Fat Wrecktrospective
Fat
December 8, 2009

Fat Mike is a very generous human being. First, he lowers the price of his label’s catalogue and then he releases an affordable history of it. Three CDs, 88 songs and over three hours of music, this is a fan’s dream come true.

The first disc features classic Fat songs, and they nailed the hits home, featuring songs that are at least in the top five of some of my favorite bands’ repertoire. NOFX, Lagwagon, Strung Out, Propagandhi, Against Me!, Swingin’ Utters, Descendents all put their best foot forward, and I’m reminded that I’ve neglected bands like Tilt and Frenzal Rhomb. Two of my favorites are “Martin” by Snuff and “Like a Record Player” by The Lawrence Arms. I like having the latter song without the bonus track that’s on the album.

The Demos disc is exactly what it’s titled. I like how raw everything sounds, even though I ultimately enjoy the original versions better. The exception to the rule is Lagwagon’s “Bury the Hatchet,” which is technical as hell and about as close to a metal song as the label has released, minus Strung Out’s material.

The third disc features the entire Fat Club 7” series, featuring bands like The Vandals, Strike Anywhere, NOFX and more. Two bands that really caught my ear were Randy and Enemy You.

This is obviously the complete package for anyone that is a fan of the label. In addition to the nearly endless music, there are stories from the bands and a poster featuring every album Fat has released up to that point. Who needs box sets?

Written by: RF
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