is a little less present than on their previous albums.
From start to finish, Orcastrated is a very entertaining album filled with great melodies and insane lyrics. Whatsmore, a good cover version of the Small Faces' Lazy Sunday Afternoon, on of the Dolls best covers in my opinion, adds to the fun of the album.
I know many people think Orcastrated is a minor entry in the band's discography, I fully disagree with that and it actually is my favorite in their long and productive career. Just get it and... singalong!

1. Orcastrated
2. Poltergeist in the Pantry
3. Please Release Me/Darling I Loathe You
4. Taken for a Mug
5. Any Dream Will Do
6. Harry's Hands
7. David's Xr2
8. Pot Luck Percy
9. Ivy's Lurid Lips
10. Psychosurgery
11. Ron Dixon Dumped D-D
12. Lazy Sunday Afternoon
13. Bowling Barmy
14. Orcastrated

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
GO FOR IT (1981)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Following confidently on from the relatively straightforward punk purity of their first two albums, Stiff Little Fingers entered the 1980s with Go for It, an album whose sense of adventure was as radical as its sense of purpose, a raw affirmation of the rock and reggae hybrid that had been pioneered elsewhere (the Clash and the Ruts come most immediately to mind), but was now to be twisted through Jake Burns' own private vision of punk at its most personally committed. The opening "Roots Radicals Rockers and Reggae," of course, sets those intentions out plain as day, while "Safe as Houses" and, among the three bonus tracks, a sterling cover of the Wailing Souls' "Mr. Fire Coal Man" confirm the Belfast band's status among the era's most convincing exponents of the mélange. Two excellent hit singles, "Just Fade Away" and "Silver Lining," bolstered what was already shaping up to be Stiff Little Fingers' finest album; the addition of "Back to Front," a Top 50 smash the previous year, and a rousing live version of "Doesn't Make It Alright" (the B-side of "Just Fade Away") complete a sensational reissue.

1. Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae
2. Just Fade Away
3. Go for It Stiff
4. The Only One
5. Hits and Misses
6. Kicking Up a Racket
7. Safe as Houses
8. Gate 49
9. Silver Lining
10. Piccadilly Circus
Bonus Tracks
11. Mr. Fire Coal Man
12. Doesn't Make It Alright (Live)
13. Back to Front
14. Alan Parker interviews Jake Burns about "Go For It"

SUBLIME

SUBLIME
SUBLIME (1996)
320 KBPS

Sublime's eponymous major-label debut arrived a few months after the band's leader, Brad Nowell, died tragically of a heroin overdose. As a show of sympathy, the album tended to be slightly overrated in some critical quarters, who claimed that Nowell was an exceptionally gifted lyricist and musical hybridist, but Sublime doesn't quite support those claims. The trio does have a surprising grace in its unabashedly traditionalist fusion of Californian hardcore punk, light hip-hop, and reggae. Switching between bracing hardcore and slow, sexy reggae numbers, Sublime display supple, muscular versatility and, on occasion, a gift for ingratiatingly catchy hooks, as on the hit single "What I Got." What they don't have is the vision -- either lyrical or musical -- to maintain interest throughout the course of the entire album. Sublime sags when the band delves too deeply into their dub aspirations or when their lyrics slide into smirking humor. The low moments don't arrive that often -- by and large, the album is quite engaging -- but they happen frequently enough to make the record a demonstration of the band's blossoming ability, but not the fulfillment of their full potential. Of course, Nowell's death gives the record a certain pathos, but that doesn't make the album any stronger.

1. Garden Grove
2. What I Got
3. Wrong Way
4. Same in the End
5. April 29, 1992 (Miami)
6. Santeria
7. Seed
8. Jailhouse
9. Pawn Shop
10. Paddle Out
11. The Ballad of Johnny Butt
12. Burritos
13. Under My Voodoo
14. Get Ready
15. Caress Me Down
16. What I Got (Reprise)
17. Doin' Time