The Entire History of Punk Box Set

Licensing issues and costs had a lot to do with which songs made it onto this collection, which is part of the reason why The Entire History of Punk doesn't even come close to living up to its title. Even with twenty CDs, over 300 songs and about 15 hours of punk music, it's missing groups like Television Personalities, Public Image Ltd. and the seminal Howard Devoto bands. It also ignores almost every great American punk band.

Among the songs that made the cut you'll find roughly fifty punk songs in their "essential, must-have" versions, another hundred that are pleasant but inessential, and about 150 fair-to-middling tunes. Among the inspired inclusions, you'll find early Billy Bragg tracks, acoustic Tom Robinson anthems, and a handful of hard-to-find gems (like Menace's "GLC"). Almost all of the best singles from minor British punk acts like Angelic Upstarts or Slaughter and the Dogs, are featured, and this should give you an excuse not to buy these groups' bloated "greatest hits" collections.

Entire History also does a good job of documenting failures. There are enough Brix Smith missteps in History to prove -- to everyone but Brix, at least -- that the solo route does not suit her. As far as seminal bands are concerned, California's Dead Kennedys are the most kindly represented, with their best tracks ("Kill the Poor", "Holiday in Cambodia") featured in their studio glory, and set beside either mediocre acts (Vice Squad) or pointless covers. They have never, ever stood out from the pack so brilliantly as they do here. But why did the Dead Kennedys and Johnny Thunders make this comp while almost every other American act didn't? Their relationship with infamous French indie label New Rose, whose own new box set is shorter and better than this one, probably helped them out. A spot in New Rose's rolodex did nothing for The Cramps, though; they failed to make the cut.

Most major punk acts, like the Sex Pistols, are represented almost exclusively via bootleg-quality live versions. Few are accurately listed as "live" tracks in the credits -- a deceptive act by the label which makes punk's Entire History smell a bit like a swindle. The compilation's last of many "Is this punk?" covers, Guana Batz's awful rockabilly rendition of Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", does not end this History on a sweet note, either.

It's hard for the collection not to justify its extremely modest price (US$80 for twenty CDs) -- though you feel the bite of cheapness in its details. Rather than the copious, scholarly liner notes that would accompany a costlier compilation, The Entire History's accompanying essay, by Beki Bondage, is both amusingly short and memorably idiotic. Bondage basically says punk is good and glorious, then rephrases that sentiment a few times until she fills her word count. The pictures are nice, though; they include a cool shot of Chrissie Hynde giving the photographer the finger.

The compilation's title, while unfair to punk in so many ways (least of all its insult that punk can be fully documented in 20 CDs), is provocative when you pretend the Dressed to Kill label took it seriously. Perhaps the compilation's plethora of lo-fi live tracks is Dressed to Kill's way of pointing out the fact that cash-poor punk fans love the music so much they'll record concerts with an eight-dollar K-Mart tape recorder -- and then go that extra mile, decades later, to preserve the rotten-sounding fucker on CD. As for the compilation's numerous punk rock covers of other punk bands' filler material, you have to wonder if this is the label's way of saying the "Anyone can do it" mentality was, in truth, a proclamation that "anyone can almost do it".

Disc 1
1. Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
2. Black Sheep - Vice Squad
3. I Hate People - The Anti-Nowhere League
4. Homicide - 999
5. Chinese Rocks [Live] - Johnny Thunders
6. Four Minute Warning - Chaos UK
7. Bad Boy - The Adicts
8. GLC - Menace
9. How Much Longer? - Atv
10. Listen - Stiff Little Fingers
11. Alternative - The Exploited
12. Babylons Burning - Ruts
13. White Light, White Heat - Slaughter & the Dogs
14. Disco Man - The Damned
15. Another Dead - Anti-Pasti


Disc 2
1. Catch - G.B.H.
2. Evacuate - Chelsea
3. Jet Boy, Jet Girl - Chron Gen
4. Joker in the Pack - The Adicts
5. Thinking of the USA - Eater
6. Bone Idol - Drones
7. No Faith - Suburban Studs
8. Kill the Poor - Dead Kennedys
9. Hurry up Harry - Sham 69
10. Chinese Takeaway - The Adicts
11. Help! - The Damned
12. All My Friends Are Dead - Patrick Fitzgerald
13. I Live in a Car - U.K. Subs
14. Tough Shit Wilson - Splodge
15. Teenage Depression - Eddie & the Hot Rods


