Oi! The Album

Not one of the great Oi! compilations, but a fairly decent collection, Oi! The Album includes some of the bigger names associated with that scene, such as the Cockney Rejects, Cock Sparrer, and 4-Skins, as well as some comic bands who often make it onto Oi! compilations for some reason, like Postmen and Max Splodge & Desert Island Joe. The best track is probably Cock Sparrer's "Sunday Stripper," an otherwise hard-to-find song which sounds like a real striptease number, though punked-up by this superb bootboy squad. This one is a delight, as are both of the tunes by the Exploited, "I Still Believe in Anarchy" and "Daily News." They appear on quite a few Oi! compilations. Of the sillier tunes, "Isubleeeene" by Max Splodge & Desert Island Joe is mildly humorous. The Angelic Upstarts have two songs about war on the record, "Last Night Another Soldier" and "Guns for the Afghan Rebels," a song encouraging the military support of the Afghan freedom fighters, who would much later become the Taliban and the leaders of Al Qaeda. Fans of the Oi! music scene will want to try and locate a copy of this record, while folks who are newer to this music can find a more representative compilation elsewhere. ~ Adam Bregman