Search - Pegboy :: Strong Reaction

From Raygun's Ashes

Jorje Chica | Anaheim, CA USA | 03/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When John Haggerty left the seminal punk band Naked Raygun, he took their spirit with him. Raygun's last album (without Haggerty) was a pale comparison to the four albums with Haggerty on guitar.Then Haggerty resurfaced with Pegboy, and Raygun fans were ecstatic. With his brother on drums and a bassist who plays quite a bit like Raygun's Pierre Kezdy, this band was bound to be great. (Raygun fans were even more ecstatic when Kezdy later joined Pegboy). The singer Larry Damore sounds nothing like Raygun's Jeff Pezzati, but his style is classic punk nonetheless. Strong Reaction is a must-have CD for any punk fan, and especially for Naked Raygun fans. This album takes the great elements of Raygun's music, and weds it to Damore's agnst- ridden lyrics. Add in Raygun's long-term producer Ian Burgess (who showed everyone who followed, including Steve Albini, how to produce great punk albums), and this is an instant classic.

The CD is an extra value as well because it includes Pegboy's first EP, Four Chord Monte."

If you can only have ONE Pegboy release, make it this one!

Dieter Vilhelm Eichelberger | 09/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first saw Pegboy open for Social D way back when, their energy nearly overwhelmed the main act! I was so impressed that the very next day I bought this CD. This CD has been in my player constantly for the past decade! Favorite tracks? Oh, let me count! Definitely "Strong Reaction", "Field of Darkness", "Hardlight" and my very favorite "My Youth". The music? Sublime, heady, chaotic and a tendency to stick in your head when you're trying to work. Word to the wise: NEVER listen to this CD whilst making spaghetti, you'll end up with a mess and NEVER think that you can drive the speed limit with this in your CD player...I've had more traffic tickets thanks to these songs. I can't stress enough how great this collection is! I've gotten every single friend of mine hooked on this CD so much to the extent that I've had several copies "borrowed" and never returned. No matter, this CD could be lifted from me again and again and I will ALWAYS get another copy. It's the soundtrack of my life!"

An overlooked classic

Benjamin D. Gleeksman | Saratoga Springs, NY | 03/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to Pegboy since about 1991, when I borrowed a tape of Strong Reaction from a punk girl in my high school. During the early 90's, there were very few bands that matched Pegboy's sound and energy. I had been a Naked Raygun fan earlier, but their breakup seemed imminent and it was difficult to say what the band members would do next. Crossover and thrash were going out of style, grunge was coming into the mainstream, and any type of decent melodic punk was virtually off the map. Pegboy was not only one of the few bands of the time to adapt this sound, but they were one of the few bands that did it well for at least the next six or seven years. Paving the way for an explosion of radio-friendly melodic "punk," Pegboy was way ahead of its time and Strong Reaction/Three Chord Monte is a much overlooked classic. I still listen to this record and get chills at the thought of their live shows that I saw, and their lyrics still dig right into my spine despite the fact that I have been listening to them since I was seventeen. If you prefer bands like Social Distortion, Dag Nasty and Jawbreaker over Blink 182, Green Day and Good Charlotte, Pegboy is for you."