After 20 years as one of the premiere independent labels, as well as
punk rock’s most admired, Fat Wreck Chords has amassed an
extraordinary catalog of artists and releases. Label founder Fat Mike
(singer/songwriter of NOFX) consistently adhered to an ethos of putting
out releases that always measured up to listeners’ expectations. The
result was an unspoken guarantee to fans through which Fat Wreck
Chords became a coveted brand name and the gold standard among
punk labels. With multiple releases from heavyweights Lagwagon,
Propagandhi, No Use For a Name, Strung Out, Me First and the Gimme
Gimmes, Descendents, Anti-Flag, Against Me, and Rise Against, Fat
managed to cultivate and evolve a recognizable sound in music. Having
issued more than 280 releases over the course of the label’s first 20 years
in the business, it is a daunting task to try to encapsulate Fat’s rich
history into a box set. Nonetheless, that is what we attempted to do with
WRECKTROSPECTIVE. Three discs and a huge booklet render a view
of Fat Wreck Chords’ journey along the path of its storied existence.
The first disc is a sampling of the label’s greatest hits. The second disc
contains an array of all unreleased demos and rarities. The third disc is
the limited release Fat Club 7” series in its entirety. Finally, the booklet
provides an oral history of sorts, chock-full of stories from band
members, as well as a timeline of all Fat’s releases. The box set as a
whole is an essential piece of punk rock history, a must-have for fans,
and a hallmark of the dominating influence Fat Wreck Chords had in
shaping a genre.
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2/21/2013 by Sonic from Norwalk, CT
Rating:
I'll admit I'm no longer the total Fat-oholic that I used to be as a teen, but I still had a lot of fun with this great compilation (after all, this is the label responsible for my first punk show back in 2005.) It caters to fans of all of their eras, with the "greatest hits" disc being my favorite. The other two are cool as well, particularly the demo-and-rarity-filled second disc: I had no idea that Bracket had a damned-fine acoustic version of "Everyone Is Telling Me I’ll Never Win..." I'd suggest giving this comp a look, so you can spoil yourself with a Fat treasure-trove for a reasonable price.
12/30/2009 by Jimmy from Acme, PA
Rating:
Awesome Awesome comp! If youve ever liked any of the Fat bands, get this! 3 cds for $15, how can you go wrong? I like the demo disc the best. Also comes with an awesome poster!
12/18/2009 by David from Lemon Grove, CA
Rating:
I got my first taste of The Fat as a high school sophmore back in good ol' 1992...Yeah, I'm old. My friend was playing her new Lagwagon album "Duh" on her trucks kick-ass cassette tape deck, sweet! I remember thinking how awesome things must be for Fat Mike with his band on Epitaph and now he's putting out his friends albums on his very own label! Livin' the dream!
So (mumble, mumble) years later it's 2009 and I own a pretty large amount of CD's and Vinyl with the Fat Wreck logo stamped on the back. So this Wrecktrospective is a 3 disc collection of reminders of all the good times I've had listening to these overweight bands.
The first disc plays like a Fat compilation. 33 highlights from the FAT catalogue picked by the big guy himself. Though I own many of the albums that these songs come from it's still fun to listen to in the context of a "greatest hits" selection.
Disc two is very cool as it is all Demo recordings, 28 of 'em. It's always fun to hear early incarnations of songs and then you can go listen to how the songs changed in the final product. Some stand outs here are Good Riddance, Rise Against, and The Lawrence Arms.
The third and final disc is the 27 songs that make up the entire collection of the "Fat Club, Monthly 7 Inch Series". This is full of great songs, many of them only found here. My favorites here are The Vandals, American Steel, Swingin' Utters, Larry Arms, and One Man Army.
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