face to face: Big Choice

face to face: Big Choice

1995

Victory Music

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Struggle  2. I Know You Well  3. Sensible  4. A-OK  5. You Lied  6. Promises  7. Big Choice  8. It's Not Over  9. Velocity  10. Debt  11. Late  12. Disconnected  13. Bikeage


Another face to face album that I've listened to 10,000,000,000 times and know frontwards, backwards and sideways. This was a big one in my world...I remember I originally bought this on cassette, which looked like this:

The cassette differed slightly from the compact disc that I have now, since the CD has a couple of bonus tracks...There's a skit that appears before this album's obligatory version of "Disconnected" (third album in a row!) that's not on the tape version.  There's also a cover of "Bikage" by The Descendents, which is fitting because "Disconnected" is this close to being "Hope" in places...

The confidence these guys had at this time was off the map. Armed with their most powerful version of "Disconnected" yet, you can tell they expected this thing to (rightfully) climb to the top of the charts, no questions asked. And why not? Green Day had managed to top the charts with their gazillion-selling album "Dookie" one year prior. And "Disconnected" is better than any song on "Dookie." This shit is fact. The album even kicks off with a sample of "ONE! TWO! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!" to remind the faithful of past awesome-ness. Get the faithful  all juiced up. And to hammer home their mightiness, the sample is attached to the song, "Struggle" which is a marvel of 90's pop-punk. Just wall to wall hooks and energy. Pretty much every song on the album sports a big, burly, killer chorus of some sort. They had this shit down to a science at this point.

As it turned out, it wasn't really a Green Day/Offspring level hit, but it was pretty popular, if I remember correctly. I bought my copy at a K-Mart, if that tells you anything. Try finding a face to face album at a K-Mart or Walmart these days!

I think this album is slightly inferior to "Don't Turn Away," which mainly has to do with the album's sound. If you listen to it back to back with that album, it sounds a little thin and congested. The bass doesn't have that satisfying rattle that it did before. I should probably mention they added a second guitarist at this point, which changes the sound a bit too. It's all a little more detailed and busy. If they were able to capture the brute simplicity of "Don't Turn Away" with this set of songs, I think "Big Choice" might surpass it though. I dunno, hard to say...But with tracks as flawlessly constructed as like "I Know You Well," "Sensible" and "You Lied" it's hard not to speculate.

I'm still amazed at how many top-tier tracks they were able to fit on their first couple records. Again, naming the best song usually ends with me rattling off 9 or 10 songs. The only dud here is "Debt," which is the only track I would think of skipping, with its hammy vocals in the stop and start section. And even that song kinda rules when the chorus rolls around.

All in all, this is just another solid face to face album, showcasing the band right in the midst of their glory years. No struggle here. Nothing but sturdy, well-written, well-performed pop-punk. Let's check some out...Here's "Struggle" by face to face...Enjoy...

face to face: Over It

face to face: Over It

1994

Victory Music

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. I Want  2. Nothing New  3. Disconnected  4. A.O.K.  5. I Used to Think  6. Don't Turn Away  7. Not Enough


A little 20 minute stopgap release. Most of this stuff appears elsewhere (the first three tracks appeared on their debut album, and a less boxy version of "A.O.K" will make it to the album, "Big Choice," which would quickly follow this ep). The other three tracks don't appear on any of their other albums and one of them happens to be among my all time favorite face to face songs...

If nothing else, get this for "I Used to Think." Hands down, one of their best tracks: catchy as fuck and makes great use of Trever Keith's big, blustery, melodic vocals. You need this one. The other two aren't anything to sneeze at either. We have "Don't Turn Away"'s missing title track, that makes you wonder why this song wasn't on "Don't Turn Away." It's of roughly the same quality as any other song of that album. Maybe they wrote it after that album? Sort of a "Houses of the Holy" type deal? I dunno.

