By the time of the release of this compilation, the Dead Kennedys were no more. After recording, releasing and touring with some fantastic and hilarious songs and albums throughout the early 1980s, the band eventually split up after some rather ordinary events and circumstances that emerged for the Dead Kennedys. This compilation, which is more of a collection of outtakes and rarities than an actual compilation, was the last release to be stamped with the seal of approval by both singer Jello Biafra (credits go to him for having a hilarious name as a singer) and the rest of the Dead Kennedys as well. In any case, this release is essentially another Dead Kennedys album, although it is a compilation. Recorded during 1979-1987 and released in June 1987 on the Alternative Tentacles record label and was produced by Thom Wilson. It features Jello Biafra (vocals), East Bay Ray (guitars, effects and mixing), Klaus Flouride (bass guitar and backing vocals), Ted and D.H. Peligro (both on drums respectively on different tracks) and 6025 (rhythm guitar on a few selected tracks). Let’s take a listen to this slice of history and hopefully, it will be up to early Dead Kennedys standards.

Police Truck begins with some delayed Surf Rock-styled guitar and launches right into the music at hand. It sounds gloriously fantastic and also sounds absolutely hilarious throughout. This is exactly the sort of music that those of you who have a brilliant sense of humour out there need to hear. Not only that, but it is very, very catchy. These guys may come across as left-wing clowns, but this is hilarious music before Kid Rock even was around. Very laugh-out-loud material, and worth it 100%. Fantastic. It ends with some fantastic drum rolls. Nice.

Too Drunk To Fuck is another hilarious tune with some cool guitar riffing. It’s about going overboard with drinking at a party-based scenario prior to having sexual intercourse, which is absolutely gold if you think about it. In any case, this music sounds bizarre, out there and top-notch to listen to. Jello Biafra is a legend on the microphone, and this song shines through with his presence. An awesome tale to listen to, and perfect music for those of you who dig Hardcore Punk Music that kicks the proverbial and makes you laugh. Decent and top-notch. Laugh-out-loud material. It ends with the sound of seemingly actual vomiting, gold.

California Uber Alles is a demo version of the classic Dead Kennedys song. It sounds absolutely raw, driven and wonderful with some more restrained singing by Jello Biafra. A really awesome and sweet-sounding tune, which sounds really driven and wonderful simultaneously. This has attitude as well. This is a political tune and it has some stinging attacks against those in California who were completely ignorant about things. In the second half is an evil-sounding breakdown, with references to the Orwellian state of things in the year 1984 (go figure). A really cool listen, although not the final version of the song on the Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables album. This is a far-left stab at the then California governor Jerry Brown. Fantastic, all the same. Excellent.

The Man With The Dogs begins with some freaky guitar sounds and launches quickly into some sweet guitar riffing. This song is another powerful, interesting and worthwhile listening experience with some great guitar playing and storytelling by Jello Biafra. Another really cool tune to hear, this is a warped and wonderfully twisted tune that sounds very bizarre. It builds up in intensity in the midsection, before leading into a golden second half that sounds absolutely wonderful. This is likely some of the best USA Punk Music that you will ever find. Very, very awesome to listen to. Some political attacks are in the outro, which falls apart, followed by some digital proto-EDM sounds to conclude with. Great.

Insight begins with some quirky guitar riffs and is a fast and punchy tune that is very catchy and interesting. This is a brilliant listening experience that sounds like solid gold, once again. Cool, clever and quirky, this has some wonderful and awesome humour throughout. The Dead Kennedys obviously knew how to impress their audiences. Sweet tune.

Life Sentence begins with multitracked guitars, interesting basslines and pounding drums throughout. Jello Biafra sounds particularly good on this song, and he sings about the careers and paths that one chooses in life, and not having fun along the way. Nonetheless, a short, sharp shock of reality and being stuck in a stupid sense of mind as a result. The rolling drums and vocals here complement each other fantastically, and this tune is yet another solid gold winner. Fantastic, once again. Awesome and powerful to listen to, the Dead Kennedys do a great job at providing a thrilling listen.

A Child and His Lawnmower begins with some melodic bass guitar playing and goes for less than a minute long. It quickly changes and launches into a musical assault on the senses. Jello Biafra articulates this piece of music very nicely throughout. Obviously, a mockery song of course.

Holiday in Cambodia is the original single version of the song. It sounds very, very good and has a ton of fresh and raw musicianship. Obviously, this is a song about the (arguably but very likely) horrible Communist dictator of Cambodia named Pol Pot who, aside from committing a ton of human crimes, killed roughly 25% of the population of Cambodia during his very brief rule as leader of that country. A really cool song about such an inhumane monster throughout, and Jello Biafra will make you laugh out loud. Seriously. Nonetheless, a powerful and interesting musical statement that sounds really driven and amazing throughout. A hilarious take on the possibility of going to live in Cambodia for a bit, just for a change. The guitar playing throughout is sensationally good, as are some of the energetic and ecstatic drum rolls. A really cool listening experience. Pol Pot’s name is repeatedly chanted at the end of the song, a great listen throughout.

I Fought The Law launches into a sensational amount of brilliant drum rolls and interesting guitars, before getting stuck into a great song about fighting the law enforcement and beating them at their game. It’s a take on a cover of a song that The Clash did, and the whole thing sounds fantastic. It has a breakdown with some suspenseful spoken words, before launching back into the music at hand. A great listening experience that sounds sweet, this is a sweet tune for what it is. A joke track though, obviously.

