Search - Peace, War :: Peace/War

Caveat Emptor - Direct-from-vinyl dub

Worgelm | United States | 07/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Im not too impressed with the fidelity of this CD transfer, on several tracks you get some rather bothersome vinyl artifacts that indicate that at least for some of the tracks, an extremely well-worn master was used. And couldn't they have also just renumbered the tracks on disc 2 starting at 1 instead of just listing 1-60 on the back cover so we would know what is going on with disc 2? Slackluster reissue quibbles aside, this is a monumental snapshot of the international punk/hardcore scene during the height of the Reagan years and really spans the gamut from brutal thrash that couldn't have been recorded anywhere else than a very small garage - such as Wretched's "Mai Arrendersi, to well-produced punk epics like the False Prophets' rather ambtious "Banana Split Republic" with otherwise decent production values. The span of countries is impressive as well, with Gism's extremely bizarre "Endless Blockade for Pussyfoter" (Japan) leading off; other countries are represented by RAF Punk (Italy), Zenzile (South Africa), Kalashnikov (Denmark), SSA (Spain), Boskops (Germany), DOA (Canada) besides the obvious UK and US. Lots of obscure rarities here no doubt, but old-school punks/skaters might recognize DRI, Reagan Youth, Cheetah Chrome, Iconoclast, UK Subs, Crass with a fiercely experimental contribution, the Subhumans, the Dead Kennedys (a non-album track that makes the original vinyl a bit pricey to acquire) and the Dicks. The original double vinyl is also enhanced with 5 bonus tracks on the CD edition."

One of the best compilations to come out of "punk rock"

Worgelm | 06/10/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This record has everything, including many many bands that have probably never been heard, but should be heard, in the US. There are bands from all over the world that help you to believe that there are a lot of good musicians out there that just don't ever get noticed. I wore the grooves out of both of the records that came with this (back when it was on vinyl). There's very little not to like and a whole lot to love on this. From Japan to Italy to the US, there's a band on here for anyone's taste, and also a message that's put across quite nicely in one great package. Buy it and you'll see the way music was meant to be heard: throughout the world."