Yes L.A.

Yes L.A. is a six-song compilation EP featuring first-generation Californian punk rock bands. It was also the final release of the short-lived but influential Dangerhouse Records label.[1]

Yes L.A.
Compilation album EP by
various artists
ReleasedAugust 1979 (1979-08)
Recorded1978 – 1979
GenrePunk rock
Length13:26
LanguageEnglish
LabelDangerhouse
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Vinyl DistrictA[1]

Overview

A one-sided picture disc released at the twilight of the early Los Angeles punk scene,[nb 1] Yes L.A. features some of its most acclaimed bands:[1] the Bags, the Eyes, the Alley Cats, Black Randy and the Metrosquad,[3] X, and the Germs.[2]

The record title makes parody of No New York,[nb 2][2] the seminal no wave compilation album issued a year earlier,[4] perceived as pretentious by West Coast punkers.[1] The EP even included a satirical disclaimer printed on the disc saying: "Not produced by Brian Eno".[4]

The compilation includes a 1978 rawer early version of X's song "Los Angeles", described by Dangerhouse Records co-founder David Brown as "a scathing, literal depiction of the scene which needs no explanation".[5] The record also features a rare alternate mix of the Germs' "No God",[6][7] a song originally produced by Geza X[nb 3] for the EP Lexicon Devil,[nb 4] previously released in May 1978.

The Yes L.A. EP has become highly sought after by record collectors.[1]

Production and release

Yes L.A. was mastered by Jeff Sanders at Crystal Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.

All songs on the compilation were previously unissued, with the only exception of Black Randy and the Metrosquad's tune "Down at the Laundrymat", featured on the band's studio album Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie[nb 5][10][11][12] from July 1979.[8]

Yes L.A. was originally released in August 1979 on Dangerhouse Records,[1][2] in a limited edition of 2,000 copies[4][8] pressed on 12-inch clear vinyl discs.[nb 6][1][13][14]

Artwork and packaging

Designed by Pat Garrett,[1][8] the record artwork was silkscreened by hand on the ungrooved side of each single disc,[1][4][8] with one of three different color combinations, namely, green/black,[15] green/blue,[16] and green/red.[17] Some of those copies were misprinted.[nb 7] Examples include discs with text only,[18] with the background image in front of the text, or the image and text on the side with the grooves, rendering such a record unplayable.

Some non-silkscreened black vinyl test pressings are known to exist.[8]

Original copies came without a sleeve, instead packaged in a clear plastic bag with a white cardboard backing.[4]

Reissues

At some point during the 1990s, the rights to Yes L.A. (and the entire Dangerhouse Records catalog) were acquired by Frontier Records.[6]

In June 2013, after 34 years out of print, Yes L.A. was reissued by Frontier in a one-time limited edition of 1,000 almost exact replicas of the original EP[nb 8][4][19][20] to commemorate the label's 100th release.[1][6]

Track listing

Where it is necessary, songwriting credits are listed in the format lyrics/music.

No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."We Don't Need the English"Craig LeeBags1:13
2."Disneyland"Joe Ramirez, John Richey/RamirezEyes2:00
3."Too Much Junk" (Dangerhouse version)Randy StodolaThe Alley Cats2:41
4."Down at the Laundrymat"Black Randy/Bob DeadwylerBlack Randy and the Metrosquad3:26
5."Los Angeles" (Dangerhouse version)John DoeX2:12
6."No God" (Dangerhouse mix)Darby CrashGerms1:54
Total length:13:26

Personnel

See also

Notes
  1. "Just as the scene was being split into harder-driving, superadrenalized extreme power metal-punk on one side and simpy new wave power pop on the other, the first L.A. punk compilation album, ... Yes L.A., was released..."
                                    – Brendan Mullen[2]
  2. Antilles #AN-7067
  3. "... We [Dangerhouse Records] were kind of feuding with him [Geza X] about some of his production techniques, which at the time was squirrelly because he's such a creative guy and he'd try anything. So we had taken the tapes of the Germs that Slash magazine owned and remixed them the way we would do it – sort of the Geza way. It was interesting to compare..."
                                    – David Brown[8][9]
  4. Slash #SCAM 101
  5. Dangerhouse #PCP-725
  6. Dangerhouse #EW-79
  7. 20 or 30, according to David Brown from Dangerhouse Records.[8]
  8. Frontier #FLP 31079

References
  1. Neff, Joseph (August 13, 2013). "(Re)Graded on a Curve: Dangerhouse Records' Compilation, Yes L.A.". The Vinyl District. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  2. Spitz, Marc; Mullen, Brendan (2001). We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 9780609807743. p. 181.
  3. Lewis, Uncle Dave. "Black Randy & The Metrosquad: Artist Biography by Uncle Dave Lewis". AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  4. "Frontier Reissues Rare Punk Classic: Yes LA EP!". Frontier Records. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  5. Various artists (1991), Dangerhouse: Volumen One. Frontier Records. #FLP 31039. Liner notes.
  6. LeBlanc, Larry. "Industry Profile: Lisa Fancher". CelebrityAccess. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  7. Backman, Karl. "The Germs Discography". The Summer of Hate. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016.
  8. Richardson, Ryan. "Dangerhouse Records" (history and commented discography, page 2/2). Break My Face. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  9. Yohannan, Tim (August 1991). Title unknown (interview with David Brown from Dangerhouse Records). Maximumrocknroll (99).
  10. Black Randy and the Metrosquad, Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie. AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  11. Black Randy and the Metrosquad, Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie. Discogs. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  12. Black Randy and the Metrosquad, Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie. Rate Your Music. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  13. Yes L.A.. Discogs. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  14. Yes L.A.. Rate Your Music. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  15. Yes L.A., image of the green/black Frontier version. The Punk Vault. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  16. Yes L.A., image of the green/blue Frontier version. The Punk Vault. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  17. Yes L.A., image of the green/red Frontier version. The Punk Vault. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  18. Yes L.A., image of a misprinted copy. Break My Face. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  19. Yes L.A., 2013 reissue. Discogs. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  20. Yes L.A., 2013 reissue. Rate Your Music. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
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