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)
Reviews originally published as a “Buzz Kuts” column, Alt.Culture.Guide™,
March 1998
ALL Mass Nerder One of the most enduring of punk icons, the All/Descendants conundrum is
a lot like tag-team wrestling. For those of you having problems figuring out the
players without a scorecard, look at it this way: All is the Descendants with
Chad Price singing, while the Descendants are All with Milo Aukerman singing.
Still confused? Okay, take the basic team of guitarist Stephen Egerton, bassist
Karl Alvarez, and drummer Bill Stevenson. These guys hold the “World Heavyweight
Punk Rock Tag Team Championship.” For hardcore death matches they tag in
vocalist Milo and appear in the ring as the Descendants. For those nasty
Colorado chainsaw cage matches they bring along singer Chad and kick ass as All.
Still can’t figure it out? No matter…just run out and buy a copy of All’s
Mass Nerder, a real shit-kickin’ collection of punk tunes guaranteed to
blister the covering on your speakers and singe the hair on your ears.
Delivering non-stop, no-frills punk rock with slightly more of an edge than the
Descendants (probably due to the presence of Chad Price, a more guttural and
less pop-inflected vocalist than Milo), All are punk legends and deservedly so.
Mass Nerder is a dynamite album, perfect for parties or just bouncing off
the walls. The Reverend sez “check it out!” (Epitaph Records)
FASTBALL All The Pain Money Can Buy Slide All The Pain Money Can Buy into your box and you’ll find a
whole lotta pop come flyin’ back at you. A thoroughly engaging debut from this
Georgia-based trio, Fastball fills All The Pain Money Can Buy with Beatlesque
harmonies, a little Elvis Costello-like wordplay, the restless soul of Alex
Chilton, and the ghosts of a dozen long-forgotten pop maestros from Buddy Holly
to Don Dixon. The first single, “The Way” is an interesting and enjoyable slice
of pop exotica, slightly-hollow vocals matched with Spanish inflected guitar.
The rest of All The Pain Money Can Buy matches up to the opening track,
every song full of wistful vocals, clever lyrics, charming melodies and
infectious energy. “Better Than It Was”, “G.O.D. (Good Old Days)”, and
“Sweetwater, Texas” stand out as radio-ready hits, but there’s really nothing
terrible or disarming to be found here…just intelligent, good-natured pop/rock
with figurative mile-wide grin and enough joyful abandon to fuel half-a-dozen
bands. In Fastball the notoriously feeble A & R Department of Hollywood
Records has found a keeper. (Hollywood Records)
THE SPECIALS Guilty ‘Til Proved Innocent! As any first-year college student can tell you, history tends to repeat
itself, chasing its scaly tail in an eternal cycle. If there’s any justice in
the cosmos at all, then the Specials will get to reap some of the
multi-Platinum™ booty they so richly deserve. Sure, the band had a few moderate
hits in the early ‘80s, but it seems that their time is coming around again, and
if a washed-out, second-rate echo of a band like No Doubt can grab the brass
ring, why not the Specials? One of the more important of the British two-tone
bands, the Specials were, and are the literal and figurative godfathers of
modern ska. As shown by Guilty ‘Til Proved Innocent!, the band’s latest
musical triumph, there’s a lot of life left in these guys yet. With more honesty
and sincerity than any so-called “underground band,” the Specials knock out an
invigorating set of songs, incorporating pop, rock, punk, and even country
(check out “Tears In My Beer”!) elements into their trademark ska rave-up. Hell,
these guys are having so much fun with Guilty ‘Til Proved Innocent! that
they end up running a couple of songs past the fifteen listed on the cover.
After almost twenty years, the Specials sound as fresh and vital today as they
did when I first heard them. I can think of no greater testament than that… (Way
Cool / MCA Records)
THE SUICIDE MACHINES Battle Hymns Detroit’s Suicide Machines (formerly Jack Kevorkian & the Suicide
Machines) may not be one of the better-known ska-punk outfits slam-dancing and
stage-diving across America, but they may well be the most earnest. These guys
blow-out the competition with nasty, wicked, razor-sharp guitar riffs, A-bomb
rhythms, and more than a little full-stop ranking. Battle Hymns, their
second major/minor label effort overflows with the sort of manic frenzy that the
Machines show on-stage. From the ringing opening chords of “Someone” to the
final orgasmic notes of “Jah”, the Suicide Machines deliver on their promise,
kicking out twenty-two fast n’ furious ska-punk tunes chock-full of metallic
fervor and relentless energy. Battle Hymns is hairy-knuckle hardcore rock
for guys and gals with the balls to enjoy it. (Hollywood Records)
