Jettison (reissue)

Occupying the space between the punk movement's departure and the arrival of grunge, Jettison is a definitive link between the two musical genres and, with its speedy slashing and grinding, is the most jarring and diverse of Naked Raygun's albums. Electrocuting guitars, pummeling drum beats, and unmerciful vocals, which combine the Misfits' "whoa-oh-oh" vocal with Naked Raygun's own straight-talking dirge, collaborate to make Jettison part art-rock dissonance, part down-your-throat punk. Quarterstick's reissue of Jettison adds three live bonus tracks to what is already a phenomenal album, a record that is a harbinger of bands like Fugazi and Shellac. Recorded at Chicago's Riviera Theater in November 1987, the live material has meaty guitars that are sprinkled with metallic flakes; one just has to close their eyes to imagine the mosh pit that formed in front of the stage that fall night. - All Music guide