Almost 15 years after their first album, Social Distortion – a reliably brilliant live act – finally put out a live record in 1998 and did what few bands have been able to do over the years, accurately capture the energy and excitement of a live set.
Early into the show, frontman Mike Ness recalls driving by a parking lot near The Whiskey recently – the same lot the band used to drink at 18 years prior while they prepped for their shows. “That was back at a time when society was not quite ready for this type of music. Does anyone remember those days?
That’s when punk rock was dangerous… when you walked down the street with blue hair you were gonna get into a fight,” Ness says before launching into a spirited version of “Prison Bound.” This 17-track set has just been re-released on vinyl by Craft Recordings (the same label behind Ness’s recent solo vinyl re-releases). This double-LP set comes with a very cool rare poster that was included in the original 1998 pressing.
The set, recorded at Hollywood’s Roxy, a hometown show for the band, is a remarkable collection of some of the band’s best songs like “Story of My Life,” “Mommy’s Little Monster,” “Ball & Chain” and two stellar covers; The Stones’ “Under My Thumb” and Johnny Cash’s “Rong of Fire,” the finale.
Twenty years after its release, Live at the Roxy is still one of the best live punk rock records put to wax. This vinyl re-release was a long time coming and well deserved.
