''Brats in Battalions'' is the second studio album by the American
punk rock band the
Adolescents
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
, released in August 1987 on
SOS Records
SOS Records is a California-based punk-rock record label. The label was founded by Rob Chaos of Total Chaos and Ezzat Soliman.
Bands
* 4 Past Midnight
*Abrasive Wheels
*The Adicts
*Adolescents
* The Agitators
*Antidote
*Bad Manners
* Bang Suga ...
, the band's
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
. It followed a reunion of the band after a five-year breakup, and subsequent lineup changes which saw drummer
Casey Royer
Casey A. Royer, (born October 8, 1958), is an American musician. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Royer is best known as the lead vocalist for Southern Californian punk rock band D.I. and as a drummer for the Adolescents.
Early years
...
and original guitarist
Frank Agnew
Francis Thomas "Frank" Agnew (born August 18, 1964) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of punk rock band the Adolescents. Frank's brothers Rikk Agnew and Alfie Agnew, as well as his son Frank Agnew Jr., are als ...
replaced, respectively, by Sandy Hanson of
the Mechanics {{unreferenced, date=April 2018
The Mechanics (1977–1981) are considered to be the first punk band to come out of Fullerton, California.
The Mechanics were a fusion of two bands, the L.A. Brats (Scott, Dennis, Brett and Sandy, which also f ...
and by Agnew's younger brother,
Alfie Agnew
Alfonso F. "Alfie" Agnew (born January 24, 1969) is an American mathematician, singer, musician and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Agnew is best known for being a member of the punk bands the Adolescents and D.I. as well a ...
. ''Brats in Battalions'' explores several styles of punk rock and features new recordings of all three songs from 1981's ''
Welcome to Reality'' EP, as well as
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of the traditional
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
"
The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. ...
" and
the Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
' "I Got a Right". Singer
Tony Brandenburg (here using the
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Tony Montana) left the band after this album, and the Adolescents recorded one more album without him, 1988's ''
Balboa Fun*Zone
''Balboa Fun*Zone'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in 1988 on Triple X Records. Titled after the Balboa Fun Zone amusement area of Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, it is the band's only album r ...
'', before breaking up for another 12 years.
Background and recording
The Adolescents had broken up in August 1981, two months before the release of their ''
Welcome to Reality'' EP.
Guitarist
Rikk Agnew
Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as we ...
, who had left the band earlier that year after the release of their debut album, ''
Adolescents
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
'', joined the
gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...
band
Christian Death
Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized reli ...
, playing on their 1982 album ''
Only Theatre of Pain
''Only Theatre of Pain'' is the first studio album by the American rock band Christian Death, released on March 24, 1982, by the Frontier record label.
It is considered by most critics to be the harbinger of the deathrock style of music, as well ...
'', and released a solo album, ''
All by Myself
"All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Sergei Rachmaninoff's circa 1900–1901 '' Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor'', Opus 18. The ...
'' (1982).
Singer
Tony Brandenburg formed a new band, the Abandoned, who released one album, ''Killed by Faith'' (1985).
Bassist
Steve Soto and guitarist
Frank Agnew
Francis Thomas "Frank" Agnew (born August 18, 1964) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of punk rock band the Adolescents. Frank's brothers Rikk Agnew and Alfie Agnew, as well as his son Frank Agnew Jr., are als ...
joined Los Angeles punk band
Legal Weapon
Legal Weapon were a Southern California-based punk band, initially composed of singer Kat Arthur and guitarist Brian Hansen (both previously of the Silencers), bassist Patricia Morrison (formerly of Bags and later of the Gun Club, the Sisters o ...
, playing on their 1982 album ''
Death of Innocence
''Death of Innocence'' is the first album by the American punk rock band Legal Weapon. It was independently released in 1982 on Arsenal Records.
Critical reception
''Trouser Press'' wrote that "''Death of Innocence'' catapulted Legal Weapon int ...
''; Agnew remained with them for ''
Your Weapon'', released later that year, then moved on to Hvy Drt, playing on their 1985 ''Hvy Drt'' EP.
Drummer
Casey Royer
Casey A. Royer, (born October 8, 1958), is an American musician. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Royer is best known as the lead vocalist for Southern Californian punk rock band D.I. and as a drummer for the Adolescents.
Early years
...
, meanwhile, started
D.I., taking on the role of singer, and was joined by Rikk Agnew for the
''D.I.'' EP (1983).
