For those of you who are curious about all of this heavy/desert/stoner rock stuff that you’re hearing so much about these days, this is the perfect CD for you.
The first three bands on this 19-tracker will prove that Deep Elm is THE emo label. None of their bands plays the dreaded genre of music without originality.
It doesn’t suck ass cuz it doesn’t focus on only one time period of RJD, a man who’s sauntered through two great bands and had a great (early) solo career.
Most of the bands here 1) aren’t very good, 2) don’t try very hard, 3) point out a whispered truth: Most of the songs in Grease were actually pretty lame.
As Dropkick Murphys claim in their opening track, “The Gang’s All Here.” Then there’s over an hour’s worth of punk, Oi!, rocksteady, reggae, and hardcore.
The younger generation of pop punk bands learned to play (courtesy of a wealthy, suburban music lessons), and they paid attention in their songwriting classes.
A true retrospective woulda been more fun and historical, mebbe charting the path from Cosley’s departure from Homestead to the tux he wears to the Grammies.