Punk-o-rama 3, Various Artists
I know this was released way back in 1998, but it has been sat on a shelf gathering dust so I thought it was only right that it should be given the Punktastic once over. I've said many times before that punk rock samplers are possibly the greatest invention since the jam donut, and in a sense this carries on the tradition. Epitaph bring us what they do best; hard, fast punk rock from some great bands. But, and it is a big but, you're going to have to get out that trusty skipfinger again...
Things kick off in fine style with the previously unreleased 'We Threw Gasoline On The Fire And Now We Have Stumps For Arms And No Eyebrows' by Nofx. And it's what you'd expect from one of the best bands in punk. It's typical Nofx, has the typical Fat Mike sneer and is typically brilliant. Personally I think The Dwarves suck, so I was surprised to hear 'Everybodies Girl', a nice melodic chunk of pop-punk. And All's 'Worlds On Heroin' is pretty sweet too.
The Bouncing Souls are average, so 'Say Anything' doesn't disappoint. To me the Voodoo Glow Skulls are very over-rated, but 'Delinquent Song' is superb and in my opinion one of their best moments. So far, so good. But from here on in, it's skipfinger central. H2O have been heard a billion times before, Straight Faced are just piss-poor hardcore, Zeke plain crap and Union 13 just suck.
Agnostic Front provide an anthem with 'Gotta Go', thankfully a return to the high-standards of the first few songs. The New Bomb Turks rock out with 'Defiled' but it's more average than awesome and The Cramps are just terrible. Who on Earth signed them?
Rancid don't do bad songs, that's a fact, and 'Rats In The Hallway' is rocking. So it's a real pity we have to put up with The Humpers, Wayne Kramer, Gas Huffer and Red Aunts, who are all Bad Religion wannabes. But the only thing they share is part of their moniker...and I'm not talking about religion, if ya know what I mean...
From here on in things are brilliant. Down By Law are good Bad Religion wannabes and Osker are hugely under-rated. Infact 'Alright' is an album standout, and we are sure to be hearing big things from these oiks in the future. Ten Foot Pole can be generic and boring, but 'ADD' is by far their greatest moment. With soaring guitars and a chorus to die for, it's everything you want in a punk rock song, plus that little bit more just thrown in for good measure.
Things just keep getting better with the superb 'Lozin Must' by Millencolin and 'You' by Bad Religion. I Against I aren't quite as good, but a pleasant enough listen, and Pulley blast out the cool 'If' from the superb '60 Cycle Hum'. Ending with a Pennywise song is always a good choice and the previously unreleased 'Wake Up' is a fine example of the Hermosa Beach crew's work.
When this cd is good, it's very, very good. But when this sampler sucks, boy, it's like a small child with a new dummy. As a whole it's inconsistent, but if you're a fan of the big name bands on this record then it's probably worth your cash. But be warned...
Paul Savage
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