Vol. 2-Complete Discography

Government Issue | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 22, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Dr. Strange Records
• ASIN: B00005UJBU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,842 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

A rare case where a Volume Two is the far superior. Part of that was basic evolution: D.C.'s GI began as an inferior hardcore-thrash band (with a singular front man in John Stabb, who earned all admiration the moment he appeared on stage wearing bondage clown pants as a statement!), but they were cogs in the original Dischord D.C. scene. Within a few years, they improved drastically on more potent LPs like Joyride and The Fun Just Never Ends, and then made a jump into more unique post-punk with 1986's self-titled record (all chronicled on Volume I). But the rest of their breakthrough on Vol. 2 is a key lineup change, as 1987's fantastic You, which leads off this double-disc, shows in spades. A quantum leap in hefty, precise, pure power, You was clearly the result of the addition of a new, hot rhythm section in J. Robbins on bass (Jawbox, Burning Airlines) and drummer Peter Moffet (Wool, Burning Airlines). The pair's added harmonies (especially), superb playing, chops, and dexterity fit perfect with Stabb and guitarist Tom Lyle's clear plan to cut all ties with lame hardcore cretins -- while maintaining the big-guitar edge and bomb-running melodies of their punk roots. Drop in elements of psychedelia and '79-'83-Damned-like singing from Stabb, and his usual challenging lyrics (he was clearly beating himself up over a disastrous relationship with a too-young girl, but still had time to rightly chide the brain-dead remnants of post-1983 punk rockers in "Hole in the Scene"), and you have one of the best punk-inspired LPs of the middle 1980s. Stabb says, in these liner notes, "Whenever someone is unfamiliar with the name GI, introduce them to this album." Indeed. The addition of their final studio LP, Crash (nearly as good, if a little more of a melange of different stuff, including some minor hard-rock leanings), and an entire second disc of primo live recordings of this ultimate lineup makes it an even more rock-solid pick-up. ~ Jack Rabid, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Overlooked Classic, June 29, 2008

By 

D. Ashal "Just some dude" (Aztlan, holmes) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vol. 2-Complete Discography (Audio CD)

There's something that seems vaguely criminal to me about the fact that people are still obseesively listening to the Ramones, The Exploited, Minor Threat, et al 30 years on but have basically ignored GI except for some punk completists and aging DC scenesters. It's a real shame because this is some of the most tuneful, well-played, intelligent stuff that ever came out of the punk scene. It doesn't toe any party lines, ape other bands musically or lyrically, or deliver didactic sermons or refer to DC scene history. The YOU lp, which is included here, is certainly GI's finest moment, but all of their later period stuff is here with some great live tracks. Picture Mission of Burma as a DC Hardcore band and you have some idea what this sounds like. "Caring Line" may be one of the best songs of all time, and I can't find a single track I don't at least really like, though other standouts are "Jaded Eyes" and "Stage". The lyricism is thoughtful but has a sense of humor about itself. The band had definitely evolved beyond basic dogmatic hardcore but hadn't decided to play awful sub-metal like the Boston and NYC bands generally did or nuetered college-radio pop, which left them without an intended audience, but Dr. Strange did us all a huge favor by assembling their work in total. Check it out.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One cd to lean on, February 11, 2002

By 

Paul Werkmeister - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vol. 2-Complete Discography (Audio CD)

back in the 80s, when every hardcore band sounded like either the dead kennedys or bad s.o.d. ripoffs, govt issue came along with their 6th lp titled 'you'. it (in my mind at least) single handedly predicted what was to come in the 90s with all the incarnations of emo and indie rock. the next lp ('crash') saw j robbins and peter moffet (who joined for the 'you' album) really add to the the fold, and we all know what they went on to do. (for the unschooled....j robbins went on to form seminal emo outfit jawbox, produce boatloads of recordings from edison, braid, hey mercedes, the stereo and so on.....then formed burning airlines, regrouping with moffet)

'crash' is by far the best offering from this long running and sadly overlooked dc band. it melded elements of the original GI with lots of melody (a'la the ramones), lots of cool guitar and bass counter melodies (a'la the smiths) and just great songs in general. even stabb seemed to really understand his voice and where he could go with it on the album.

volume one of this complete boxed set is a good beginning. this band has lots to offer in the hardcore world, but their strongest material came in the latter day covered by volume 2. in fact, i would highly suggest purchasing this volume over the first on every level.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars holy crap!!!, February 27, 2005

By 

Daniel Cobb (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vol. 2-Complete Discography (Audio CD)

you get all of their later stuff, minus strange wine (unfortunately)!!! it seems when people talk about G.I., they either take the attitude that their later stuff was "boring", or that their early stuff was "immature". these folks all need to put away their respective record collections (whether it's all '83 hardcore or all '90s postpunk or emo) and just listen. admittedly, my favorite album was "the fun just never ends", smack dab in the middle of the two periods, but it really doesn't matter because Stabb was a lyrical genius whether he was lampooning social heirarchy, talking about personal feelings, or being a cynical smartass. musically it is all great stuff, and i don't think they would have taken the direction they did if it hadn't been for the early work, and even if it doesn't show the same "mature" musicianship as say, "you", it still is very powerful, insightful, and funny. as for the critics of later government issue, well, i still listen to hardcore and i am thirty years old, but i don't think that should exclude me from liking something that takes a slightly slicker production than a four track, and slightly more practice and dedication than understanding a few chords. actually, for that matter, there are reams of hardcore bands now that do just that anyway. so even THAT definition of hardcore has become redundant in and of itself.