Here's a compilation album put together by a local Punk radio show in Chicago, as the name implies. And, boy, did they do a superb job!
Even though most of the songs on the comp had either already been released on exclusive vinyl or were soon to be released on exclusive vinyl in the future, it still works very well. Naked Raygun's tracks are from their then-upcoming cult-classic LP, Throb Throb. I Don't Know has to be one of my favourite NR songs and probably one of my favourite Melodic Punk tunes. Absolutely essential! Stupid is a lot more Hardcore than their other song. It still rules! Savage Beliefs are next with some fantastic exclusive cuts! Shake Your Neighbor's Hand goes from a melodic punk rocker to a full-throttle Hardcore tune and then back to the former. Double Standard is slower but, still manages to grab your attention with the infectious chorus and dance-able music. These are great tracks and I also highly recommend their even greater EP! Nadsat Rebel sounds like a more Hardcore Big Black, which makes sense since their tracks were produced by Steve Albini and were recorded with Big Black's equipment. I Am The Wall is the type of song where every snare hit feels like it's pounding your useless head in. I can't help but headbang to this song. Getting Ready is much more fast Hardcore than the Big Black Bulldozer-eque former. It still works brilliantly though! Out of Order's two tracks are probably the least memorable for me but, maybe it's more of an acquired taste. They have a very unique singer and their songs feel a lot less conventional to more generic Hardcore. I still really dig it but, maybe I should listen to their LP to get the true experience.
Articles of Faith have a song from their soon-to-be-released Hüsker Dü-style In This Life LP. To be honest, 5 O'Clock isn't one of their more definitive tunes, in my opinion. It isn't even one of the best ones on In This Life. I would've preferred one or two of the superb outtakes from their Wait EP that were later released as part of the Core collection album. Maybe that's just me though. Rights of the Accused's cuts are low on production side of things (Well, they were from a demo tape, after all) but, they certainly have that wonderful youthful energy that good Hardcore was built on. Not to mention, a neat sense of humour that wasn't present in a lot of bands (Especially Chicago bands). I Came To Dance is awesome Hardcore, and Mean People Suck is a funny funky-punk sing-along. Don't really care for Yo, Yo, Yo that much though. I highly recommend their first 7" and their other comp tracks from this era, including these...avoid everything else! Big Black are probably the selling point nowadays. Big Payback is different to the version on the Racer X EP but, only in the mixing. They don't sound terribly different to me but, hey, it's a great cover anyway. Hunter's Safety is an instrumental and it's really cool but, not one of their best songs. I absolutely adore the guitar melodies though! Last, but not least, it's The Effigies with a weird remix of the B-Side of their Body Bag single. I'd only really recommend Security (Remix) if you were an Effigies completionist, or at least an early Effigies completionist. If you want it more straightforward, stick with the Body Bag B-side.
Overall, this compilation is great and I'd highly recommend you listen to it on YouTube, download it here, or buy it if you have the moolah. It's mostly stuff that has since been released but, it's still very much worth your while!
