SHOCK
Shock Proof 1976-1979
Artifix

Until now, Shock were one of the very few L.A. punk bands on that famous Feb. 78 SAVE THE MASQUE flyer—which their singer made!—that didn’t yet have a comprehensive retrospective. Yes, they did get a Rave Up reissue a while back, and their Killed By Death (bootleg) classic “This Generation’s On Vacation” got a bootleg EP release of its own, which is surely one of the most irritating forms of flattery. But now resurrector label Artifix (home of Bags, Eyes, Deadbeats and more) has given the Shock the treatment they deserve with this almost-everything comp covering 1976 rehearsal to 2013 reunion. All that’s missing is the B-side of 2nd single, but that’s more than made up for. Best revelation is the never-released first single, which finds the under-recorded ’77 line-up in an Adverts-meets-Ramones mode on a raw version of “This Generation” and “New Wave Rock,” which would’ve been a formidable A-side. Besides the first single as released, Shock Proof adds outtake “Back At You” (uptempo rocker with a Dickies-style hook) and a set of ’78 demos with a lot of Pistols influence and more than a little Stooges, too. (Ex.: the first riff on “All Our Friends,” which switches to a Steve Jones-y guitar rocker with a Lydon-y sneer on the verses.) Actually, though this is a band that’s best known for the hook-y “This Generation,” it turns out the Shock were really good on the meaner tracks—rehearsal track “There’s Danger” isn’t far off from La Peste, and is one of the best discoveries on here. The live tracks sometimes get a little … combative, but if you can hang with the fidelity on some those Dils recordings, you’ll be fine. And don’t get worried on the closer “I Am Just”—it’s a 2013 reunion recording, but it’s clear, fast, funny and catchy, just like Shock should be. White vinyl copies still available!

—Chris Ziegler