Agnew then brought in his younger brother,
Alfie Agnew
Alfonso F. "Alfie" Agnew (born January 24, 1969) is an American mathematician, singer, musician and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Agnew is best known for being a member of the punk bands the Adolescents and D.I. as well a ...
, and the two remained in D.I. until 1987, playing on the albums ''
Ancient Artifacts
''Ancient Artifacts'' is D.I.'s first full-length studio album, which was released in 1985. "Hang Ten in East Berlin" and "Spiritual Law" were later re-recorded on the band's second album, ''Horse Bites Dog Cries'', which was released in 1986. " ...
'' (1985) and ''
Horse Bites Dog Cries
''Horse Bites Dog Cries'' is the second studio album by the American punk rock band D.I. It was originally released in 1986, on the label Reject. The album was recorded at Casbah Studios in Fullerton, California in 1985 with Chaz Ramirez (of Soc ...
'' (1986), and the ''Team Goon'' EP (1987).
The Adolescents lineup of Brandenburg (now using the
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Tony Montana), Soto, Royer, and Rikk and Frank Agnew played a reunion show in April 1986 at Fender's Ballroom in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
which led to the band re-forming.
They played more shows and began working on material for a new album, recording a
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
of two new songs, "The Liar" and "Peasant Song".
Frank Agnew left the band after a few months, however, and was replaced by his younger brother Alfie, then Royer left the group that August.
"Casey wanted to keep D.I. going, and I lost interest", said Frank.
"I think that when Casey left, the band lost a major part of its sound", reflected Brandenburg in 1989. "Casey always played this kinda
surf beat. On top of that, he was a major part of the vocal attack. When Casey left, the band...changed".
Royer's replacement was Sandy Hanson, formerly of
the Mechanics {{unreferenced, date=April 2018
The Mechanics (1977–1981) are considered to be the first punk band to come out of Fullerton, California.
The Mechanics were a fusion of two bands, the L.A. Brats (Scott, Dennis, Brett and Sandy, which also f ...
, a fellow
Fullerton, California
Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617.
Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...
band that had been a key influence on the Adolescents.
The new Adolescents lineup entered Advanced Media Systems in
Orange, California
Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...
in the summer of 1986 to record their new album, co-produced by the band members and Gordon R. Cox.
In addition to "The Liar" and "Peasant Song", they recorded five new songs: "Brats in Battalions", "I Love You", "Skate Babylon", "Marching with the Reich", and "She Wolf".
They also rewrote one of the band's early songs, "Do the Eddie"—a joke song from a July 1980 demo tape written about Eddie Joseph of the band Eddie and the Subtitles, who had
engineered the demo and subsequently became the band's manager—as "Do the Freddy".
The remainder of the album consisted of new recordings of all three songs from the Adolescents' 1981 EP ''
Welcome to Reality'' ("Welcome to Reality", "Losing Battle", and "Things Start Moving"), and
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of the traditional
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
"
The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. ...
" and
the Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
' "I Got a Right".
Mike McKnight played additional guitar parts on "The Liar"; he would go on to join Soto and Hanson in their post-Adolescents band Joyride during the early 1990s, and join the re-formed Adolescents from 2008–2013, playing on the albums ''
The Fastest Kid Alive
''The Fastest Kid Alive'' is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in June 2011 on Concrete Jungle Records. It was the band's first album not to include at least one of the Agnew brothers ( Rikk, Frank, a ...
'' (2011) and ''
Presumed Insolent
''Presumed Insolent'' is the sixth studio album by American hardcore punk band the Adolescents. The record was released on July 26, 2013 via Concrete Jungle label.
Track listing
All tracks written by Tony Reflex and Steve Soto, except where note ...
'' (2013).
Brandenburg came up with the concept for ''Brats in Battalions''
' cover art, a photograph of young boys holding various firearms. Cover Kids (from Left to Right) Jim Edlund, Jason Shad, Bill Verkamp, Kenny Wetzel, Aaron Calvert, Jim Getz. Picture taken at Rio Vista Park in Anaheim, California.
Release and reception
After completing the album, the Adolescents toured through much of the second half of 1986.
Alfie Agnew then left the band at the end of the year to attend college and was replaced by
Dan Colburn.
The band toured for most of 1987, and ''Brats in Battalions'' was released that August in
LP and
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 th ...
formats on the group's own label,
SOS Records
SOS Records is a California-based punk-rock record label. The label was founded by Rob Chaos of Total Chaos and Ezzat Soliman.
