Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure [Kill Rock Stars]

Born Against includes: Sam McPheeters, Adam Nathanson, Tonie Joy, Brooks Headley, Melissa York, Jon Hiltz, Neil Burke.
Contains 24 tracks, including outtakes and previously unreleased material. Also includes a 20-page booklet.
Personnel: Adam (guitar); Darryl, Nigel (drums).
Recording information: Don Fury Studio, New York, NY (??/??/1989-06/04/1993); Fun City, New York, NY (??/??/1989-06/04/1993); Matt Anderson's Bedroom, Chula Vista, CA (??/??/1989-06/04/1993); Sonic Iguana Studio, Lafayette, IN (??/??/1989-06/04/1993).
Photographer: Rich Unhoch.
A straight reissue of an out of print 1996 compilation on bandleader Sam McPheeters' own Vermiform label -- although for some reason it lacks one track, the negligible hardcore blurt "Albany Academy" -- The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure is the definitive Born Against document. Collecting all of the band's single and compilation sides -- the very roots of the D.I.Y. hardcore ethos for any band and usually the place where a band like Born Against makes its most cogent and direct statements -- this 24-track compilation ranges from a hyperspeed 16-second blast of righteous anger like "The Nail That Sticks Up Gets Hammered Down" to even more venomous mosh pit anthems like the seething "Witness to a Rape." It also contains lighter moments like the pair of Screeching Weasel covers, "Janelle" and "Go Fuck Yourself," that Born Against contributed to a split single with that band, as well as a stunningly effective cover of X's "Riding With Mary" that somehow manages to make the anguished original sound almost tame. ~ Stewart Mason