Cro-Mags - Before the Quarrel

Finally back to the business at hand. Music. Ahhh.
For your kick off to the week I offer up "Before the Quarrel" by the Cro-Mags. This isn't technically an "album" so much as a collection of the demos for the classic "Age of Quarrel." Though it may be blasphemous to say, I think I like this more than AOQ... well, at points. BTQ is a pretty awesome snapshot of the Mags completely off the leash. The recording is raw as hell, the band is a little looser, a little faster, and a little rougher around the edges. What really makes it for me though is that JJ sounds completely at the end of his rope. Just unhinged all the way and on full tilt. AB the BTQ version of "World Peace", "Malfunction", or "Signs of the Time" with the AOQ version and you'll really hear what I mean. AOQ is amazing and set the tone for the beginnings of crossover and NYHC but compared to a lot of BTQ it sounds genuinely overproduced (hard to fucking believe).

I'm not really sure why but for some reason I hear a lot of euro-punk discharge/oi influence in here. Might be the singalong choruses or something.

Take a listen, hell take 10. The minute "World Peace" hit I was a convert.

Cro-Mags - Before the Quarrel