Post-Mersh, Vol. 3

The Minutemen: D. Boon (vocals, guitar); Mike Watt (vocals, bass); George Hurley (drums).
POST-MERSH, VOLUME 3 is a compilation of the EPs PARANOID TIME, BEAN SPILL, and TOUR SPIEL, the JOY single, and the POLITICS OF TIME LP.
Personnel: D. Boon (vocals, guitar); Martin Tamburovich (vocals, saxophone); Mike Watt (vocals); Joe Baiza (guitar); Dirk Vandenberg (trumpet); George Hurley (drums, background vocals).
Audio Remasterer: Ethan James.
Recording information: Sound Factory Studio, Tucson, AZ (08/24/1984).
One might think that POST-MERSH Vol. 3 would contain later material than POST MERSH Vol. 1 and 2, but one would be wrong. This 46-song collection contains the band's earliest work, including POLITICS OF TIME, a grab-bag assortment of odds and ends, primitive live recordings, hard-to-find singles and the like, which date back to the band's earliest incarnation as the Reactionaries.
Beginning with PARANOID TIME, the band's very first single, the collection hurtles along at the breakneck pace that characterized the band's initial work. In the time it takes for the collection to reach song #25, you could have listened to one song by Yes. Even at their most primitive, (e.g., "Ack Ack Ack"), the Minutemen's combination of passion, chops, and brevity makes for bracing listening. Although most of the songs are fast and furious, the final selections, from the TOUR SPIEL collection of cover songs, show the band's more leisurely, tuneful side.