The Five Royales, “The Five Royales” (King, 1978; original recordings 1950s)
Classic pioneering rock-and-roll vocal group, distinguished by the addition of a (great) guitarist, Lowman Pauling. Pauling’s subtly explosive hollow-body interjections help give the singers a hard-hitting edge, and the rollicking rockers and heart-bearing ballads are among the period’s best.
Try 1/ 1, 1/ 2, 1/ 5, 1/ 6, 2/ 1
8/16/15

The Fight, “Nothing New Since Rock And Roll” (repossession, 2004)
Female-fronted pop-punk from the UK. What made them stand way ahead of their early ‘00s pack was that the emphasis was on the “punk” part, with a distinctively British pissed-off attack (think Stiff Little Fingers) and a sense of ferocious pressure pushing back against social constraints (think SLF again, and melodic “Punk and Disorderly”-era stuff like Abrasive Wheels or Vice Squad).
Try 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12
10/13/11

The Expelled, “A Punk Rock Collection” (Captain Oi, 1999; original recording 1981-4)
Street-level punk/HC from Britain’s last wave of riots before this year, the “summer of ‘81” urban uprisings. Expelled stood out for the spooky, melancholic wailing of singer Joanne, the taught powerdrill-throb of their basslines, and a truly desperate, wild, end-of-the-world mood that pervaded their sound.
Try 2, 6
10/13/11

The Escape Club, “Wild Wild West” 12” (Atlantic, 1988)
In my teenage indie-drug-punk salad days, merely hearing this chunk of hysterical techno-rock schlock (think a near-rip-off of “Pump It Up” if Elvis Costello had written it as theme music for the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” cartoon) on the radio would send me into an inanimate-object-destroying fury, like whenever Larry plays “Pop Goes the Weasel” to Curly. A quarter-century later, I find myself genuinely enjoying this, in all its crass, garish glory. Laugh at me if you want, I deserve it, but it’s not inconceivable that some of those reading this will find themselves, twenty or so years hence, responding in a comparable manner to the “Works” of Kreayshawn or 3! OH! 3! Like the man said, the owl of Minerva flies at dusk.
Try A/2 (the single edit)
10/3/13
Compellingly preposterous dance-rock-shlock commercial kitchen-sink concoction; ham-fisted “topical” lyrics, grating horns, flash guitar wank, boomingly hollow syndrums, all redeemed by a total absence of irony. Thirty years later, and I still don’t know if I’m laughing with this or at it.
Try 1/ 1, 1/ 3
6/18/18

The Donnas, “Spend the Night” (Atlantic, 2002)
This where their trademark Runaways-meets-Kiss bubblepunk/hard-rock swagger thickens into truly wrecking-ball-swinging dimensions. Teen-delinquent putdowns whose snot-nosed wit is just the icing on the perfectly hook-laden cake. But fuck, man, those guitars
Try 1, 3, 5
7/29/12

The Creamers, “This Stuff’ll Kill Ya” (Triplex, 1994; original release 1988-91)
Late ‘80s punk from L.A. – pure ’77-style Pistols/Ramones hook-a-rama rush/roar, but with a stripped-down propulsion that lets you know hardcore had made its mark on them as well. And instead of the revolutionary conviction/expectation of the late ‘70s, there’s a hard-nosed engagement with the concrete specifics of day-in/day-out experience, alternately resigned and combative, that fit with a time when the “cognoscenti” had written this music off as a doomed fringe (and B. J. Armstrong and Mr. Coban were still playing in basements and VFW halls). Nor were there many bands in those pre-riot grrl days with women on lead vocals and both lead and rhythm guitars. So love the Creamers for their irrepressible pioneer/defender-of-the-faith spirit, but mostly, if you love punk rock, love them for their bottomless goodie-bag of awesome songs. Start with 1 (“Broken Record’ [about Johnny Thunders and his “monkey”]), 4, 5 (“No Big Deal”), 6, 11, 21 (“What Will The Neighbors Think?”)

The Chipmunks, “Chipmunk Punk” (Excelsior, 1980)
No Crucifucks covers here, and indeed “Chipmunk Skinny-Tie Power Pop And AOR” would have been a more descriptive title, but this is still a genuinely strange and fascinating artifact. For some reason their voices sound creepier than ever on this material.
Try A/1, A/ 2, A/4; B/2.
4/19/13

The C.I.A. “The C.I.A.” (In The Red, 2018)
Not a covert government venture into the cloak-and-dagger world of garage-punk, but rather another Ty Segall side project, and one of the best. As with GØGGS, the key is recruiting a more aggressive singer than him, and here it’s his wife, who wails with exquisite blank alien fury over a more geometrical/postpunkish four-chord treble-clatter than usual, on behalf of some fine tuneage.
Try 1/1, 1/ 2, 1/5, 2/2
4/7/19

The Clash, “Give ‘Em Enough Rope” (CBS, 1978)
Second LP by U.K. punk’s frontline commandos, this one produced by Blue Oyster Cult impresario Sandy Pearlman, and it does add a concomitant heavy-metal edge, fleshing out the debut’s newsreel style into an action-film panorama of menace.
Try 1/ 3, 2/1
6/18/18

The Clash, “The Clash” (CBS, 1977)
Original U.K. version, and an essential punk document. Built-for-speed storming attack, guitars hissing and roaring against one another, shouted vocals like hastily spray-painted slogans.
Try 1/3, 1/ 6, 2/2, 2/ 5
6/18/18