Dope, Guns, 'N Fucking In The Streets (Vol. 1-11) Review

When it comes to discussing the Alternative Rock movement in the 1990’s there are 2 backgrounds people come from on it. The first place is the when many of the bands they heard about were signed to major labels, having music videos on MTV, playing in large festivals or stadiums. The other group of people tend to talk about these bands as they were seeing them in small clubs, having self-released cassettes, or maybe being tagged along by a much bigger band. Edgy and in-your-face marketing applies to both camps. Nowadays finding a proper compilation to experience this time period is difficult for artistic and legal reasons, specifically for the underground bands. Thank God there’s Amphetamine Reptile Records “Dope, Guns, and Fucking In The Streets”, series of 7 inch singles that lasted for a good chuck of that time frame and delivers what you want and need.

The series started in 1988 and soldiered on until 1994/5 with the final volume coming out in 1997/8 (the time frame is a little wonky). Most 7 inch singles featured 4 bands belting out tunes, though some volumes were double vinyl sets and featured an additional band. Most of these bands do hail from America but you get some outside of the country bands hailing from Japan, England, and a lot of Australian groups (label connections more than anything).

As you slowly progress though this collection you get a very solid idea of what the underground Rock scene was doing in America at that time. Whether their sound was rooted more in the Garage side (U-Men, Gas Huffer), more Metal styled (Melvins, Today Is The Day, Helmet), some classic Punk Rock (Thee Mighty Caesars, Cosmic Psychos), the at-the-time popular Grunge movement (Tad, Mudhoney, Lonely Moans), some psychedelic flair (Helios Creed, Love 666, Bailter Space), or just flat out weirdness (The Thrown Ups, Boredoms, Steel Pole Bath Tub) there’s a ton of variety here spread across 2 CD’s/3LP’s (you choose your format).

Every player involved knew this was a cheap and easy way to get their possibly established fan bases a treat but also introduce themselves to new comers who might have been attracted to the series’ spicy title. Either way no one on here can be accused of slacking when it came to the numbers they chose to put on here. In some cases the bands put out their definitive song (King Snake Roost with their song “My Zippo” certainly fits the bill).

Now obviously with a collection of nearly 50 songs on here you’re not going to like everybody but that’s the point. This is a snap shot of that time period. That band you saw playing a local club one year could be playing in a packed stadium or complete dissolve by the next year. That’s the risk they took and its the risk you take when picking up the original singles. This compilation is a wild ride from start to finish and can be frequently heard coming out of my speakers wherever I might be

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Final score: 5 out 5 stars.

Selected tracks, one from each individual single: U-Men “Bad Little Woman”, Lonely Moans “Lots ‘O Life”, Helios Creed “The Last Laugh”, King Snake Roost “My Zippo”, Lubricated Goat “Bad Times”, Melvins “Euthanasia”, The Crows “Capitol Hillbillies”, Fetish 69 “Deep Scar Man”, Superchunk “Basement Life”, Supernova “Sugar Coated Stucco”, Boredoms “Pukuri”, Today Is The Day “Execution Style”, Servotron “Matrix Of Perfection”