''Bonus Fat'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1985 through

New Alliance Records New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern Califo ...

. It combines the band's 1979 debut single "Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" with their 1981 '' Fat EP'' and the track "Global Probing" from the 1981 New Alliance compilation ''Chunks''. The compilation's cover combines guitarist Frank Navetta's illustration for the ''Fat EP'' with a caricature of singer Milo Aukerman drawn by Jeff "Rat" Atkins. New Alliance initially released ''Bonus Fat'' as an EP. In 1987 New Alliance was sold to SST, who re-released ''Bonus Fat'' on EP,

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

, and

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

. In 1988 SST paired ''Bonus Fat'' with the band's debut album '' Milo Goes to College'' as ''

Two Things at Once ''Two Things at Once'' is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1988 through SST Records. It combines the band's 1982 debut album ''Milo Goes to College'' with the 1985 release '' Bonus Fat'', itself a co ...

'', a single release compiling all of the band's recorded output from 1979 to 1982.

Reception

Ned Raggett of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave ''Bonus Fat'' three stars out of five and focused his comments on "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World", calling them "gentle, surf-inspired

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

more than anything else." He noted that "It's a Hectic World" is "even more explicitly surfy in ways, but with a nervous, flat new wave edge to it as well — not quite

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

if they grew up on the coast, but there's something to that comparison."

Jenny Eliscu Jenny Eliscu is a radio host for Sirius XM and a contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. She also had a recurring presence on the TV program ''I'm from Rolling Stone'' and has been on other music programs, including ''Behind the Music' ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' remarked that the inclusion of these two songs "can't be considered much of a bonus." Rock critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

similarly called these two tracks "forgettable ndsurprisingly poppish" but gave the compilation an A− rating on the strength of the ''Fat EP'' material, which he said sounded better on this release than on the original EP.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band * Milo Aukerman –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Frank Navetta –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

on "Ride the Wild", cover illustration * Tony Lombardo –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals on "It's a Hectic World" * Bill Stevenson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Production *

Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

of side A *David Nolte – producer and mix engineer of side B *Jeff "Rat" Atkins – Milo character illustration

References

External links

''Bonus Fat''
at

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(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control Descendents albums 1985 compilation albums New Alliance Records compilation albums