Discography: G, H & I

Editor Dan Stoten takes you through his CD collection letter by letter, picking out the essential purchases, the hidden gems, and the best avoided...

It's been a couple of months since I last wrote an instalment of Discography, so thought it high time to take you through some more. Bands beginning with G, H, and I in my collection are quite thin on the ground so I have decided to combine the three.

Essentials: 

Green Day, Dookie, Reprise Records, 1994

OK, so you saw that coming. No punk CD collection is complete without the Californian trio's breakthrough record. The beauty of this CD, in my eyes, is that there is a good mix here of singles (and more famous tracks), such as Welcome to Paradise, Basket Case, She and When I Come Around, as well as album tracks. Indeed it is arguably these album tracks which are the strongest songs, with Burnout and Having A Blast both perfectly capturing the spirit of mid-nineties teen angst. As has been said thousands of times before now, this is a record which made the punk scene what it is today. For that reason alone it should be in your collection.

Goldfinger, The Best of Goldfinger,  Universal Records, 2005

From one classic, genre-shaping band, to another. Feldmann's Goldfinger have been tearing up the ska-punk scene for twenty years now, and with this, their compilation album, condensed all of that musical genius into one brilliant seventeen-track record. Again, arguably the highlights here are those less well-known songs (San Simeon, for example, is simply spellbinding), and the previously unreleased The Innocent. A band which persistently deliver a message in their music, this is a record which shows that the band are able to have a good time as well as deliver their political agenda. This, again, is a truly essential album. 

Imperial Leisure, The Art Of Saying Nothing, Steamroller Records, 2008

You won't find a better ska-punk record from the UK underground than this absolutely storming record from Imperial Leisure. Having recently toured with the born-again King Prawn, this is a band which manages to combine an incessant energy with a brilliantly cheeky style. The Art Of Saying Nothing is absolutely rammed full of bouncing ska-punk bangers, with The Beast  and Man On The Street leading the skanking charge. If you haven't seen these guys live, then make sure you change that, as the party atmosphere they create is addictive. Imperial Leisure know how to make brilliantly catchy ska-punk, and know how to do it very, very well.

Hidden Gem:

Hawk Nelson, Smile, It's The End Of The World, Tooth & Nail Records, 2006

A slightly unique combination of pop-punk and Christian rock, Hawk Nelson are one of those bands which you shouldn't dismiss before giving them a go. Taken at surface value, this is a brilliant emo/pop-punk album with a darker edge, with tracks such as Zero genuinely managing to pull at the heart strings, and Fourteen being absolutely laden with emotion. However, this is counteracted by the more celebratory Bring 'Em Out and The Show. The religious side to the lyrics is there, but as with any music, only applicable to those who choose to apply it to themselves. For me, personally, this is a brilliant little pop-punk album from a band who get barely any exposure in the UK. Worth a look, and rewarding if you can find it.

Avoid:

Green Day, Any from iUno!, iDos!, iTre!, Reprise Records, 2012

A shocking middle-finger to legions of fans who had been there from the beginning, this cynical trio of records by the pop-punk pioneers reeks of money-making. Across the three discs there are maybe one or two tracks which are worthy of mention, with Let Yourself Go (iUno) being the absolute highlight. Reaching "two-for-£10" bargain bins barely a month after release, these three are CDs to leave where they belong: on the shelf.