Somery

Somery
Compilation album by the Descendents
Released July 16, 1991
Recorded March 1981 and April 1985 at Music Lab in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, June 1982 at Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California, and March–April 1986 and January 1987 at Radio Tokyo studios in Venice, California
Genre Punk rock
Length 53:12
Label SST
Producer Spot, David Tarling, Bill Stevenson
Descendents chronology
Hallraker: Live!
(1989)		 Somery
(1991)		 Everything Sucks
(1996)

Somery is a compilation album by the Los Angeles-based punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1991 through SST Records. It compiles songs from the Fat EP (1981) and the albums Milo Goes to College (1982), I Don't Want to Grow Up (1985), Enjoy! (1986), and All (1987).

Contents

Background

In 1987 SST Records had purchased the Descendents' previous label New Alliance Records, releasing their 1987 album All and re-releasing all of their previous material. Following the Descendents' final tours in Spring and Summer of 1987, singer Milo Aukerman had left the band to pursue a career in biochemistry.[1][2][3] The remaining members, bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and drummer Bill Stevenson, changed the band's name to All and released three albums on the SST subsidiary Cruz Records between 1988 and 1991 with singers Dave Smalley and Scott Reynolds.[3] SST also released the live Descendents albums Liveage! (1987) and Hallraker: Live! (1989), both recorded during the final two Descendents tours. Somery was released in 1991, compiling tracks from the Descendents' past studio releases. Stevenson created the cover art for the compilation while Egerton did the graphics.[4] The Descendents would later reunite with Aukerman in 1995 to record Everything Sucks.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave Somery four and a half stars out of five, saying that although "a handful of great songs from their best albums are missing, Somery nevertheless selects the highlights from their occasionally uneven records, making it a useful and comprehensive retrospective."[5] Erlewine's colleague Mike DaRonco called it a felony that "Pep Talk" from All was not included on the compilation.[6] Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone called Somery "the only Descendents record to qualify as must-have. It's got virtually all of the winning songs, from the goofy hardcore tunes [...] to the more commercial-sounding rockers".[7]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "All" (from All, 1987) Bill Stevenson, Pat McCuistion 0:01
2. "My Dad Sucks" (from the Fat EP, 1981) Frank Navetta, Tony Lombardo 0:35
3. "Suburban Home" (from Milo Goes to College, 1982) Lombardo 1:40
4. "Silly Girl" (from I Don't Want to Grow Up, 1985) Stevenson 2:21
5. "Kids" (from Enjoy!, 1986) Stevenson 0:44
6. "Clean Sheets" (from All, 1987) Stevenson 3:12
7. "Sour Grapes" (from Enjoy!, 1986) Milo Aukerman, Doug Carrion 3:47
8. "Weinerschnitzel" (from the Fat EP, 1981) Stevenson, McCuistion 0:11
9. "Myage" (from Milo Goes to College, 1982) Stevenson 2:00
10. "Good Good Things" (from I Don't Want to Grow Up, 1985) Stevenson 2:19
11. "Van" (from All, 1987) lyrics: Aukerman; music: Karl Alvarez, Stephen Egerton 2:59
12. "Bikeage" (from Milo Goes to College, 1982) Stevenson 2:12
13. "Enjoy" (from Enjoy!, 1986) Aukerman, Carrion, Ray Cooper, Stevenson 2:10
14. "Theme" (from I Don't Want to Grow Up, 1985) Lombardo 2:12
15. "Coolidge" (from All, 1987) Alvarez 2:45
16. "I Like Food" (from the Fat EP, 1981) Stevenson 0:16
17. "I Wanna Be a Bear" (from Milo Goes to College, 1982) Lombardo, Navetta 0:41
18. "I Don't Want to Grow Up" (from I Don't Want to Grow Up, 1985) Lombardo 1:19
19. "Cheer" (from Enjoy!, 1986) Stevenson 3:01
20. "Pervert" (from I Don't Want to Grow Up, 1985) lyrics: Aukerman; music: Lombardo 1:45
21. "Hope" (from Milo Goes to College, 1982) Aukerman 1:59
22. "All-O-Gistics" (from All, 1987) lyrics: Stevenson, McCuistion; music: Egerton 3:00
23. "I'm Not a Loser" (from Milo Goes to College, 1982) Navetta 1:28
24. "Get the Time" (from Enjoy!, 1986) Aukerman 3:12
25. "Hürtin' Crüe" (from Enjoy!, 1986) lyrics: Aukerman; music: Aukerman, Carrion, Cooper, Stevenson 2:34
26. "Cameage" (from All, 1987) Stevenson 3:03
27. "Descendents" (from I Don't Want to Grow Up, 1985) lyrics: Aukerman, Cooper, Lombardo, Stevenson; music: Lombardo 1:43
28. "No, All!" (from All, 1987) Stevenson, McCuistion 0:03
Total length:
 53:12

Personnel

[4]

Band

Production

References

  1. ^ (1998) "All/Descendents Family Shrub" [CD bookelt]. Album notes for All by All. Fort Collins, Colorado: Owned & Operated Records (O&O 007-2).
  2. ^ "All/Descendents Family Shrub". descendentsonline.com. Descendents. 1996. http://www.descendentsonline.com/archive/gnusletters/pages/1996fall-b-norb.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 
  3. ^ a b Stevenson, Bill (1989). Album notes for Hallraker: Live! by Descendents [CD liner]. Lawndale, California: SST Records (SST CD 205).
  4. ^ a b (1991) Album notes for Somery by Descendents [CD liner]. Lawndale, California: SST Records (SST CD 259).
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: Somery". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r5535. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  6. ^ DaRonco, Mike. "Review: All". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r5539. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  7. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (2004). "Descendents Biography". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/descendents/biography. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 
Descendents
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
EPs
Singles
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