Oh, this is also where the 2nd version of "Disconnected" appears. I honestly can't really tell these "Over It" versions from the "Don't Turn Away" versions without listening to them back to back. I think they might just be slight remixes or something. The "A.O.K" sounds much different though.

This EP appears to be out of print for some reason, but used copies are still readily available. To me, it brings back a flood of 90's punk memories and it has "I Used to Think" on it. For those reasons, it's essential (to me anyway)...

Let's listen to some music. Here's "I Used to Think" by face to face. Enjoy...

face to face: Don't Turn Away

face to face: Don't Turn Away

1992

Fat Wreck Chords

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. You've Done Nothing  2. I'm Not Afraid  3. Disconnected  4. No Authority  5. I Want  6. You've Got a Problem  7. Everything Is Everything  8.I'm Trying  9. Pastel  10. Nothing New  11. Walk Away  12. Do You Care?  13. 1,000 X


Damn, I love this record. I remember back in the early-mid 90's there was a lot of suspicion surrounding this band. There were rumors they were an ex-hair metal band, they would get jeered at festivals by Capital P Punk Purists, etc. They seemed a little too good to be true. They came out of nowhere with a debut that while sporting a raw recording, was so well-tooled, powerful and fully developed that you could imagine it playing on FM radio. Eventually as time wore on and it was apparent these guys weren't a put-on, punks everywhere accepted the group as one of the best the 90's had to offer.

If you haven't heard them before, they sound like Social Distortion with 90's SoCal double-time skatepunk laid over it. They had a bassist named Matt Riddle who had the coolest, driest, rattling bass sound ever laid down. The singer sounds almost exactly like Mike Ness, minus the rockabilly influence. And they were capable of writing some of the catchiest, most immediate hooks imaginable. Every song on "Don't Turn Away" is excellent and about 9 or 10 of them are flat-ass perfect 90's punk classics.

Is "You've Done Nothing" the best 90's punk album opener? I think a case could be made.. There are a generation of folks out there to whom the seemingly benign countdown, "ONE! TWO! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!" will instantly dilate their pupils and have them frothing at the mouth and forming a circle pit. That's how potent the first five seconds of this record are.

This is also the first appearance (that I know of) of the immortal "Disconnected" which was a pop-punker so unstoppable that they went on to include it on three consecutive albums. And I was happy to hear it every time. One of the all-time, from out of nowhere, great pop-punk choruses.

"I Want," "Pastel," "I'm Trying." Too many good songs to nameheck them all. If this isn't their best album, it's damn close. The argument could be made that it's all a bit samey and there is no variance in the production, but most punks would view that as a plus. Just a bunch of plainly recorded, awesomely energetic, catchy stuff. If you're into 90's punk at all, this is a must have.

 Let's listen to some face to face. Here's "Pastel"...Enjoy...

The Exploited: Totally Exploited

The Exploited: Totally Exploited

1984

Dojo Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Punks Not Dead  2. Army Life  3. Fuck A Mod  4. Barmy Army  5. Dogs Of War  6. Dead Cities  7. Sex & Violence  8. Yops  9.Daily News  10. Dole Q  11. I Believe In Anarchy  12. God Save The Queen  13. Psycho  14. Blown To Bits  15. Insanity  16. S.P.G.  17. Jimmy Boyle  18. U.S.A.  19. Attack  20. Rival Leaders





I had no idea what "Totally Exploited" was when I bought it and the packaging isn't a huge help. I thought that it might be a live album but it turns out it's a greatest hits album from 1984. Apparently there's a CD version out there that sports 7 additional tracks, but that's not the version I have. Mine's the vinyl version with only 20 tracks, so that's the version I'm covering...

 This covers the band's career up through their third album ("Let's Start a War") and houses a bunch of the band's excellent non-album singles, like "Dogs of War" and "Dead Cities," which are some of their best tracks. There's quite a bit of overlap between this and "Punks Not Dead," and rightfully so, since that seems to be the defining album for a lot of folks. Amusingly there's a cover blurb by Gary Bushell, praising the band (who was the music journalist being roasted in the band's track "Singalongbushell"). 