Disc 3
1. New Guitar in Town - Lurkers
2. Peaches - The Stranglers
3. No Time to Be 21 - The Adverts
4. Misadventure - Chron Gen
5. New Rose - The Damned
6. Cut Your Head Off - Electric Sex Circus
7. Mess - Newtown Neurotics
8. Machine Gun Kelly - Angelic Upstarts
9. Cum on Feel the Noize - One Way System
10. Baby Baby - The Vibrators
11. Upstart - Angelic Upstarts
12. Bullshit Crass - Special Duties
13. Flares and Slippers - Cockney Rejects
14. Tommy


Disc 4
1. Fight the Cuts - The Mekons
2. Unionize - Redskins
3. It Says Here - Billy Bragg
4. Don't Dictate - Penetration
5. Old Tart - Poison Girls
6. Death of the European - Three Johns
7. Spirit of the Falklands - New Model Army
8. Paved With Gold - Joolz
9. Chemical Warfare - Dead Kennedys
10. Irrelevant Battles - Patrik Fitzgerald
11. No Respect - Newtown Neurotics
12. Selfish Few - Chaos UK
13. Fuck Religion, Fuck Politics, Fuck the Lot of You - Chaotic Dischord
14. Hitler's in the Charts Again - The Exploited
15. Bye Bye England - 999


Disc 5
1. Submission - The Sex Pistols
2. Soldier Soldier - Spizzenergi
3. (I'm in Love With) Margaret Thatcher - Not Sensibles
4. Government Stinks - Violators
5. If the Kids Are United - Sham 69
6. Glad to Be Gay '94 - Tom Robinson
7. Between the Wars - Billy Bragg
8. Fascist Regime - U.K. Subs
9. Streets of London - The Anti-Nowhere League
10. Alternative Ulster [Live] - Stiff Little Fingers
11. Solidarity/Sing a Tune - Angelic Upstarts, Upstarts
12. Persons Unknown - Poison Girls
13. Fruit Flies - Three Johns
14. Living With Unemployment - Newtown Neurotics
15. No Government - Anti-Pasti


Disc 6
1. Class War - The Exploited
2. Protest and Survive - Varukers
3. Politicians and Ministers - The Threats
4. Fuck the Tories - Riot Squad
5. How Sad - The Adicts
6. Rowche Rumble - The Fall
7. America - The Au Pairs
8. Fiasco - Chron Gen
9. Cop Cars - The Boys
10. Peasant in the Big Shitty - The Stranglers
11. Reds Strike the Blues - Redskins
12. Do You Believe in the Westworld - Theatre of Hate
13. Stand Strong Stand Proud [Live] - Vice Squad
14. Vengeance - New Model Army
15. In a Rut - Ruts


Disc 7
1. Mania - Strike
2. Five Minute Fashion - Infa-Riot
3. Suburban Rebels [Live] - The Business
4. Two Pints of Lager - Splodgenessabounds
5. Police Car - Cockney Rejects
6. Blind Ambition - The Partisans
7. Time Bomb - Blitz
8. Rapist - Combat 84
9. Runnin' Riot [Live] - Cock Sparrer
10. Clockwork Skinhead - The 4-Skins
11. Violence in Our Minds - The Last Resort
12. Give a Dog a Bone - Sham 69
13. Riot Riot - Infa-Riot
14. Borstal Breakout - Accident
15. Get Out of My 'Ouse - The Business
16. Two Little Boys - Splodgenessabounds
17. Such Fun - Blood
18. Motorhead - Cockney Rejects
19. Daily News [Live] - The Exploited
20. 4q - Blitz
21. Poseur - Combat 84
22. Run for Cover - Cock Sparrer
23. Plastic Gangsters - The 4-Skins
24. Leave Me Alone - Angelic Upstarts
25. Held Hostage - The Last Resort


