''Somery'' 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 1991 through SST Records. It compiles songs from their '' Fat EP'' (1981) and the albums '' Milo Goes to College'' (1982), '' I Don't Want to Grow Up'' (1985), '' Enjoy!'' (1986), and ''

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 ...

'' (1987).

Background

In 1987 SST Records had purchased the Descendents' previous label

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 ...

, releasing their 1987 album ''

'' and re-releasing all of their previous material. Following the Descendents' final tours in spring and summer 1987, singer Milo Aukerman had left the band to pursue a career in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. The remaining members—bassist

Karl Alvarez Karl Matthew Alvarez (born March 10, 1964) is an American bassist and songwriter for both the Descendents and All (band), All, the band that resulted after the Descendents disbanded again in 1987. Alvarez joined the Descendents after the ''Enjoy! ...

, guitarist

Stephen Egerton Stephen Egerton may refer to: * Stephen Egerton (priest) (1555?–1621?), English clergyman * Stephen Egerton (diplomat) (1932–2006), British Ambassador to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Italy *Stephen Egerton (guitarist) Stephen Patrick O'Reilly (bor ...

, and drummer Bill Stevenson—relaunched the band under the name

, releasing three albums on the SST subsidiary

Cruz Records Cruz Records was an offshoot record label of SST Records, owned by the Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. The label was founded in 1987. Its roster consisted mainly of pop punk and grunge bands, along with Ginn's solo records. The label has rema ...

between 1988 and 1991 with singers Dave Smalley and Scott Reynolds. SST also released the Descendents

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s ''

Liveage! ''Liveage!'' is a live album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1987 through SST Records. The band's first live album, it was recorded July 13, 1987 at First Avenue in Minneapolis during their summer 1987 "FinALL" tour, ...

'' (1987) and '' Hallraker: Live!'' (1989), both recorded during the final two Descendents tours. ''Somery'' was released in 1991, compiling tracks from the Descendents' past studio releases. Stevenson created the cover art for the compilation while Egerton did the graphics. The Descendents would later reunite with Aukerman in 1995 to record '' Everything Sucks''. Stevenson remarked in 1993 that "''Somery'' sold more than any of the Descendents albums put together. All the kids are just now getting into it, so that way they can buy one record and kind of get into it and see what it's all about, and then if they really like it they can buy all the other records. See, back when we were touring, nobody came to see us. It's only now hatthe Descendents have become popular."

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

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 ''Somery'' four and a half stars out of five, saying that although "a handful of great songs from their best albums are missing, ''Somery'' nevertheless selects the highlights from their occasionally uneven records, making it a useful and comprehensive retrospective." Erlewine's colleague Mike DaRonco called it a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

that "Pep Talk" from ''

'' was not included on the compilation. 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 ...

gave the album an A− rating, opining that the 1988 compilation ''

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 ...

'' contained the band's best material, "But anyone beguiled, enthralled, or smacked between the eyes by how nakedly these guys don't quite understand their class rage and love-hungry sexual anxiety will hear through their bouts of misogyny and sophomoric humor for the 19 more tuneful if less inspired selections from three later and lesser albums, as in the tortured breakup song/metaphor 'Clean Sheets' and the fuckup/square's confession 'Coolidge'."

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 ...

'' called ''Somery'' "the only Descendents record to qualify as must-have. It's got virtually all of the winning songs, from the goofy hardcore tunes ..to the more commercial-sounding rockers".

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *

–

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 ...

on tracks from ''All'' * 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 ...

* Doug Carrion – bass guitar on tracks from ''Enjoy!'' *Ray Cooper –

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 tracks from ''I Don't Want to Grow Up'' and ''Enjoy!'' *

– guitar on tracks from ''All'', graphics * Frank Navetta – guitar on tracks from the ''Fat EP'' and ''Milo Goes to College'' * Tony Lombardo – bass guitar on tracks from the ''Fat EP'', ''Milo Goes to College'', and ''I Don't Want to Grow Up'' * 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 ...

, cover art,

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 ...

of tracks from ''I Don't Want to Grow Up'', ''Enjoy!'', and ''All'' ;Production *Richard Andrews – engineer of tracks from ''Enjoy!'' and ''All'' *Ethan James – engineer of tracks from ''Enjoy!'' *

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 and engineer of tracks from the ''Fat EP'' and ''Milo Goes to College'' *David Tarling – producer and engineer of tracks from ''I Don't Want to Grow Up''

References

External links

''Somery''
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control Descendents albums 1991 compilation albums SST Records compilation albums Albums produced by Bill Stevenson (musician)