A masterpiece. Between Pink Album Plus and this you got the
Chris bct | San Diego, CA USA | 01/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes 5 stars just aren't enough. This is one of those times. The classic studio trax on this CD are some of the best punk songs ever released in America. I've been listening to punk since 1978 and that's my report.
This and the Pink Album are both collections of the PAGANS' singles as well as some live trax. None of the live trax on either album are particularly great, either recording quality wise or live delivery wise. They're great to have, given this minimal amount of music the band released. The live trax aren't horribly recorded there's just like some songs where the vocals are too dominant or the overall recording is a bit shabby. Heck, it's early punk rock, what do we expect? All Do It Yourself level stuff. I'm just glad these albums exist to salvage the limited pressed 7"s (200 to 1,000 copies in 1977 to 1979 and 800 copy represses in 1987.
Both albums have great studio hits. This one's got:
'Boy Can I Dance Good', 'Heart of Stone' and 'I Juvenile'. This CD and the Pink Album CD both have more studio trax and have live trax not on the LP versions. The LP version of this CD actually, in a rare move, has a track that's not on either CD 'Jaguar Ride' from 1979.
If you love punk you'll love this album. There's 5 other memorable songs on both albums: 'Not Now, No Way', 'Six & Change', 'Dead End America', 'Street Where Nobody Lives', and possibly their finest song of many: 'What's this S. Called Love?' Clearly, one of the single finest songs to come from punk rock ever.
These guys practically imploded before punk actually took off in the U.S. They apparently stopped making studio songs in 1979 then regrouped and did some after that. They deserve to be recognized as one of the finest bands to ever come out of this country. The vocals are perfection, the bass/guitar/drums are tight. It's a total studio band with their live songs just not having the full impact that the studio versions do.
One reason I keep referring to the Pink Album Plus is because it and this CD were both issued by Crypt label apparently working with the band as Mike Hudson, the vocalist gives lots of info for this record and it seems someone really searched the archives (probably someone's box in their bedroom or something) to dust off every single possible song this amazing band ever recorded. That's a good thing. Real good.
It's a royal pain to try to collect their orignal singles. I feel lucky having one reissue single. These 2 albums give everyone a chance to revel in this awesome punk rock. Get it (get 'em both) or be a dope. No question. chrisbct@hotmail.com"
Like no other
Chris bct | 10/23/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Very good album besides the low quality live tracks (but hey what do you expect with live punk). Many songs spanning most of their material, if you can find it used don't pass it up."
Track Listings (33) - Disc #1