Dr Strange US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Following two whoppingly successful reissues of the US punk band's foremost albums Joyride (1984) and The Fun Just Never Ends (1985), Dr Strange now continue in the effort to retrospect the work of Government Issue, whose repertoire is at first glance hardcore, but on second listen incorporates everything from new wave to psych - especially on their later records. Such is the case on their self-titled sixth album, which does indeed err on the melodious side, while nonetheless igniting our innermost populist drives. The most curious cut of their career by far appears on this record in the form of 'Memories Past', which makes things sounds as if the band is resurfacing from a miasma of anger and into a kind of comedown or delirium; the tone is set for the album's coda, 'On The Screen', a similarly melancholic, but twangier experiment.

Notes: Bill "Doc" Plaster grew up in Southern California, Punk Rock's epicenter during the early 80s. The origin story of Dr. Strange Records; the mail order, label and record store is at times sad, painful, and funny yet always heart felt. This book packs in tons of stories of "the good old days" and loads of never before seen photos from the Doc's personal 35mm camera of: Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, GBH, The Dickies and more!