"Just Perfect" is a song by the American punk rock band

All All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

, released as a single from their 1988 debut album ''

Allroy Sez ''Allroy Sez'' is the debut album by the American punk rock band All, released in March 1988 through Cruz Records. Following the departure of singer Milo Aukerman from the Descendents, the remaining members—bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Step ...

''. Written by drummer Bill Stevenson, "Just Perfect" was remixed from the original album version for release as a single. The B-side track "Wishing Well", written by singer

Dave Smalley Dave Smalley is an American musician, best known as the lead singer for the hardcore punk bands DYS, Dag Nasty, and All and as lead singer/guitarist with Down by Law. He is known for his influence on pop punk music and his early contribution ...

, is from the ''Allroy Sez'' recording sessions but was not included on the album. Both tracks were later included on the

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a 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 released in Oc ...

release of All's following EP, ''

Allroy for Prez ''Allroy for Prez'' is an EP by the American punk rock band All, released in 1988 through Cruz Records. Released the same year as the band's debut album, ''Allroy Sez'', the EP was All's final release with their original singer Dave Smalley. B ...

'' (1988).

Recording

Both songs on the single were recorded during the ''Allroy Sez'' sessions in November and December 1987 at Third Wave Recording in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

, with Stevenson and Richard Andrews acting as

record producers 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 ...

. Smalley later recalled that Stevenson was demanding and meticulous in the recording of "Just Perfect":

I had to sing "Just Perfect" for like four hours in the studio until he got the take he wanted. I said "Dude, I’m really hungry. Let’s take a little break and I’ll come back to it." He comes back with this big
Snickers Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion . In the United ...
bar, tapes it to the other side of the glass and says "When you’re done you can have it!" I’m like "Oh my god, are you fucking kidding me? Alright, fucking push play."

A live recording of "Just Perfect" was later released on All's 1990 live album '' Trailblazer'', sung by Smalley's successor Scott Reynolds. The studio version of "Just Perfect" was later remixed by Stevenson, Egerton, and Jason Livermore for All's best-of compilation album ''

'' (1999).

Reception

Reviewing the single, critic Jack Rabid called "Just Perfect" the best song from ''Allroy Sez'' and compared it to the band's previous work as the

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 ...

(the Descendents had changed their name to All when singer

Milo Aukerman Milo Jay Aukerman (; born January 1, 1963) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and former research molecular biologist. Aukerman is most widely known for being the lead singer of the punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to b ...

left the band in 1987): "Even without Milo, they seem legit if they can keep pouring out tunes as special as this one that compare favorably with their older incarnation/name's terrific body of work going back almost a decade."

Track listing

Personnel

;Band * Karl Alvarez –

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 ...

, back cover drawing * Stephen Egerton –

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 strin ...

–

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 withou ...

* Bill Stevenson – drums, producer ;Production *Richard Andrews – producer *Matt Rector – cover photograph

References

{{authority control All (band) songs 1988 singles American pop punk songs 1988 songs Songs written by Bill Stevenson (musician)