Vol. 2-Complete 1983-1985

Articles Of Faith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alternative Tentacles
• ASIN: B00006JCH1
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,816 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The second disc sums up the final chapters of the life of Articles of Faith, and it is as good as the first installment, but for very different reasons. While the first posthumous compilation bristles with the energy of young punks finding their voices, volume two sees Vic Bondi coming into his own as a musician and songwriter. A decent amount of the record is still loud, but enough of it isn't, and all of it is smart and compelling. Most importantly, the lyrics have transformed from the usual dogmatic exercises in political and social bleating to tracks such as "Wait for Me" and "You Will Never Understand," originally released on the band's In This Life full-length (and fleshed out here with the Wait EP, a few tracks from a period compilation, and a trio of previously unheard bonus cuts), which shows maturity and depth. This personal and introspective approach would go on to influence his work with Jones Very, and eventually the whole emo movement, making this an essential piece of work whose documentation, replete with excellent liner notes from Bondi himself, was long overdue. ~ Brian O'Neill, Rovi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another reason to give thanks, October 20, 2002

By 

Patrick T. Grady (Palatine, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vol. 2-Complete 1983-1985 (Audio CD)

Again, I've gotta thank Alternative Tentacles for re-issuing the Articles of Faith discography. Volume 2 is extra special because it contains the first ever re-release of AOF's final LP, "In This Life" (most of the group's previous material had been re-issued in Europe in the early '90's). With "In This Life" the group ditched its political rants for more personal topics, a move that evidently caused a great deal of tension in the band. While Vic Bondi's claim that this is one of the first emo releases is certainly debateable (I don't believe that simply writing about personal issues qualifies as "emo", otherwise you could as easily call Black Flag and Minor Threat emo as you could bands like Braid and Sunny Day Real Estate), there is no doubt that the band was venturing out both musically and lyrically. "In This Life" also displays a bit of a Husker Du influence, which is somewhat understandable considering that not only was Husker Du quite popular at the time but Husker Du frontman Bob Mould is also "In This Life"'s producer. Still, there was plenty of hardcore left msucially in AOF. Just listen to "Remain in Memory" or "Doesn't Have To Be That Way" to see what I mean. The unreleased bonus track is actually just a solo acoustic rendition of "What We Want is Free", one of AOF's earliest tracks, recorded in May 2002 and I actually found it to be quite good, better that the folky version of "In This Life" on Vol. 1 (not that I think that one is bad).
I could do without the Effigies bashing in the liner notes. As a fan of both bands, I understand that they didn't get along but two decades later, their differences seem rather petty. But whatever, liner notes aside, the music is great. Fans of '80's punk and hardcore will enjoy.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dustin is a poodle head, February 6, 2005

By 

Carlos Arauz-pacheco - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vol. 2-Complete 1983-1985 (Audio CD)

how can his opinion be valid if he only compares this to "emo"? thats what 12 year olds do when they try to look cool, they also try to wear mohawks and listen to the casualties. articles of faith started out as a political band, when i first heard them it was when they were way more political than the stuff on here. honestly, when you drown your music in politics, the quality of musicianship of your creation gets a little well, boring. i thought it was good: the mastertape comp tracks, the first ep and lp. mostly though i prefered other less-politicized bands from chicago like the effigies. but once i heard the "in this life" lp i knew i had this band totally wrong. thats why you can never judge a band completely by one song, or one record. the music here is an ingenious mix of hardcore with several other musical elements, some kind of latin guitar feel with speedy drums, powerful yet touching vocals(like on "in this life", and "remain in memory"). if you listen to dustin, you are probably afraid of something stupid just like him.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KBD HC Rules!, September 27, 2006

By 

Adam Wilson "peter_swedenhammer_is_a_crook" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vol. 2-Complete 1983-1985 (Audio CD)

That kid who stated AOF's songs sound emo does not know what he is talking about and comparing it to mostly bands who came after 1990! Hey kid! AOF's In This Life LP came out way before "emo". Kid, why don't you go to Hot Topics and buy a Good Charlotte T-shirt cuz the punk scene whether old or new does not need fools like you!