Man, you know you’re getting old when bands start celebrating 20th, 25th and even 30th anniversaries of albums… that you brought 1st time around!!
Case in point; “Let’s Wreck the Party” by Canadian trailblazers DOA, that I purchased from the band after a gig at the 100 Club, London is September 1985. Years later I read that the copy I had, with a small DOA logo in the centre of the cover sleeve, was in fact a misprint, due to a cock-up at the printers, and was replaced as soon as the proper covers were pressed up. The cover of this reissue CD though is the original North American sleeve, with a photo of the band disrupting a family Thanksgiving Dinner, turkey and all!
Released on Just in Time Records in Canada, and Alternative Tentacles in the U.S.A and Europe, the line up saw Joe Shithead (vocals/ guitar) Dave Gregg (guitar) augmented by a new, but seasoned rhythm section for the bands 3rd LP; Brian “Sunny Boy Roy” Goble from the (Canadian) Subhumans on bass, and departed drummer Chuck Biscuits older brother Dimwit on drums. Dimwit had played with Shithead in their pre-DOA outfit The Skulls, and had been in and out of DOA since their incarnation…
So, revamped line-up, and “Let’s Wreck the Party” also a saw marked shift from the straight up full tilt rowdy Hardcore Punk of the first 2 albums, and a more Hard Rocking direction with great effect. I loved this album at the time and all these years down the line it still floats my boat big time, with songs that rally against money grubbing corporations, the plight of North America’s native population, mainstream media control and “General Strike” encouraged people to stand up for their rights in the work place.It’s a topical number, and a timely reminder that whilst many of us have redundancy constantly hanging over our heads, tighter working conditions and zero pay rises to deal with an ever increasing cost of living, the bosses and company CEO’s still get their six figure salaries and mega bonuses: “everything is not alright, and there’s no end in sight”. The latter track remains a staple of DOA’s live set, as does “Race Riot” with its blunt anti-racist message… “race riot, don’t buy it, we don’t want that crap – no, no, no”…
If you’re starting out with DOA, then I’d recommend you first check out “Hardcore ‘81” and “Something Better Change”, but definitely follow them up with a shot of “Let’s Wreck the Party”.
Pete Craven