You've heard NOFX sing about it. You've heard (among others) Pennywise and No Fun At All cover from it. Yes, "Group Sex" is one of those legendary punk releases, and it is also Circle Jerks' first album. If you have no idea who I'm talking about (which everyone should have, by the way), this is old-school LA hardcore. It's snotty, it's aggresive, it's fast and it's a whole lotta fun!
The group formed in LA in 1979, after the legendary vocalist Keith Morris left Black Flag to team up with guitarist Greg Hetson (who is in Bad Religion nowadays), creating this infamous quintet, at this time also consisting of bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer Lucky Lehrer. Together they busted out some of the most charmingly obnoxious, "4-chord-repeated-as-fast-as-possible-for-no-more-than-90-seconds"-hardcore you've ever heard (yes, the ska number "Back Against The Wall" is 1:34, but it's the longest song on this album), with an unmistakable sense of humor. And, busting out 14 songs in just less than 16 minutes is quite an accomplishment in itself.
Despite the band's irrefutable hardcore credibility, they're not above writing songs that will stick on your mind. It's not so much that they're catchy in a poppy way... They're catchy in a more dissonant way, with the early punk trademark of letting the vocal melody follow the guitar line, and the bass play next to nothing but root notes. While some (sometimes including me) may find this too simplistic, it's one of the traits of "real" 80's hardcore, which would later live on to influence any and all of the punk bands active today.
The best songs on this disc are, in my opinion, "Deny Everything", "Don't Care", "Red Tape" and "Live Fast, Die Young". And I couldn't live with myself if I didn't mention the great lyrics of these songs; "Operation", which I (because of the mention of a rabbi) on the first listen thought was about a circumsition turned out to be about getting your balls snipped... Ow! "I Just Wat Some Skank" and "Wasted" are pretty much in the same vein - they're about those sweet intoxicants we all know we need. Songs like "Beverly Hills" and "World Up My Ass" display a more... well, if not "serious", then at least a more pissed-off side of the Jerks. And what would LA hardcore be without some anger, huh?
On the downside - the recording quality is awful (which I guess could be seen as a good thing, if you want to?) and some of the songs carry little more than novelty value. But what the hell, this is a classic album and you shouldn't go through life without at least having heard it! I really recommend this one!
