Let Me Go

I still have a massive soft spot for Rancid, I haven't liked anything they've put out with any real enthusiasm since Rancid 2000 but if I see a Rancid record I don't have on the cheap then I'll pick it up.

Rancid - Let Me Go

This is a 7" that was released around the time of Rancid 2000 and one of my favourite tracks off that album so win win.

Green vinyl version, I say green vinyl version but actually I'm pretty sure they were all green. I believe that this now means I have a version of every Rancid 7" release (not including the 7" records they released with all the albums spread across them) except for Roots Radicals which I don't think I've even ever seen a copy of.

Hooligans

On the rare occasion in England that the sun rears it's head, Rancid are pretty much still after all these years my go to band. Especially if I'm driving anywhere -get the windows down, shades on, arm out the window, yes I'm rolling!!!*

Rancid - Hooligans

I picked this Hooligans 7" up a while ago now, I wasn't actively looking for it, it just caught my eye. I guess the reason for this is that I've looked at it a couple of times in the past and for some reason it seems to go for quite a lot of coin, not fortunes but certainly more than I want to pay for a Rancid 7", but this didn't have long to go and still didn't have a bid. In the end I scored it for a few pounds.

Hooligans is taken from Rancid's Life Won't Wait record of course, the tricky follow up to ...And Out Come The Wolves. Most people kinda pan or dismiss the record but I can hang with it no problems. I think it was always going to be the most natural move for a band so heavily influenced by The Clash. Pink with Purple splatter vinyl.

*Obviously I have to imagine I'm in some sort of cool pimped out low rider, rather than the two boring family cars I actually own.

Hectic In A '69 Newport

Most of you think like me I'm sure. We're simple folk right? Recently an Operation Ivy track came on whilst I was listening to my iPod and it occurred to me (read panicked) that I didn't have much Op Ivy on wax. I immediately hunted some down and found two 7"s being sold by the same seller. I won them and everything was right with the world.

Operation Ivy - Hectic E.P

Truth be told I've never been the biggest ska punk fan in the world, sure I likes me some Clash, The Specials, Rancid, Suicide Machines etc but then again that's like people who don't really like metal having a Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden record right? Anyway, I have always liked Operation Ivy, they were a fine band. The first record I found was the Hectic E.P on Lookout Records. I believe this is an original 1988 press of the record on black vinyl with the booklet included. The booklets a nice touch actually, with pictures and song explanations and the like.

Operation Ivy - '69 Newport

I also got a copy of the '69 Newport single on red vinyl. I must admit I'm not entirely sure if this single was a proper release or not, I don't think it was, I believe it's a bootleg or something. What I do know is that it has two tracks on it that I didn't previously have (on the compilation LP of the Hectic E.P and the Energy LP), so it's a big win in my book.

Let's Go

Remember back in march when I wrote about Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves, I said I still needed to pick up a copy of Let's Go? No? Well I did..

Rancid - Let's Go

I'd been avoiding this record for a while, not because I don't like it, shit, I love it, it's my favourite Rancid record actually. No I was avoiding it because it's really only available on two formats, double picture disc and double 10" vinyl. Two formats as I mentioned a couple of posts ago I'm less than enamoured with. I'm sure I've seen this on normal black vinyl before but I could be wrong.

Anyway, I finally took the plunge when I stumbled into a random record store one afternoon with a bit of change in my pocket and this was literally the ONLY decent record they had. Hell it was cheap enough and in my hand, I had to finally buy it 10" or not.

It's a well put together package in fairness and the double white vinyl at least matches my copy of A.O.C.T.W. It's a gatefold sleeve too which looks pretty good. When I bought this recently it's the first time I'd listened to all 23 tracks back to back in years - still a fantastic punk record.

...and out come the wolves

Oh Rancid how I loves ya. I make no bones about it Rancid's first five albums are great. Over the last few years I think the band have kinda lost some credibility for one reason or another and the more recent output from the band hasn't helped but I think those first albums can take the Pepsi challenge with most punk bands, especially Let's Go and this ...and Out Come The Wolves.

I remember back in 1995 not liking this record initially. I'd been into Let's Go a year prior quite heavily and on the first few listens or so I thought this all sounded samey and too poppy. Eventually though I realised it was a modern punk classic. 19 tracks and pretty much all anthems in fact there's only one track which I've never really liked and that's The Wars End for the record.
This record was my summer soundtrack for at least the next 3 years in which time I saw Rancid a couple of times in Leeds in front of relatively small crowds and it always transports me back to college and lazing around with my friends and this being pretty much the only record everyone could agree on. Admittedly I don't listen to Rancid that much these days but tracks like 11th Hour, Roots Radical, Time Bomb, Journey To The End Of The East Bay etc still sound good to me on the 1278th listen.

White vinyl repress from 2010 of 640 copies according to Discogs. It's good to finally have this on this format. I have the two self titled albums (why?)on wax also. When I finally get round to getting Let's Go and Life Won't Wait I might feature them on here too.