Saturday Night Holocaust is a hilarious song title, if there ever were one. It begins with some clanging bass guitar and some rather discordant guitar playing to open with. Jello Biafra sings well about the potentiality for chaos to occur. This does not sound good, having said all that. It sounds pretty darn awful, to be honest at the beginning of the song. However, this is quite forgivable, given the musical context of this song. Eventually, it begins to build up into a much more dramatic song section which actually redeems the off-sounding intro. A brilliant, powerful and energetic tune about chaos and disorder, the Dead Kennedys do their best to make light out of potentially politically dangerous situations. Nonetheless, a really adventurous and cool listening experience, this is exactly what you need to blast at your neighbours to freak them out. A fantastic tune for what it is. It ends with some muttering over muted guitars, which is odd. Good but not great.

Pull My Strings is a live tune that begins with the California Uber Alles intro, before Jello Biafra requests the band to halt, before professionally that they are not a Punk Rock band, but a New Wave band. This has some laughter and cheering from the audience (who obviously got the joke), before launching into a sweet tune that is a rarity from the Dead Kennedys. Jello Biafra sings and the band delivers. In fact, this is a fantastic listening about being a total sell-out musically in the commercial sense, mocking The Knack’s My Sharona along the way. Nonetheless, this is a really cool and awesome piece of music. Jello Biafra has some mockery lyrics about the whole process of becoming a Rock icon, and he sounds absolutely hilarious on this tune. There is some insane guitar soloing by East Bay Ray. A really cool and interesting tune to hear, the guitar soloing is really awesome, yet abruptly stops. Some chanting and singing between Jello Biafra and the audience is present before this quickly concludes. A really awesome and different listen. Great to hear some humourous music from start to finish.

Short Songs is a short piece of music, with Jello Biafra stating at the start: “Rick Wakeman, eat your heart out!” before the music gets going away nicely. A very cool and awesome listen, but only 30 seconds long.

Straight A’s begins with a weird introduction and quickly enters into a powerful and blistering piece of monumental music which is a mockery of school life. Nonetheless, this sounds extremely cool, once again. This covers the Lisa Simpson sort of mentality, but not in an overly serious way. The Dead Kennedys know how to make comedic genius set to music, and this is a mere example of that. Very good to hear, all the same. Definitely worth listening to, and very uptempo as well. Wonderful. The ending is nuts.

Kinky Sex Makes The World Go ‘Round is an honest song title, if there ever were one. It begins with some telephone sounds and deep breathing and sounds odd. A dial tone emerges after a number is punched in, and this launches into a really quirky and odd-sounding tune that directly discusses the economic nature of sex throughout. This is true if you actually think about it. Nonetheless, this is the weirdest sex recording one will ever hear. A strange tune to listen to, quirky and odd. A cool listen regardless, this is the strangest mixture of politics and sex, which is very, very weird. It makes sense on some levels, provided that you are a Fascist who wishes for the global population to be reduced for economic ends. Weird and enjoyable, this music is powerful as a statement and a listening experience. The quote in it: “War is money” illustrates what the song is about. Very odd, but nonetheless, enjoyable.

The Prey begins with the sound of breaking glass in a car park before the bass guitar enters and this tune gets going. Hi-hats and an eerie guitar figure enter as well, and this unusual tune begins to come alive. Jello Biafra sounds rather evil and sinister in this song, and he sounds as creepy as heck. In any case, this sounds super cool for what it is. An unusual and odd tune, with a great deal of restrained suspense that sounds good. Describing being stalked at night, Jello Biafra articulates being prey to a predator. An awesome yet odd listening experience, it showcases the evil nature and sinister mind of some of humanity out there. Nonetheless, quirky yet excellent, and psychologically close to the bone for many. The end has a great climatic point.

Night of the Living Rednecks begins with some live recording of Chemical Warfare, which is on the first Dead Kennedys album. This is one of the greatest song titles ever, period. Jello Biafra chats a bit with the crowd, and he mocks various celebrities throughout this. Eventually, this launches into the tune at hand, which sounds very Jazzy to begin with. Jello Biafra chats over the music, and he articulates a really weird set of scenarios throughout. Our singer comments on a bizarre and unusual situation about fighting with teenage kids, physically throughout and being involved with the cops over the matter. In any case, this is a very weird listening experience. This tune is an oddity in the back catalogue of the Dead Kennedys, and it is spoken word set to a strange musical backdrop. A great listening experience to hear, which is humourous yet very, very weird. Nonetheless, this tune is a bizarre one and it sounds very unusual. Worth listening.

Buzzbomb from Pasadena is the final track, and it sounds just as crazy as the original Buzzbomb on the group’s second album release. This has some vocal imitations of an old lady by Jello Biafra throughout, and it doesn’t sound as funny as the original. Nonetheless, this does sound good, once again. A warped and different listening experience, this is probably not needed on this otherwise very spot-on album. Still, it is listenable throughout. Weird beyond all descriptions, but hey, this is the Dead Kennedys that we are hearing on this album. An awesome yet weird tune to hear.

This is just as good a listen as the first two main Dead Kennedys albums. It combines the best of Rock, Punk, Hardcore Punk and humour into one compilation that is a heck of a ride. It never lets up in terms of its overall interest or consistency, therefore making this compilation a clear winner to listen to. There may not be a huge deal of musical experimentation or a wide variety of sounds, but nonetheless, this sounds incredibly awesome. Should you listen to this compilation release? Most will enjoy and appreciate this humourous music, however those who hate aggressive Punk should stay away from this release.

Incredibly and solidly awesome to hear.

9/10