The good news is that this CD brings together all of the early recorded output of this East Bay ska-punk band, including the A and B sides from various 7" singles, a few compilation cuts, and tracks from the band's split album with
the Suicide Machines. The bad news is the same as the good news: this CD brings together all of the band's recorded output from the 1990-1993 period, and not all of it is exactly essential. But quite a bit of it is great, and Asian Man CDs list for about ten bucks, so this album can be recommended with confidence to anyone nostalgic for the third wave ska sound of the early '90s. A few tracks are typical to the point of blandness, such as the pedestrian "Martians Don't Skank" and "Dine in Crossfire." But the bright spots on this program are pretty intensely bright: the deeply
Clash-influenced "Scapegoat" and "Wailing Paddle," the angular "Spoon," a jig-time ska shanty called "Plank," and the slow, muddy skank of "What's Cooking" (when ska-punk bands slowed down like this, that was the acid test, and the
Rudiments passed with flying colors). This collection is recommended. ~ Rick Anderson