Various Artists – Warped Tour 2004

Its that time of year again, the time for the Vans Warped Tour to make it’s way though your town and wow audiences coast to coast. And you know what that means for SideOneDummy Records right? It means that it is time for them to compile 50 bands from the growing punk scene, take one song from each band, and release it in a two-disc compilation known as the Vans Warped Tour 2004 Compilation!

This year the Vans Warped Tour compilation has some major competition, what with the releases of the two Rock Against Bush compilations and Volcom Entertainment’s The Only Constant Is Changebeing released this year and all. It does fall short to them a tiny bit due to the fact that it does not have any previously unreleased or rare tracks on its track listing, but instead features a wide range of previously released material by some well known along with lesser known bands. Even thought I have heard most of the tracks on the compilation before, it still makes for one hell of an album!

It has some big name bands like New Found Glory, NOFX, Bad Religion, Good Charlotte, Descendents, and Yellowcard along with some smaller named bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Piebald, Denver Harbor, Amber Pacific, Pulley, and Throwrag. But even people who claim to know all the bands in the world, this CD will most likely introduce them to a few new bands. I know I learnt aboutStutterfly, Lightweight Holiday, and Left Alone courtesy of this CD. And if you do know every single band on the album, it will most likely make you want to go into your collection and dust off a few discs that you haven’t heard in a while.

Although the Vans Warped Tour 2004 Compilation doesn’t break any boundaries in the world of compilations or feature a ton of new songs you’ve haven’t heard in a while, it does keep your entertain and remind you of some of the great bands you’ve hidden away in the furthermost regions of your brain. And for around ten bucks, its well worth the price.