Somery

Descendents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sst Records
• ASIN: B000000M65
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,638 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good place to start, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Somery (Audio CD)

This "Best Of" by the Descendents is the best way to go if you're just finding out about the band, because it will give you a good chance to let you know if you like them or not. Descendents staples like "Silly Girl" and "Hope" are standouts, and within the 28 tracks, there's enough to pick and listen to, from their harder stuff to their poppier stuff. This is the closest to hearing the essence of the Descendents on one disc, and as it was my first CD of theirs, they're one of my fav bands, so I recommend this to anyone who has curiousity into what the Descendents were all about.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great compilation from one of punk's best bands., May 2, 2003

By 

MaratsBathing "Sail" (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somery (Audio CD)

Ah, yes. The Descendents. The first hardcore band to incorporate pop sensibilities and, at times, pure sillyness into the often harsh world of hardcore punk. Don't get me wrong, I love hardcore. Bad Brains, Black Flag, Minor Threat, and the Germs are all on the list of my favorite bands. But, the Descendents were very different from these aforementioned bands. They combined hardcore, punk, and pop into one great, unique sound.

Altough Milo Goes to College is their essential album, this compilation gives a much better overview of the Descendents' sound (MGTC focuses mainly on their hardcore, savage side). Somery, on the other hand, mixes their hardcore sound (songs like "I'm not a loser" and "Hurtin' Crue"), their melodic (but, never whimpy) pop-punk songs about girls ("Cameage", "Cheer", "Silly Girl"), their songs of pure adolescent sillyness and immaturity ("Van", "Enjoy", "All-O-Gistics", "Pervert"), and, of course, their famous (or infamous) 1-10 second "songs" ("All", "I like food", "Weinerschnitzel").

When you listen to this record, you can really tell how much of an influence these guys had on bands of today (listen to "Silly Girl" and be thinking that this was made in 1985). Unlike the so-called "pop-punk" bands of today, however, the Descendents were able to make melodic punk songs and not sound like whiney junior high students who can't get a girlfriend. Milo delivers his vocals with just the right amount of melody, emotion, and harshness, unlike bands such as New Found Glory whose vocals sound more like an incessant whine than actual singing. If you're a fan of bands such as Blink 182, NFG, and Good Charlotte, my advice is to: a.) stop watching MTV and b.) throw those CDs away and pick up the Descendents' Somery. If you don't like it, well, I guess you could always fetch your CDs out of the garbage and continue to listen to inane, mainstream, power-pop that MTV and the media try to pass as "punk rock." On the other hand, if you like it, some other good bands simliar to the Descendents are Buzzcocks, Husker Du, Bad religion, and Black Flag.

Bottom Line: Great, extremely influential mix of hardcore, pop, and punk from the 80s that must be played to NFG fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great collection of songs, but..., June 14, 2006

By 

Paul R. Stanley Jr. "Mook" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Somery (Audio CD)

You'd be better off getting their entire discography. Seriously, they're ALL worth having.
Truth be told, this was my introduction to the early Descendents (I started with "Everything Sucks"), but I went out and after 5 years, had everything both the Descendents and ALL put out.
Everyone I've introduced to the Descendents, loved them.
They're my favorite band, and they should be yours too.
But If you're not sure, I'd say pick this up. If you love it, do yourself a favor, and get the rest of their discography.