The Dead Kennedys Gold Albums And Tracks Review

Dead Kennedys were a hardcore punk rock band, born from San Francisco, California. The underground band also known as simply “DK” made news world wide for nearly a decade.

During the 1980s the band gained a large underground following in the international punk music scene. Their music mixed the more experimental elements of English 1970s punk with the raw energy of the 1980s American hardcore punk sounds. Dead Kennedys’ songs mix the deliberately shocking lyrics of punk rock mixed with a sarcastic left-wing commentary on social and political issues.

Not since the Sex Pistols has the name of a punk rock band made so much public noise. From day one the general public payed close attention to the bands every song and lead vocalist Jello Biafra became a political thorn in every politicians side with harsh lyrics directed at social political topics that were headliners at the time. Dead Kennedys appeared to go after every issue with hits like Too Drunk To Fuck and then a song directed at the officers of the law with Police Truck.

The band even had sharp opinions towards their own punk rock subculture and the lack of realism of their hardcore values with a direct attack on the Nazi punk genre with the hit song Nazi Punks Fuck Off. This led to many, many fights in the mosh pits of their shows and their popularity continued to grow into the homes of a wide age range and a mixed gender of faithful followers.

Skateboarding took hold of the Dead Kennedys and in every back yard session and at every contest event one could hear familiar sounds of Biafra’ shrieking voice as the skaters made their runs.

From 1978 until 1989 the Dead Kennedys made a major mark in punk rocks history of hardcore bands and they were never short of any controversy. The band received many radio bans and lawsuits from celebrities and politicians, but nothing seemed to phase them, that is until the harsh breakup that ended in court room proceeding’s and continues to this day, after 30 years has gone by.

In 1978, Dead Kennedys made their live debut with a show at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California and continued a 10 year run of music progression that spread world wide.
“Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” is the debut album by the hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys, released initially on Cherry Red Records in the UK in 1980 and eventually through Faulty Products and again in the US (later on Alternative Tentacles label). The best selling and generally the most critically acclaimed album by the Dead Kennedys, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” has become a major staple of American punk rock history.

Here’s a listing of some of Dead Kennedys most famous albums and tracks

1980 Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

1. Kill the Poor (3:06)
2. Holiday in Cambodia (3:46)
3. Police Truck (2:28)
4. Forward to Death (3:46)
5. When Ya Get Drafted (1:23)
6. In-Sight (1:43)
7. Let’s Lynch the Landlord (2:10)
8. Too Drunk to Fuck (2:42)
9. Drug Me (1:54)
10. The Prey (3:49)
11. Your Emotions (1:19)
12. Chemical Warfare (2:54)
13. California Uber Alles (7:28)
14. I Kill Children (2:02)
15. Stealing Peoples’ Mail (1:33)
16. Funland at the Beach (1:48)
17. Ill in the Head (6:49)
18. Viva Las Vegas (7:01)

1982 The Virgin Demos

1. Government Flu (2:04)
2. Terminal Preppie (1:30)
3. Trust Your Mechanic (2:55)
4. Buzzbomb (2:21)
5. Halloween (3:35)
6. Winnebago Warrior (2:08)
7. Bleed for Me (3:25)
8. I Am the Owl (4:52)
9. Saturday Night Holocaust (8:38)
10. Well Paid Scientist (2:22)
11. Forest Fire (2:23)
12. Riot (5:57)
13. Life Sentence (5:19)
14. Dead End (3:56)
15. Moon Over Marin (4:27)
16. Kepone Factory (1:19)
17. The Prey (3:49)

1982 Plastic Surgery Disaster

1. Government Flu (2:04)
2. Terminal Preppie (1:30)
3. Trust Your Mechanic (2:55)
4. Well Paid Scientist (2:22)
5. Buzzbomb (2:21)
6. Forest Fire (2:23)
7. Halloween (3:35)
8. Winnebego Warrior (2:10)
9. Riot (5:57)
10. Bleed for Me (3:25)
11. I Am the Owl (4:52)
12. Dead End (3:56)
13. Moon Over Marin (4:27)

1985 Frankenchrist

1. Soup Is Good Food (4:18)
2. Hellnation (2:21)
3. This Could Be Anywhere (5:24)
4. A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch (5:50)
5. Chicken Farm (5:06)
6. Jock-O-Rama (4:06)
7. Goons of Hazzard (4:25)
8. M.T.V. – Get Off the Air (3:54)
9. At My Job (3:40)
10. Stars and Stripes of Corruption (6:24)

1986 Bedtime For Democracy

1. Take This Job and Shove It (1:24)
2. Hope With the Jet Set (2:07)
3. Dear Abby (1:09)
4. Rambozo the Clown (2:25)
5. Fleshdunce (1:29)
6. The Great Wall (1:32)
7. Shrink (1:44)
8. Triumph of the Swill (2:17)
9. Macho Insecurity (1:30)
10. I Spy (2:30)
11. Cesspools In Eden (5:56)
12. One Way Ticket To Pluto (1:38)
13. Do the Slag (1:37)
14. A Commercial (1:33)
15. Gone With My Mind (1:43)
16. Anarchy For Sale (1:18)
17. Chickenshit Conformist (5:59)
18. Where Do ya Draw the Line (2:39)
19. Potshot Heard ‘Round The World (2:10)
20. D.M.S.O. (2:09)
21. Lie Detector (3:45)

1988 Plastic Surgery Disaster / In God We Trust

1. Advice From Christmas Past (0:55)
2. Government Flu (2:04)
3. Terminal Preppie (1:30)
4. Trust Your Mechanic (2:55)
5. Well Paid Scientist (2:22)
6. Buzzbomb (2:21)
7. Forest Fire (2:23)
8. Halloween (3:35)
9. Winnebago Warrior (2:08)
10. Riot (5:57)
11. Bleed for Me (3:25)
12. I Am the Owl (4:52)
13. Dead End (3:56)
14. Moon Over Marin (4:27)
15. Religious Vomit (1:04)
16. Moral Majority (1:55)
17. Hyperactive Child (0:37)
18. Kepone Factory (1:19)
19. Dog Bite (1:14)
20. Nazi Punks Fuck Off (1:00)
21. We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now (4:29)
22. Rawhide (2:13)