One cd to lean on
Paul Werkmeister | 02/11/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"back in the 80s, when every hardcore band sounded like either the dead kennedys or bad s.o.d. ripoffs, govt issue came along with their 6th lp titled 'you'. it (in my mind at least) single handedly predicted what was to come in the 90s with all the incarnations of emo and indie rock. the next lp ('crash') saw j robbins and peter moffet (who joined for the 'you' album) really add to the the fold, and we all know what they went on to do. (for the unschooled....j robbins went on to form seminal emo outfit jawbox, produce boatloads of recordings from edison, braid, hey mercedes, the stereo and so on.....then formed burning airlines, regrouping with moffet)
'crash' is by far the best offering from this long running and sadly overlooked dc band. it melded elements of the original GI with lots of melody (a'la the ramones), lots of cool guitar and bass counter melodies (a'la the smiths) and just great songs in general. even stabb seemed to really understand his voice and where he could go with it on the album.volume one of this complete boxed set is a good beginning. this band has lots to offer in the hardcore world, but their strongest material came in the latter day covered by volume 2. in fact, i would highly suggest purchasing this volume over the first on every level."
Holy crap!!!
Daniel Cobb | Seattle, WA USA | 02/28/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"you get all of their later stuff, minus strange wine (unfortunately)!!! it seems when people talk about G.I., they either take the attitude that their later stuff was "boring", or that their early stuff was "immature". these folks all need to put away their respective record collections (whether it's all '83 hardcore or all '90s postpunk or emo) and just listen. admittedly, my favorite album was "the fun just never ends", smack dab in the middle of the two periods, but it really doesn't matter because Stabb was a lyrical genius whether he was lampooning social heirarchy, talking about personal feelings, or being a cynical smartass. musically it is all great stuff, and i don't think they would have taken the direction they did if it hadn't been for the early work, and even if it doesn't show the same "mature" musicianship as say, "you", it still is very powerful, insightful, and funny. as for the critics of later government issue, well, i still listen to hardcore and i am thirty years old, but i don't think that should exclude me from liking something that takes a slightly slicker production than a four track, and slightly more practice and dedication than understanding a few chords. actually, for that matter, there are reams of hardcore bands now that do just that anyway. so even THAT definition of hardcore has become redundant in and of itself."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1