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"Punk Rock made everything around it irrelevant," Electric Frankenstein lead Sal Canzonieri, who has put together all seven A Fistful of Rock 'N' Roll compilations, writes in the liner notes. "Punk won the war," he concludes. Of course it did — the lawless can't be defeated. What we have is a genre that flourished off the very notion of independence, anti-establishment, DIY, etc. What we have is a genre that, despite its current exploitation (think Blink 182 and their many copycats), will not only win, but live on — even if only to create an alternative to the law-abiding suckers upstairs. Need evidence? Then grab yourself A Fistful of Rock 'N' Roll, because it'll convince any listener that punk rock is not only alive and kicking, but kicking some serious ass. (It will also convince you that the word punk should rightfully be inserted into the title). The Donnas, the Bay Area's all-girl heavy-metal-slash-punk-rock four-piece, lead off the record with "I Didn't Like You Anyway," a guitar-driven, Kiss-influenced track ridiculing a B-O-R-I-N-G boy. Swedish speed-rockers Puffball contribute the high-energy, indiscernible "Matt Walker," while Adam West's "Have Your Way With Me" slows down (relative to punk rock that is) with Motörhead's Lemmy-style singing and metal's evil riffs. With a MC5 influence and some hardcore, dissonant shrieking, Cherry Valence's "99" is very raw and very mean. San Francisco garage-rockers The Blackouts add a more melodic edge with "California." Norway's Retardos contribute racing guitar lines and powerful echoing vocals on their "Born in the Fire," while Les Vipers offer a Cramps angle with surf guitar and haunting vocals. Punk rock displaced the rules set by the mainstream music business (upstairs) and paved the way for young hopefuls to come. Punk invented a new, more viable underground. And all the proof lies right here with A Fistful of (Punk) Rock 'N' Roll.
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