Wrecking Crew "1987 - 1991" CD
[Bridge Nine]
Hell yeah, I absolutely love retrospective releases like this, and when they're coming from a label like Bridge Nine you just know they're gonna be good.  This 66-minute CD collects everything this killer Boston hardcore band recorded throughout their heyday, sans the "Balance of Terror" LP and some compilation tracks from that same time period, the rights to which are still owned by Roadrunner Records (that album was originally released on their Hawker Records imprint).  I'd just like to take this moment to emphatically state how disgusted I am by the fact that this kind of thing happens, because that LP is rare enough as it is, and you know god damn well Roadrunner's never gonna do shit with it, and this collection could've been an amazing and wholly complete double-CD collection were those recordings not basically being relinquished to obscurity by ex-record label hoarding formalities or whatever.  Fuckin' annoying.  Anyway, what is included is the band's 1988 demo (the first four songs of which also made up their self-titled 7"), a couple of compilation tracks, their 1990 demo (which includes one awesome unreleased song), live material, and a 2004 re-recording of "Why Must They?" - which was originally on the LP.  As one might expect the band's style is a blend of heavy and classic New York styled hardcore with moderate speeds and a little thrashy crossover flare for added heaviness.  There's not too much metal going, but they've definitely got just the right amount to throw in some killer breaks and midpaced moments to add variety - definitely comparable to a lot of what was going on at the time on the east coast (most notably Agnostic Front circa "Cause for Alarm", as the vocals here are definitely reminiscent of Roger Miret in those days as well).  Amongst the earlier tracks are covers of "Tied Down" by Negative Approach and Battalion of Saints' "My Mind's Disease", but all the rest is original material.  Of course you could argue that the 1990 demo is a hint more metallic than the demo/7", but the songs are barely any longer and the overall style is very much in line with the songs from 1988, so they definitely stayed true to what they did best.  The production values of course sound a little dated, but I have no problem with that at all.  I'm a huge fan of this time period and general style of hardcore, and I enjoy the aesthetics that come along with it.  The two compilation tracks recorded around the time of the LP are a little muddier, but the other studio stuff sounds pretty strong.  As expected the 1990 demo is a little crisper, but still consistent against the first studio session.  I definitely like the more prominent basslines on the '90 tunes, though.  Good stuff.  The live tracks were all recorded in March of '88, with an eight-song live set on WERS and two more from CBGB's - all of which sounds shockingly good.  Plus a lot of the live tracks were on  "Balance of Terror", so it's cool to at least get a taste of that stuff herein.  Oh, and the re-recorded track from 2004 sounds nice as well, not particularly out of place against more than decade-old material.  Also impressive is the fact that the vocals sound almost dead on like they used to!  Maybe the mastering could've evened out the volume levels between all of this stuff a little better, but that's no big deal.  The packaging is excellently handled and includes detailed liner notes and credits, tons of photos, and all of the lyrics - including the live tracks.  The text is tiny as fuck so the lyrics are kind of hard to read since they're in red over black, but all in all the booklet's pretty damn thick and packed with content.  The lyrics are pretty standard for that era and cover all the classic topics from frustration and rage to friendship, betrayal, thinking for yourself and standing up for what you believe in, as well as political corruption and abuse of power.  Great, great stuff, and a damn well handled release overall.  Certainly recommended with my full support.  Maybe this will inspire Roadrunner to do something with the god damn LP... or better yet, surrender the fuckin' rights to the band so they can have Bridge Nine do it up right! (8/10)
Running time - 66:35, Tracks: 26
[Notable tracks: Judgment, Guts and Glory, Confusion, Life Ends, Blank Mind, Passing Time, Too Late (live), In Your Head (live)]
Bridge Nine Records - http://www.bridge9.com

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