Archive Review: Down By Law’s Punkrockdays (2002)

When the members of Down By Law decided to assemble a career retrospective, they didn’t just do it themselves; they brought their fans into the process, asking them to vote for their favorite DBL songs on the band’s web site. The highest scoring tunes appear on Punkrockdays, the band’s “best of” compilation. The resulting song selection may not be the best representation of the band’s talents – it certainly shortchanges their more political material – but it is certainly representative of the songs the band’s audience is listening to.

Down By Law’s Punkrockdays

Formed in 1990 by former Dag Nasty/All vocalist Dave Smalley and members of the Chemical People, Down By Law were one of the trailblazing bands in the field of melodic punk, that is hardcore roots paired with pop influences. True, the movement has led to atrocities like Sum-41 and most of the Drive Thru label roster, but it has also yielded some fine bands in Green Day and the Offspring. DBL were there at the beginning, though, and Punkrockdays chronicles the first decade of the band’s career, drawing material from all five of the band’s Epitaph label albums (no songs from their 2000 Go Kart release are included here, tho’).

The quality of the songs on Punkrockdays varies, since the band’s players have changed frequently through the years, the line-up not really gelling until adding guitarist Sam Williams III for DBL’s breakthrough third album, punkrockacademyfightsong. None of the songs here are bad, just that some – like “Radio Ragga,” “Independence Day,” and “No Equalizer” – stand out as really good tunes. Smalley is an exceptional punk rock vocalist and a solid, accessible songwriter, his lyrics nailing the concerns and hopes of his audience.

Williams has the best chops of the band’s different guitarists, outshining even Dag Nasty’s Brian Baker, who appears on “Goodnight Song.” Williams shows a better chemistry with frontman Smalley, covering his vocals like a comfortable wool blanket. DBL is also quite well-known for their cover performances, and readings of the Proclaimers’ hit “500 Miles” and Big Country’s “In A Big Country” are played straight and are actually quite fun, DBL showing the pop side of its roots and influences.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Down By Law are still going strong – a Dag Nasty reunion album notwithstanding – the band continuing to appeal to new fans and increase its audience with electric live shows and songs like those showcased by Punkrockdays. For any punk fan unfamiliar with Down By Law, this is the place to begin listening, discovering the charm and talent that have made DBL a household name in fine punk rock homes everywhere. (Epitaph Records, released 2002)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™