D.R.I. "Dealing With It!" CD
[Beer City]
Hell yeah, another killer D.R.I. reissue from Beer City with shitloads of bonus material. This time it's their second LP from '85, as their style stayed pretty much the same but the sound got a bit tighter and slightly cleaner, and some of the songs got a little bit longer (though still mostly around a minute or so). It's the classic thrashing crossover hardcore/punk they're known and loved for: Humorous and fun, but carrying a message. Among the bonus cuts are two tracks from a Texas compilation that came out way back when, two tracks from "the unknown demo", a couple of songs from the "Violent Pacification" sessions that were never released, and six tracks from the rough mixes of the "Dealing With It" LP. Aside from the rough mixes some of the other bonus songs also appear on the LP in alternate forms, but it's still nice to have so much extra material present. I really like the sound on this record. The bass plays a good role, the guitars are heavy without lacking a nice rugged sensibility, the vocals sound perfect and are clearer than on some of the band's other material, etc. Sure, it's dated, but it works really well for what they're doing and sounds fucking awesome considering the year it was recorded. There's also some CD-Rom footage that contains five clips from a San Francisco cable access TV show interview on "City Beat" in 1986. The "five clips" are really just one clip, as when each segment stops you just click on the next number on it picks up where it left off, so I'm not sure why they broke it up like that. The only things that bother me are that there are no fast forward or rewind controls because the footage is embedded in a Flash file, and the videos play in a circle, so portions of the viewing area are covered up (which covers some of the text that's on the bottom of the screen). There are also some fuckups in the visual/audio where certain words or phrases will get cut out, but that's not a huge deal because you can figure out what was said. The interview is sort of slow moving and none of the questions are particularly probing, but it's interesting to see nonetheless. As with many of these Beer City reissues the layout keeps it minimal with the cover art, lyrics, a band photo or two, and some recording information, etc. On this record the lyrics were getting a bit more humorous and sarcastic, but there are still basically serious socio-political songs like "Stupid, Stupid War" and "Equal People". So it jumps from, "I'm home from school and here to say, I'll take it easy again today, Ain't gonna work, don't need no pay, Don't need to work, I sleep all day..." to, "Horrible plans of hate they're tending, The evil minds with plans predicting, Bitter vibes of hate they're sending, Broken heart and mind is mending, Deflective action onslaught ending, Crazy plans of fame descending, And conspiracy is all I fear." Another killer reissue. This is the way reissues should be done. (8/10)
Running time - 51:09, Tracks: 37
[Notable tracks: I'd Rather Be Sleeping, Yes Ma'am, Nursing Home Blues, Reaganomics, Shame, On My Way Home, Bail Out, Sad to Be (demo), I Don't Need Society (rough mix)]
Beer City Records - http://www.beercityrecords.com

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