Customer Reviews

Surfin on Heroin

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All right, for starters, Forgotten Rebels/Surfin' On Heroin is not a best of. It is the release of two albums on one disc. The Rebels never wrote epics, so its not hard to toss two of the releases on the same disc. Yes, alot of the old favorites are on it. However, they are as done by the 1988 line up. (I believe thats when Surfin' the album came out on Restless.) The production value on Surfin on Heroin isn't the best, the band sounds rather tinny. They were going for a more thrash/speed sound at the time. The (Untitled) album (Thats what it said on my cassette) is, well, not all that good. About four good tracks on it, the rest is filler. The earlier line ups of the Rebels were much better, as were the albums Pride & Disgraced, In Love With The System and This Ain't Hollywood... (which I doubt will make it to CD. Its owned by some obscure indie label Star Records. Don't even know if they still exist, but if they are reissuing the Rebels on CD, release This Ain't Hollywood, damn it.) But as it stands, if you want an introduction to the band at a low cost, you'll get 23 tracks of 1988-91 Rebels for a nice price. Like your punk quick, abusive and agressive? Then give it a shot. Like your Green Day and Sublime? Avoid the Rebels. You won't get the joke.

Don't even bother purchasing this album. If you want to hear this band at their best, look around in record shops for their earlier work(early 80's) These albums were put out by Star records, and Other People's Music. I think that Star records has begun to re-release their earlier stuff,eg. In love with the system lp, Surfin on Heroin,and Pride and Disgrace lp. Stay away from their crappy sound of the late 80's and 90's, such as this album.

I've always had a problem with the entire concept of political correctness and, apparently, so do Forgotten Rebels, Canada's greatest export since Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Battered Wives. For proof, cue up and crank up addictively hooky blasts of adrenaline like "Bomb The Boats," "I'm In Love With The System," "I Left My Heart In Iran," Let's Go Back," or "Live Strippers In Action" and let the truth set you free. Where else can you find brilliant streams of consciousness like "Wanna teach the commies how to rock and roll/Gonna turn their pavement into red hot coals/Kill a commie for a mommie the American way/Then we'll wipe out the Russians on the very next day"? Buy this release for the "Surfin' On Heroin" album since it's apparently no longer available as a single CD. Or better yet, scour your local used record store for a copy on vinyl or cassette. It will be well worth the effort. Come to think of it, was the concept of "political correctness" even an issue back in 1988, when this was originally released? Who cares? Vive le Canada!

I love punk music. I am a right wing guy. You put the two together and you have the polically incorrect Forgotten Rebels. Surf'in on Heroin rules. "Tomorrow belongs to us!"

Great CD to have. It provides a taste of 2 albums for the price of 1. Surfin on Heroin is a better album. Audio samples should be given from both albums on this CD.

If you are interested in sampling some great punk rock you can't do better than this CD by Canada's greatest musical export. Not only are the songs great to listen to but they are so funny. Elvis is Dead, I Gotta Axe, Surfin on Heroin are just a small example of the talent these guys have to poke fun at society and themselves. Warning: you should not take the messages in these songs seriously they are meant as fun. If you are looking for a great time and fast frenzied music look no further.

Okay, so England's got the Clash and the Sex Pistols; the States have the Ramones. This is Canada's answer. Riff-driven tunes with catchy choruses, social commentary, sneering, and a healthy dose of Canuck humour all wrapped up into one package. They've been around for 20 years but have never achieved the success or recognition they deserve; this album represents some of their best work.

surfin on heroin is an excellent social commentary by one of canada's often-overlooked premier punk bands....if you like the ramones, the clash or the sex pistols, you'll love the forgotten rebels...a must for the serious punk collector and hard to find in american record stores...enjoy!

How could you leave off 2 of the best songs the band has ever done The songs are Nazis and Third homosexual murderTThis is like the Pistols not having God Save The Queen or the Clash without Londons Burning.If your going to put out a best of make sure you put out the best of.

Finally something to come out of Canada that's not so "Painfully popular" That we Americans can finally start to appreciate Canadian music. I must say though that this cd does nothing for the group as they seem to excel much more as a live act, then what they seem to come across on vinal as. With out being able to visualise what they actually are all about ( Edmonton, Sunset club... 1990) You lose some of the appreciasion for the group and there for they seem like some bubble gum rapper group capable of a few laughs. Lets see If they can stay away from the criminal zero, as in 0 for entertainment value and return more to their roots of good old fashion punk! Lets not become to complicated just stick to three courds.