Circle Jerks - Group Sex + Wild In The Streets (1980+1982/1986) [2on1 Reissue '1993]

Formed in 1979 by Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson, the Circle Jerks combined the rebelliousness of the Sex Pistols and Ramones with the aggressive athletic elements of the surfer/skateboarder crowd from Hermosa Beach. This coastal city just south of Los Angeles ignited the initial explosion of hardcore bands. Including bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer Lucky Lehrer, the band recorded their debut album, Group Sex, in 1980 on Frontier Records. Containing 14 tracks, the songs ranged in length from 1:35 to 27 seconds, taking the hyper blast of punk to the next extreme. With the release of the album, an appearance in the documentary film about L.A. punk The Decline of Western Civilization, and their incendiary live performances, the group's stature was assured in the budding hardcore community…

Keith Morris once described his brief tenure as Black Flag's lead singer by saying, "I was the Tasmanian devil, the court jester; I was the dog on the chain who was let out of the cage". So it made sense that after the beer-swilling frontman decided to move on, he would form a band even less subtle and more obnoxious than Black Flag (who represented punk rock at its most brutal in 1979). Group Sex, the first "album" from Morris' group the Circle Jerks, barrels through 14 songs in just under 16 minutes, and pretty much defined the state of the art in SoCal hardcore, circa 1980: raging minor-chord guitar bashing (courtesy of Greg Hetson, later in Bad Religion), speedy drumming (Lucky Lehrer punctuates his manic four-four stomp with short, frantic rolls whenever possible), and a bassist (Roger Rogerson) trying to keep up with it all while Morris bellows about sex ("I Just Want Some Skank"), drugs ("Wasted"), politics ("Paid Vacation"), the idle rich ("Beverly Hills"), and his own post-teenage rage ("World Up My Ass"). Some of it's funny, some of it seems to be serious, and it's all one not-so-long blast of raging energy…

Their second LP, 1982's Wild in the Streets, continued the intensity while injecting a humorous slant into the music by covering '60s pop hits "Just Like Me"/"Put a Little Love in Your Heart", applied with their slamdancing aggression, and the title track, which is a version of the theme song to the '60s teen exploitation flick of the same name – to make it worthwhile for Orange County punk fanatics. Later, Frontier combined the first two albums from the Circle Jerks onto a single cassette, CD and a double-LP set. Group Sex is their finest album, and together with Wild in the Streets, is an excellent way to check out the beginnings of this important early-'80s Southern California hardcore band.

~ all media guide

Tracklist:

01. Deny Everything
02. I Just Want Some Skank
03. Beverly Hills
04. Operation
05. Back Against The Wall
06. Wasted
07. Behind The Door
08. World Up My Ass
09. Paid Vacation
10. Don't Care
11. Live Fast Die Young
12. What's Your Problem
13. Group Sex
14. Red Tape
15. Wild In The Streets
16. Leave Me Alone
17. Stars And Stripes
18. 86'd (Good As Gone)
19. Meet The Press
20. Trapped
21. Murder The Disturbed
22. Letter Bomb
23. Question Authority
24. Defamtion Innuendo
25. Moral Majority
26. Forced Labor
27. Political Stu
28. Just Like Me/Put A Little Love In Your Heart

Tracks 1-14 is the "Group Sex" LP
Tracks 15-28 is "Wild in the Streets" LP


Tracks 1-14 Recorded at Byrdcliffe Studios, Culver City, CA. Produced by Cary Markoff & Circle Jerks
Tracks 15-28 Recorded at A&M Studio D, Hollywood, CA. Produced by Gary Hirstius and David Anderly.

• Keith Morris - lead vocals
• Greg Hetson - guitar, backing vocals
• Roger Rogerson - bass, backing vocals
• Lucky Lehrer - drums, percussion

Original Release Date: 1980 | 1982 (1986)
Re-Release Date: September 1993 (1988)
Format: Original Recording Reissued
Label: Frontier Records
Catalog No.: 31002-2