Various - We're Desperate - The L.A. Scene
Original Release Date
1993Release Information
US CD 1993 (Rhino - R2 71176)
1 The Pop! - Down On The Boulevard 2:46
2 The Dogs - Younger Point Of View 3:14
3 The Motels - Counting (Demo) 4:43
4 Germs - Forming 3:06
5 Dils - I Hate The Rich 1:42
6 The Zeros - Don't Push Me Around 2:27
7 The Weirdos - A Life Of Crime 2:22
8 The Zippers - You're So Strange 2:48
9 The Quick - Pretty Please 4:31
10 The Last - She Don't Know Why I'm Here 3:26
11 The Furys - Say Goodbye To The Black Sheep 2:28
12 The Dils - Mr. Big 1:44
13 X - We're Desperate 2:03
14 The Weirdos - We Got The Neutron Bomb 3:01
15 Germs - Lexicon Devil 2:05
16 The Alley Cats - Nothing Means Nothing Anymore 3:14
17 The Plugz - La Bamba 1:37
18 The Dickies - You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla) 1:54
19 Eyes - Topological Lies 1:34 [Punky Gibbon note: incorrectly credited as TAQN]
20 The Bags - Survive 2:47
21 X - Los Angeles 2:15
Chart Placings
NoneCredits
Produced for Release by: Gary Stewart
Sound Produced by: Bill Inglot
Project Supervision by: David McLees
Compilation: Gary Stewart
Remastering: Bill Inglot, Ken Perry
Editorial Assistance: Stephen Peeples, Darcy Sullivan, Russell Briggs, Jamie Davis, Norma Edwards
1: Back Door Man maxi-single #5001 ℗ 1977 Saintly Endeavors.
2: Dynamic single #RN 110, ℗ 1976 Loren Molinare.
3: First issued on the album Saturday Night Pogo, Rhino #RNLP 003 ℗ 1978 The Motels.
4: What? single #WHAT01 ℗ 1977 What Records?.
5: What? single #WHAT 02 ℗ 1977 What Records?.
6: Bomp! single #BOMP 110 ℗ 1977 Bomp Records.
7: Bomp! maxi-single #BOMP 112 ℗ 1977 Bomp Records.
8: Back Door Man single #5002 ℗ 1978 Bob Wallingham.
9: From the maxi-single In Tune With Our Times [fan club issue] #QUICK 1℗ 1977 The Quick.
10: Backlash single #LS001 ℗ 1977 Backlash, licensed from Vitus Mataré.
11: Double R single #1011 ℗ 1978 Gregg Embrey & Jeff Wolfe.
12: Dangerhouse single #SLA 268 ℗ 1978 Dangerhouse Records.
13: Dangerhouse single #D 88 ℗ 1978 Dangerhouse Records.
14: Dangerhouse single #SP 1063 ℗ 1978 Cliff Roman.
15: Slash maxi-single #SCAM 101 ℗ 1978 Slash Records.
16: Dangerhouse single #LOM-22 ℗ 1978 Dangerhouse Records.
17: From the album Electrify Me, #Plug PR 001 ℗ 1979 Plug Recordz.
18: A&M maxi-single #SP 12008 ℗ 1978 A&M Records, Inc..
19: Dangerhouse single #IZE 45 ℗ 1979 Dangerhouse Records.
20: Dangerhouse single #BAG 199 ℗ Dangerhouse Records, 1978.
21: From Yes L.A. EP, Dangerhouse #EW 79 ℗ 1979 Dangerhouse Records.
Reviews & Opinions
ALL MUSIC GUIDE: If D.I.Y.: We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (1976-79) is one of the weakest installments in the D.I.Y. series, it's only because the Los Angeles scene wasn't nearly as rich and diverse as those in New York and London. New wave pop didn't have a stronghold in the L.A. punk community, which tended to favor raw, hard, amateurish punk. Essentially, Los Angeles was one of the first towns to embrace hardcore, and almost all of We're Desperate plays as proto-hardcore punk. Of all the bands on the collection, X displays the greatest songcraft and style with their edgy guitars and tag-team vocals. No other group has their finesse, but then again, they don't attempt to write songs, they just want to make noise; on that level the collection works, even if it may get tedious to listeners who have just a passing interest in this style of punk. Still, We're Desperate is a good overview of the L.A. scene, featuring its handful of major players -- the Germs ("Forming," "Lexicon Devil"), the Dickies ("You Drive Me Ape [You Big Gorilla]"), the Weirdos ("We Got the Neutron Bomb," "A Life of Crime"), the Dils ("I Hate the Rich") -- plus many lesser-known acts like the Zeros, the Furys, Eyes, Bags, the Last, Alley Cats, the Plugz, and the Dogs, as well as a demo from the Motels. There's not enough variety or substance to make it as essential as the New York and U.K. collections, but that means We're Desperate is an accurate representation of Los Angeles punk.Additional Notes
Liner notes are by Pleasant Gehman.
