15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
F2F: They Were Always There, January 5, 2006
If you watch the Ramones documentary End Of The Century you'll hear Rob Zombie comment on how the Ramones were a band that were "always there." They did their brand of music for so long, and so often, that you got used to seeing their name on the list of shows coming soon to your town, and once they called it quits you realized how much you kinda liked having them around. Face To Face long ago stopped getting any press, the kids all moved on, even the ones raised on that Epitaph/Fat glossy skatepunk sound, but Face To Face were always there, always consistent, always making good music.
As for this compilation, it's always interesting when a band anthologizes themselves which time periods they choose to play up and which to ignore. In this case, they did pretty well. The first 5 tracks (and technically track 15) are from their first release Don't Turn Away, which is basically a classic of the era, made at a time when albums like that weren't a dime a dozen. Tracks 6-9 are from Big Choice, great album, bad cover. Tracks 10-14 are from their self-titled album, likely their best, definitely their highest-selling, and a remarkable feat considering the general trends were moving away from music like this at the time. Tracks 16 & 17 are from Reactionary, novel at the time for letting fans choose the tracks for the album, good that they included Disappointed as it's a highly underrated F2F song. Tracks 18 & 19 are from their last proper album, also one of their best. The last 2 are technically new, a new track (NOT a Jethro Tull cover!) and a live Disconnected from their farewell tour (which i was fortunate enough to catch.)
The keen-eyed fan may notice NOT ONE SINGLE TRACK from Ignorance Is Bliss. Some fans regard it as a great out-of-character move from a band known to churn out a lifetime of same-sounding stuff (Bad Religion gets accused of such also) others call it Trever's attempt to cash in on the emo fad that was all the rage at the time. Either way you look at it, NOTHING is here from that album, so take that for what you will.
So they've rounded up a good sampling of the usual suspects, some live stuff for flavor, and pile on the songs so you get value. I'd expect nothing less from Face To Face. It was a great career, they helped define American punk in the 90's and brought it to a mass audience. One band that really did Walk The Walk.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Face to Face lives on, December 17, 2005
If any band deserves an essential collection, it's Face to Face. They were punk rock pioneers who paved the way for many punk bands out there now. 21 tracks spanning their 12 year career all in chronological order (so you can hear their progression as the years went on, the tracks don't bounce around like other hits collections). Plus, they added a 2 bonus tracks, one studio track and one live track both recorded in 2004, the year they hung it up.
The liner notes are amazing as well. An introduction written by Trever Keith and notes from each band member on each track, I found, very interesting and informative. I have followed this band for many, many years and I learned a lot by the notes.
Whether you are like myself and own every Face to Face record or not, this CD is a must have. Vagrant, Antagonist Records and Trever Keith put together an amazing collection. Face to Face lives on....
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Greatest Punk Bands Ever, November 15, 2005
Face To Face is one of the greatest punk bands ever. The album is a masterpiece of punk music, songs ranging from 1991 through 2003. Anyone that likes punk or thinking about listening to punk, pick up this album. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Face To Face and their music will always live on and I hope generations to come, will enjoy them as much as I do.
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