Retro Raunch Revisit

Happy 45th Anniversary to one of punk's most important albums. This was the Los Angeles hardcore band's debut of 14 tracks clocking in at 15min. Formed & fronted by singer Keith, 4 of the songs were from early 1979 sessions with his previous band BLACK FLAG, and meant to be for that band's debut but he left and the tapes were shelved until he joined CJ the same year. The short snappy songs are speedy, tight & riddled with hooks whose topics tackle politics, paranoia, rage & wanting to get laid all in a catchy puerile manner like THE ANGRY SAMOANS. The band's profile was especially heightend in the 1981 'The Decline of Western Civilization' documentary that helped increase their popularity. [Also featuring BLACK FLAG, X, THE GERMS, and FEAR, the film gained some notoriety after the LAPD's then police chief Daryl Gates wrote a letter of complaint demanding that the film not be shown again in the city]. The album's cover is a stylized graphic taken of crowd members after a CJ/ADOLESCENTS gig at a skatepark. Members of THE GERMS were in attendance but not in the photo and skater Tony Hawk had been present but left before the picture was taken. CJ's iconic 'dancing skanker' mascot is also one of the genre's most recognizable logos. Keith struggled with drug & alcohol addiction but sobered up in 1988, and that same year saw the cd re-release of GS paired with their next album, 1982's 'Wild in the Streets'. CJ reunited in 1994 with their last studio album made in 1995, and the band peforming in reunions with their most recent touring alongside the DESCENDENTS. In 2010, Keith formed the band OFF! which broke up in 2024. Founding guitarist Greg (whose previous band RED CROSS took their name from the crucifix masturbation scene in The Exorcist, and would later change their name to RED KROSS in 1982 to avoid a lawsuit from the International Red Cross) joined BAD RELIGION in 1984 but after stepping away from touring in Apr 2013 due to subtance abuse issues, officially confirmed in Apr 2014 that BR had kicked him out.