VARIOUS ARTISTS
Not So Quiet On The Western Front
virus014 (1999) CD - $12.00 | 2xLP + d/l card - $14.00
iTunes
emusic

This is the comp that all other comps are judged by: 47 bands in 74 minutes! This includes the 48 page booklet on newsprint in the vinyl- it's shrunk down & included as the CD booklet with the CD.

In 1999 we reissued this classic compilation with Jeff Bale (longtime MaximumRocknRoll columnist and one of the compilers of this compilation) and his label, Sonic Reducer Records. Originally released in 1982 by MaximumRocknRoll on Alternative Tentacles Records, NOT SO QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT was the first compilation to document the Northern California punk scene (an idea that was subsequently copied in other cities). It contained the first issue of MRR before it was MRR.

Fast forward to 2013 & the 30th Anniversary of this compilation, we've teamed up again with Jeff Bale and the current crew at Maximumrocknroll to reissue the vinyl version of this classic, complete with the 48 page newsprint booklet printed directly from the 1999 transparencies at the same San Francisco print shop that printed it last time. There's also a brand new 2013 insert written by Maximumrocknroll (this link is a 4.7 MB .pdf file). The piece gives a contextual overview of the record and the scenes that existed in 1982, 1999, and now- this is only in the LP version, not the CD version!

And just like the original release, all songs are in the same order, pretty much the same artwork, and it still comes with the first issue of MRR- a.k.a. the 48 page lyric booklet. Unlike the original pressing, this one comes with a free download code!

"No, it ain't the music of back-woods hillbillies or lonesome cowboys out on the range, but it's no less authentic or expressive of a unique moment in American culture. Perhaps we are still too close to this era to recognize what a spontaneous and authentic musical phenomenon took place in the days before hardcore punk became mired in its own cliches and formulas. I myself was a part of this scene, and my band, the Church Police, is one of the 49 groups from California and Nevada that fill this CD. Not all of the bands, but many, were what I call "suburban subdivision bedroom bands," because that's where we played some of our best music and, in a few cases, where some of these recordings were made.
It's hard to imagine a compilation that could have done a better job at representing what was happening in the punk scene at the time. There are a few of the big name S.F. bands, the Dead Kennedys and Flipper, that were main players in that era, but they don't dominate the collection (though Flipper's cut is probably the longest.) Instead, what strikes me most vividly now is the fresh sound and brashness of these bands. It's kind of funny listening to them, such a blend of hyped emotions, serious anger and alienation, but tempered by irony because most of the bands knew that they really weren't gonna go anywhere as far as a "career" was concerned. We were as interested in getting into the shows for free ("put me on your guest list!") and maybe winding up the night with 25 or 50 bucks in our pockets after all was said and done. You gotta love the spontaneity and craziness that these kids brought to their music. It would be incredible to have a reunion of these bands, not that too many of them are doing much with music these days, I imagine. I don't listen to a whole lot of underground hardcore these days, but if you want a top-notch sampler of the "real stuff" I recommend this without reservation."
- Amazon review