Customer Reviews

Vol. 2-Complete Discography

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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.

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.

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.

Anyone remember the "Strange Wine" EP? Good, because you HAVE to remember it, as it's sadly missing from this second installment of the GI discography. That aside, this is truly awe-inspiring music of the highest caliber. "You" and "Crash" were really where GI came into their own. The music is so multilayered, and introspective. It makes more sense than any of their earlier works. With the second history volume you get to hear a totally different side of GI, thanks to the arrival of Pete Moffet, and J Robbins. This a band who was fully realized at the end of their carrer. How many other bands can truly claim to improve with age consistantly? If you like running around in circles slappin your buddies asses, this is the wrong volume of the GI history for you, go old school. If you like your music to move you, step up to the plate. 13 years since their demise and this work still shines every bit as bright. YA-HOO!!