Disc 8
1. Joys of Oi! - Gonads
2. Last Years Youth - Menace
3. Blitzkreig Bop - Accident
4. Naplam Job
5. Tell Us the Truth - Sham 69
6. Wiffy Woman - Splodgenessabounds
7. Change - The Partisans
8. Outlaw - The Business
9. Living Next Door to Alice - Chron Gen
10. Youth - Blitz
11. F82123 - Combat 84
12. Never Return to Hell - Angelic Upstarts
13. Teenage Heart - Cock Sparrer
14. Come Clean - The Partisans
15. Product [Live] - The Business
16. Smiling My Life Away - Case
17. Street Rock 'N' Roll [Live] - Section-5
18. Gonads Theme - Gonads
19. Emergency - Infa-Riot
20. Delirious - Splodgenessabounds
21. When Will They Learn - Angelic Upstarts
22. Garageland - Accident
23. Escape - Blitz
24. Dead Generation - Cockney Rejects
25. Gestapo Khazi - Blood


Disc 9
1. On Yer Bike
2. You Kept Me Waiting - Crack
3. I Won't Pay for Liberty - Angelic Upstarts
4. Soldier - Criminal Class
5. Cockney Kids Are Innocent [Live] - Sham 69
6. School's Out - Infa-Riot
7. Eat the Rich - Gonads
8. Time Was Right - The Partisans
9. Chasing Rainbows - The Business
10. Transvestite [Live] - Peter & the Test Tube Babies
11. Computers Don't Blunder - The Exploited
12. Summer Holiday [Live] - The 4-Skins
13. Stark Raving Normal - Blood
14. Twist and Turn - Slaughter & the Dogs
15. Brighton Bomb - Angelic Upstarts
16. Disco Girls - The Business
17. Oh! - Case
18. Every Saturday [Live] - Section-5
19. Eight Pounds a Week - The Last Resort
20. I'm on Heat - Lurkers
21. Jinx [Live] - Peter & the Test Tube Babies
22. Cum on Feel the Noize - Crack
23. It Will Only Ever Be - Cockney Rejects
24. Dick Barton


Disc 10
1. Land of Hope and Glory
2. Splitting in Two - Atv
3. Woman in Disguise - Angelic Upstarts
4. Finger Up Bum - Chaos UK
5. Fuck Your Nationality - Disorder
6. G.L.O.R.I.A. - Eddie & the Hot Rods
7. Born to Lose - Johnny Thunders
8. Self Destruct - U.K. Subs
9. Judy Says (Knock You in the Head) - The Vibrators
10. Fuck It Up - The Adicts
11. Expensive Being Poor - TV Smith
12. Smash It Up - Captain Sensible
13. Goat Fuckin' Virgin Killerz from Hell - Chaotic Dischord


Disc 11
1. I Kill Children - Dead Kennedys
2. Get Raped - Eater
3. Dead and Buried - Alien Sex Fiend
4. Pass the Axe - G.B.H.
5. Boys in the Gang - 999
6. Stab the Judge - One Way System
7. Angel of Death - Screaming Dead
8. Up Yer Bum - Peter & the Test Tube Babies
9. Massacred Millions - Varukers
10. New Blood - Vice Squad
11. Locked in a Room With Betty - Paul Fenech
12. Baby's Got a Gun - The Only Ones
13. Psychowoman - Kirk Brandon


Disc 12
1. Belsen - Sid Vicious
2. Because the Night - Beki Bondage
3. Murder in the Subway - Attak
4. Burn in Your Own Flame - Anti-Pasti
5. Razors in the Night - Blitz
6. Sick on You - The Boys
7. 17 Years of Hell - The Partisans
8. I've Got a Gun - Channel 3
9. Rape and Pillage - Chaotic Dischord
10. Riot in the City - Riot Squad
11. Just Thirteen - Lurkers
12. Rock & Roll Nigger - Brix Smith


Disc 13
1. Anarchy in the U.K. - The Sex Pistols
2. Codeine - The Barracudas
3. 50 Years of Comparative Wealth - Steve Diggle
4. Victim of the NHS - Disorder
5. I Believe in Anarchy - The Exploited
6. George - Patrik Fitzgerald
7. Absolution - 999
8. Silent Night - The Only Ones
9. (She's Got) Big Boots
10. 8 Days a Week - The Runaways
11. I'm the Leader of the Gang - Peter & the Test Tube Babies
12. Personality Crisis - Johnny Thunders
13. Smart Alex - The Adicts
14. Police Oppression - Angelic Upstarts
15. Action Time Vision - Atv
16. Take No Heroes