I usually bust this out to listen to "Insanity" (a fluttery punk rock wonder) and "Rival Leaders" (one of their most vicious thrashings). I haven't been able to score a copy of the "Let's Start a War" album, so this one usually gives me the fix I need. 

To be honest, I'm getting a bit burned out on talking about the Exploited this week. It's like writing paragraph after paragraph about bread and butter, there's just not a whole lot to it. They usually grind away on rudimentary punk chords while Wattie shouts some direct, simplistic lyrics. It's pretty exciting to listen to, but not real fun to talk about.

So let's be done talking about it... Let's listen to some music. Here's "Rival Leaders" by The Exploited. Enjoy...

The Exploited; Death Before Dishonour

The Exploited; Death Before Dishonour

 1987

Rough Justice Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Anti-UK  2. Power Struggle  3. Scaling the Derry Wall  4. Barry Prossitt  5. Don't Really Care  6. No Forgiveness  7. Death Before Dishonour  8. Adding to Their Fears  9. Police Informer  10. Drive Me Insane  11. Pulling Us Down  12. Sexual Favours





 
Sorry I haven't posted at all this month...

Y'see, the United States recently elected 2013 WWE Hall of Famer and Game Show host Donald J Trump to the office of the Presidency, so I decided to stowaway on a steam boat to Canada, where I am currently in hiding...

I am currently deep in the wilds of New Brunswick,  living off of Beaver Tail and Ketchup Chips. I have tied this blog post to the leg of a Canadian Goose and I am hoping this message makes its way to the internet...

Here it is. All the way from Canada. A few random sentences about "Death Before Dishonour" by The Exploited:

There are entirely too many man asses in the inside cover of this album. If I wanted Man Asses, I would have bought a Stephen Stills album!

 The front cover is pretty dope, though (of the Exploited album, not the Manassas album).

 The Grim Reaper embracing Maggie, plotting the demise of many young citizens, no doubt.

As for the music on the album, it rules. The band are pretty squarely into punk/metal territory at this point. The album's method of operation becomes apparent right from the very first seconds of the very first track, "Anti-UK." It's all about Wattie shouting himself hoarse over big slabs of grey, muted crunching guitars and rushing drums. Wattie seems to get less melodic every album. At this point, he's so hoarse, gurgly and ugly sounding that you sort of have to admire the slovenliness of it all..

It isn't as immediate as the catchy chant-alongs of "Punks Not Dead," but once I became acclimated to the samey, blurring bleakness of it all, it became apparent to me that I probably prefer this era of Exploited to the early stuff. I have no idea why I find this war-torn battlefield of sound so fascinating. Maybe it's because you don't often find lyrics as terse, blunt and unadorned as the list of grievances on "Drive Me Insane." It just kinda wallows in its own anger and hopelessness. Stuff like "Scaling the Derry Wall" is just so  pissed-off and Discharge-y, that I can't not love it. The only bit of weirdness is the closing track "Sexual Favours" which suddenly pops in with a 60's shimmy bassline that you can sorta imagine hippies dropping LSD and twirling around to.  It eventually turns into another hoarse shouter, though.

All in all, another good album by the band. Like I said, it'll probably blur right past you like it did me for the first couple listens, but if you value pissed-off punk/metal as much as I do, the grey blobs will eventually come into focus. I haven't really explored the band's discography much past this album. Last I heard of them, was 1996's "Beat the Bastards," which was freakin' industrial metal or something...I haven't heard it in a couple decades so it's a bit blurry...Not sure what happened to them after that...I'm sure they're still out there grinding away on some tour, while mohawked kids hurl themselves off the stage in ecstasy...

Let's listen to some Exploited...Here's "Drive Me Insane"...Enjoy...