Various Artists: A Fistful of Rock & Roll Volume 4

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VARIOUS ARTISTS

"A Fistful of Rock & Roll Volume 4" (Tee Pee Records)

This collection of varying punk rock styles from independent labels is a very cool CD to own, even if it's only to filter out the bands you don't like from the bands you do like. There are 15 tracks herein, so you can do quite a bit of filtering. There's some great stuff on this disc, but there's some stuff you can probably do without as well. A brief rundown of each track follows:
QUADRAJETS "Fireball" - a noisy little number that verges on chaos. Not very pleasant;
MURDER CITY DEVILS "I Want a Lot Now" - A more standard punk number somewhat reminiscent of the Ramones;
PULPIT RED "Zero Nights" - A so-so track with surprisingly little energy;
THREE YEARS DOWN "The Ballad of Rachel and Candi" - Hot rock'n'roll number with strong guitars;
BLACK HALOS "For You" - Reminiscent of the Sex Pistols;
AMERICAN HEARTBREAK - A driving, crunching number; one of the best on the CD;
GRAVEYARD SCHOOL "Life's Crazy" - Imagine the Runaways with sharper guitars. Pretty good;
LOVEMASTERS "Mr. White" - Intentionally sloppy with laidback vocals;
SPITFIRES "Something For Nothing" - Straight forward rock number. More of the same;
DGENERATION "Prohibition" - Different-sounding song, unique guitars, cool chorus;
TRICKY WOO "Fly The Orient" - Peppy little number with a riff that's almost familiar.
HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS "She's Something" - The Go-Go's with a bad attitude;
STILETTO BOYS "Rockets & Bombs" - Cool little ditty that crosses Led Zeppelin with Rancid;
THE REDS "Zero" - Sounds like a theme for a modern superhero until the vocalist wades in;
VON ZIPPERS "Bad Generation" - Garage rock that ain't bad but ain't great.

Again, just don't take my word for it. Pick up this disc and find out what you like and what you don't like. Then go out and buy the full-length CDs of the bands that do it for you. That's what samplers like this are all about!

For more information, please visit http://www.teepeerecords.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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