Bands
* 4 Past Midnight
*Abrasive Wheels
*The Adicts
*Adolescents
* The Agitators
*Antidote
*Bad Manners
* Bang Suga ...
.
In a retrospective review, Stewart Mason 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 the album 2.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "much had changed on the
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
scene since the band's
981
Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
Births
* Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027)
* Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...
split, and ''Brats in Battalions'' finds the group foundering a bit as they try to decide which of the several available fragmentary mini-genres they slot into best:
Queers
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
/
Descendents
The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...
-style
pop/punk,
Redd Kross
Redd Kross is an American rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school. With the additio ...
-style sarcastic
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 ...
,
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...
-like
Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana (music), a genre or style of American music
*Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
,
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...
-like
punk metal
A number of overlapping punk rock subgenres have developed since the emergence of punk rock (often shortened to ''punk'') in the mid-1970s. Even though punk genres at times are difficult to segregate, they usually show differing characteristics i ...
? All are tried on, and while most of them suit the band fine, none of them are exactly right. Interestingly, the best tracks are the
Flamin' Groovies
Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage Head' ...
-inspired raucous covers of the
proto-punk
Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...
classic 'I Got a Right' and a 'House of the Rising Sun' that turns
the Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...
' version of the song into a grinding howl of
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
energy."
Legacy
''Brats in Battalions'' was the Adolescents' last album with Brandenburg during the 1980s; both he and Colburn left the band by the end of 1987.
Brandenburg stated in 1989, "I was interested in other things (I had joined another band, the Flower Leperds), and the Adolescents touring cut into my school work".
Soto, Hanson, and Rikk Agnew decided to continue as the Adolescents with Soto and Agnew sharing lead vocal duties, and recruited guitarist Paul Casey, who left after a few months of touring.
Frank Agnew rejoined the band and they recorded the album ''
Balboa Fun*Zone
''Balboa Fun*Zone'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in 1988 on Triple X Records. Titled after the Balboa Fun Zone amusement area of Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, it is the band's only album r ...
'' (1988), released by
Triple X Records
Triple X Records was a Los Angeles-based record company started by three former employees of the bankrupt Greenworld Distribution: Dean Naleway, Peter Heur and Charley Brown.
The label was known for "a fearlessly eclectic catalogue that broke away ...
.
The band then broke up in April 1989.
Triple X re-released ''Brats in Battalions'' in
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 ...
format in 1991.
The Adolescents would reunite, with Brandenburg, in 2001.
Songs from ''Brats in Battalions'' are performed on each of the band's live albums: "I Got a Right", "The Liar", "Peasant Song", and all three of the ''Welcome to Reality'' songs appear on ''
Live 1981 & 1986'' (1989); "Brats in Battalions", "Welcome to Reality", "I Love You", "Losing Battle", and "I Got a Right" appear on ''
Return to the Black Hole
''Return to the Black Hole'' is a live album by the American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in September 1997 on Amsterdamned Records. It was recorded in December 1989 during a reunion performance by the band's 1980–81 lineup.
Backgr ...
'' (1997), and "Welcome to Reality" and "Things Start Moving" appear on ''Live at the House of Blues'' (2004).
Track listing
Writing credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
;Band
*
Tony Montana
Antonio Montana is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 1983 film ''Scarface''. This character is portrayed by Al Pacino in the film and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. Embod ...
– lead
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 ...
, producer, front cover concept
*
Rikk Agnew
Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as we ...
–
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 ...
, backing vocals, producer
*
Alfie Agnew
Alfonso F. "Alfie" Agnew (born January 24, 1969) is an American mathematician, singer, musician and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Agnew is best known for being a member of the punk bands the Adolescents and D.I. as well a ...
– guitar, backing vocals, producer
*
Steve Soto –
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 ...
, backing vocals, producer
*Sandy Hanson –
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 ...
, producer
;Additional musicians
*Mike McKnight – additional guitar on "The Liar"
*Vince Meghrouni –
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
on "The House of the Rising Sun"
;Production
*Gordon R. Cox –
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
*Bob Brown –
recording engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
*Mike Sessa – recording engineer
*Eddie Schreyer –
audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...
;Artwork
*Chris Fuhrer – front cover and insert photographs
*Steve Martinez – art direction
References
{{Authority control
Adolescents (band) albums
1987 albums