Muscial Nostalgia - Give Em The Boot

First off, I hate 99% of the complations I listen to, much like I detest short story anthologies.  Most of the time, it's two or three really good songs (or stories, in the case of anthologies), wrapped in a sheath of garbage.  Today, I'll be talking about an old favorite that nicely illustrates that there are indeed exceptions to every rule.

I'm talking about

The year was 1997.  Yeah, I knew I was going to enjoy Give 'Em the Boot the second I saw it reviewed in a zine someplace.  At 20 songs for 4.99, it appealed to my slacker sensibilities.  I'd read articles about Hellcat Records and was anxious to see what they'd come up with.  Was I pleased?

Hell Yes!  Look at this track list!

1. The Brothels - Rancid
2. Watch This - The Slackers
3. I Can't Wait - Hepcat
4. New Breed - The Pietasters
5. Spirit Of The Streets - business
6. Los Hombres No Lloran - Voodoo Glow Skulls
7. Barroom Hero - Dropkick Murphys
8. Does He Love You - Skinnerbox
9. 17 @ 17 - Upbeat
10. Open Season - Stubborn Allstars
11. Beautiful Girl - Gadjits
12. Roots Radicals - Union 13
13. Jaks - U.S. Bombs
14. Fifteenth and T - Swingin' Utters
15. Latin Goes Ska - The Skatalites
16. Policeman - The Silencers
17. Heart Like A Lion - Pressure Points
18. Infested - Choking Victim
19. No Time - F-Minus
20. Playtime - David Hillyard & The Rocksteady Seven

Give 'Em the Boot is one of those rare compliations that has more than it's share of great tunes.  From the opening song from Rancid, which should have been on an album, all the way to David Hillyard, this thing is loaded with good shit.  When I picked this cd up, the only bands I was familiar with were Rancid, Hepcat, and the Voodoo Glowskulls.  Yes, Give 'Em the Boot introduced me to two long time favorite bands, The Slackers and the Skatalites.  By the time 1997 was over, I had bought CDs by Rancid, The Slackers, Hepcat, the Pietasters, Dropkick Murphys, Skinnerbox, the Stubborn Allstars, the Gadjits, the Skatalites, Pressure Points, Choking Victim, and David Hillyard & the Rocksteady Seven.  That's a pretty good percentage of the featured artists.