Bad Religion: 80-85

Bad Religion: 80-85

1991

Epitaph Records

Format I Own it on:  Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. We're Only Gonna Die  2. Latch Key Kids  3. Part III  4. Faith in God  5. Fuck Armageddon... This Is Hell  6. Pitty  7. Into the Night  8. Damned to Be Free  9. White Trash (2nd Generation)  10. American Dream  11. Eat Your Dog  12. Voice of God Is Government  13. Oligarchy  14. Doing Time  15. Bad Religion  16. Politics  17. Sensory Overload  18. Slaves  19. Drastic Actions  20. World War III  21. Yesterday  22. Frogger  23. Bad Religion  24. Along The Way  25. New Leaf  26. Bad Religion  27. Slaves  28. Drastic Actions

This is a compilation released in 1991, that compiles all the band's pre-"Suffer" output (minus the infamous prog/keyboard "Into the Unknown" LP).

The albums contained in this CD are...



self-titled EP

1981:

Tracks 15-20

 These tracks find the band at their roughest, and most basic hardcore. You won't find much in the way of the band's trademark harmonies or polysyllabic lyrics, but it's still surprising how much this still sounds like the Bad Religion we've grown to know and love...the gloomy "Drastic Actions" is still one of my favorite B/R tracks. I love that muted, muddy guitar and Greg Graffin's sing-songy melody.  Probably the best thing here...easily beats the later, slightly cleaned-up re-recording featured later on the disc...Awesome cover art by the way...Simple and iconic...



Public Service split

1981

Tracks 26-28

Slightly cleaner re-recordings of 3 songs from the first e.p.


How Could Hell be any Worse?

1982

Tracks 1-14

This is definitely a step  forward. It still doesn't feature the famous harmonies, but the songwriting is improved. "We're Only Gonna Die," is an enduring punk classic. You get to see Graffin's sociopolitical lyrical concerns in their embryonic form here and  the arrangement is suitably slamming and surprisingly ambitious (why, is that a piano and acoustic guitar I hear in the break?). I think the opener here is pretty hard to top, so in my eyes, the rest of the album stands in its shadow, although "Fuck Armageddon...This is Hell," comes pretty close to matching it.

Back to the Known E.P

1985

Tracks 21-25

The band's retreat back to the security of punk after 1983's experimental "Into the Unknown." They've slowed things down a few clicks and there's an abundance harmony. I really like this a lot. The song "Frogger" is my favorite on this one. It has a cool extremely low harmony vocal to go along with Graffin's lead and it's so weird to hear B.R. sing about a video game, even though it's just a metaphor.

Still, I can't quite imagine them doing that now,  although I guess it wouldn't be too shocking looking at a Bad Religion cover and seeing the title "Medal of Honor" or something... On this Ep you also catch an early glimpse of the band's folk influence on the catchy (and short!) "Along the Way."

I love the little Frogger footprints across the cover...so goddamn cute!

(Frogger is the coolest!)

I think this comp is out of print in this form but the reissue of "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" has all the same material. I recommend this whole-heartedly if you're already a B.R. fan or interested in the roots of melodic SoCal hardcore. Intelligent thrashing punk that showed it was okay to wear a mortarboard in the moshpit...

 So let's put on our thinking caps (and gowns) and listen to "Drastic Actions" by Bad Religion...