Disc 14
1. No Fun - Iggy Pop
2. Christian Militia - New Model Army
3. Right to Work [Live] - Chelsea
4. Get Up and Fight - Newtown Neurotics
5. Should I Stay or Should I Go - Long Tall Texans
6. Pretend - Chron Gen
7. Gun Fury - The Damned
8. First Time - The Boys
9. Hersham Boys - Sham 69
10. Firing Squad - Penetration
11. Spanner Badge - Electric Sex Circus
12. Happy Talk - Captain Sensible
13. No War No Hate - Red London
14. Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle - Chaotic Dischord


Disc 15
1. Ballroom Blitz - Long Tall Texans
2. So What [Live] - The Anti-Nowhere League
3. Living Dead - U.K. Subs
4. Fascist Dictator - Cortinas
5. Generals - The Damned
6. I Wanna Be Your Dog - Anti-Pasti
7. Ode to Joy - The Adicts
8. Teenile Dementia - Morgans
9. Go Buddy Go [Live] - The Stranglers
10. Who Killed Et? (I Killed the Fucker) - Chaotic Dischord
11. Last Night Another Soldier - Angelic Upstarts
12. Kick Out the Jams - MC5
13. Bomb Blast - Varukers
14. Harry May - The Business


Disc 16
1 Argy Bargy - Cock Sparrer
2 Borstal Breakout - Sham 69
3 Suspect Device (live) - Stiff Little Fingers
4 Low Life - The 4 Skins
5 I Dont Care - The Boys
6 Warriors - Blitz
7 Jacknory - Joolz
8 Gary Gilmores Eyes (live) - The Adverts
9 Where Have All The Bootboys Gone - Slaughter And The Dogs
10 Police State - Special Duties
11 Streetheat - Knox
12 Search And Destroy - Iggy Pop
13 Atishoo - Morgans
14 Shake Rattle Bang Your Head - The Adicts


Disc 17
1 Ray Gun - The Bomb Party
2 Ha Ha - Scarehead
3 Blitz Krieg Bop - Newtown Neurotics
4 Chronic Generation - Chron Gen
5 Wot (live) - Captain Sensible
6 Rebel Without A Brain - Theater Of Hate
7 Cnd - Red London
8 Beki Bondage - Coming For You - Ligotage
9 California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys
10 Mr. X - Pauline Murray
11 Jumping Jack Flash - The Vibrators
12 Fifteen - Eater
13 Be My Baby - The Drones
14 Cyanide - The Lurkers
15 Atum Drum Bop - The 3 Johns



Disc 18
01 The Mudder Of Liddle Towers (live) - Angelic Upstarts
02 Pretty Vacant (live) - The Sex Pistols
03 Rality - Chron Gen
04 The Last Time (live) - Chelsea
05 Motor City Is Burning - Mc5
06 Lets Break The Law - Anti Nowhere League
07 Do What I Do - The Resurrection Experience
08 King Of The Jungle - Last Resort
09 Kill Your Baby - Cahos Uk
10 Youll Never Walk Alone - The Adicts
11 Nagasaki Sauce - The Macc Lads
12 I Got Nothing - I Got Shit - Iggy Pop
13 I Lost My Love To A Uk Sub - The Gonads
14 One Law For Them - The 4 Skins



Disc 19
01 For Whats It Worth - Hugh Cornwell
02 My Way - Sid Vicious
03 Space Oddity - Brix Smith
04 I Fought The Law - Gene October
05 Teenge Kicks - Public Menace
06 As Tears Go By - Sexgang Children
07 Summertime - Hazel Oconnor
08 Barbed Wire - Skalette Ohara
09 Herabreaker - Spike
10 Free Money - Pauline Murray
11 50ft Queenie - Dork
12 A Hard Rains Gonna Fall - Arthur Brown


Disc 20
01 Slammers - King Kurt
02 See Through - Guana Batz
03 Transvestite Blues - Demented Are Go
04 Lts Go Somewhere - Frantic Flintstones
05 Wooly Bully (live) - The Highliners
06 Whip It Up - The Deltas
07 Coffin Nails - Coffin Nails
08 Jhonny Cynic - Scared Stiff
09 Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Tailgators
10 Bambooland (live) - Batmobile
11 Militant Tendency - The Stingrays
12 Raisin Hell - The Batfinks
13 Im On Fire - Guana Batz