Various Artists – Wrecktrospective

With the iPod we’re treated to a never ending supply of random songs right at our finger tips. You pop in the ear buds and then press shuffle songs and you never know what you’ll get, it’s a fun experience and one that enables you to re-discover bands you may have forgotten you had on your iPod. It’s a simple concept and one that people rarely think about, instead they just take it for granted. But where did the idea to play a random selection of songs come from? I really can’t answer that question because I don’t know the actual answer, but if I had to guess, I would say it stemmed from mix tapes and compilation CDs.

Compilation CDs were a truly wonderful thing. They were cheap collection of songs that you’d pick up because you knew the label or one band on it and then be introduced to countless other bands that were on the CD. Sadly those days are gone as people simply turn to MySpace to find bands and labels that used to issue yearly compilations have let them slide and fall into the annals of history. Fat Wreck Chords were one of those labels who released consistently great compilations but have since stopped doing it as frequently. Luckily they still do occasionally and when they do, it’s definitely worth it. Their three disc, 88 song, twentieth anniversary CD, Wrecktrospective, is by no way an exception to that rule.

The fact is Wrecktrospective is the perfect compilation and a must-have for any Fat Wreck fan; and for just fifteen bucks you’d be stupid to pass it up.

First up is the thirty-three song “greatest hits” disc that compiles some of the label’s biggest “hits” and most popular songs. It pulls from the band’s biggest acts like NOFX, Propagandhi, Lagwagon, Strung Out, No Use For A Name, Face to Face, Good Riddance, Rise Against, Less Than Jake, Anti-Flag, Screeching Weasel, Mad Caddies, Lawrence Arms, and Dillinger Four along with some of their slightly smaller, but equally as awesome, bands like Tilt, Bracket, None More Black, Chixdiggit, Wizo, Frenzal Rhomb, Goober Patrol and High Standard; and throughout it all you’re left with your jaw on the ground. Its easy to forget how many amazing albums and bands have come through the Fat halls over the last two decades and Wrecktrospective serves as a reminder.

Now, the disc isn’t a perfect recap of the label’s career; it does, in fact, tread lightly on some of the labels’ newer releases. The Fight, Teenage Bottlerocket, Banner Pilot, and Pour Habit don’t make an appearance anywhere in the compilation while The Loved Ones, Flatliners, The Soviettes, The Epoxies, and American Steel are all oddly absent in the greatest hits CD. However, there’s only so much room on one disc (it’s not like the unlimited space of an iPod) and those bands are instead featured on other discs – be it in demos or the 7-inch Fat Club series; and in a way, those discs are what really makes the album worth it.

Chances are most Fat fans will own most of the tracks on the greatest hits CD (although there will definitely be a few new tracks for most people, myself included) and that’s where the other two discs come in. Disc 2 features 28 previously unreleased demo tracks that pretty much no one would have heard before. In some aspects it is the weaker disc of the three, mainly because the recording quality suffers on a few demos since they are, you know, demos. However, it’s a nice insight into the creation process of the songs and Nerf Herder‘s 5000 Ways To Die is a song you need to hear. Finally, the final disc is the entire Fat Club 7″ series released on CD for the first time and offers some nice cuts from the likes of The Vandals, Strung Out, Real McKenzies, MXPX, Randy, Enemy You, One Man Army andThe Lawrence Arms which makes for yet another solid listen for an hour and some change.

With three discs, eighty-eight songs and at only fifteen bucks, Wrecktrospective is a perfect reminder of what a great compilation CD can be. It’s a cheap recap of great bands you may have forgotten about and a perfect introduction into a world of bands you may never have heard of; and even though some of the songs may already come up when you hit shuffle on your iPod, it’s still a must-have.