Minutemen: Double Nickels On The Dime (Vinyl 2xLP)

If What Makes a Man Start Fires? was a remarkable step forward from the Minutemen's promising debut album, The Punch Line, then Double Nickels On The Dime was a quantum leap into greatness, a sprawling 44-song set that was as impressive as it was ambitious.

While punk rock was obviously the starting point for the Minutemen's musical journey (which they celebrated on the funny and moving "History Lesson Part II"), by this point the group seemed up for almost anything -- D. Boon's guitar work suggested the adventurous melodic sense of jazz tempered with the bite and concision of punk rock, while Mike Watt's full-bodied bass was the perfect foil for Boon's leads and drummer George Hurley possessed a snap and swing that would be the envy of nearly any band.

In the course of Double Nickels On The Dime's four sides, the band tackles leftist punk ("Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"), Spanish guitar workouts ("Cohesion"), neo-Nortena polka ("Corona"), blues-based laments ("Jesus and Tequila"), avant-garde exercises ("Mr. Robot's Holy Orders"), and even a stripped-to-the-frame Van Halen cover ("Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love").

From start to finish, the Minutemen play and sing with an estimable intelligence and unshakable conviction, and the album is full of striking moments that cohere into a truly remarkable whole; all three members write with smarts, good humor, and an eye for the adventurous, and they hit pay dirt with startling frequency. And if Ethan James' production is a bit Spartan, it's also efficient, cleaner than their work with Spot, and captures the performances with clarity (and without intruding upon the band's ideas).

Simply put, Double Nickels On The Dime was the finest album of the Minutemen's career, and one of the very best American rock albums of the 1980s.

1. Ds Car Jam Anxious MoFo
   
2. Theatre Is The Life Of You
   
3. Viet Nam
   
4. Cohesion
   
5. It's Expected I'm Gone
   
6. Number One Hit Song
   
7. Two Beads At The End
   
8. Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth
   
9. Don't Look Now
   
10. Shit
    
11. Nature Without Man
    
12. One Reporter's Opinion
    
13. Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing
    
14. Maybe Partying Will Help
    
15. Toadies
    
16. Retreat
    
17. The Big Foist
    
18. God Bows To Math
    
19. Corona
    
20. The Glory Of Man
    
21. Take 5, D.
    
22. My Heart And The Real World
    
23. History Lesson- Part II
    
24. You Need The Glory
    
25. The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts
    
26. West Germany
    
27. The Politics Of Time
    
28. Themselves
    
29. Please Don't Be Gentle With Me
    
30. Nothing Indeed
    
31. No Exchange
    
32. There Aint't Shit On T.V. Tonight
    
33. This Ain't No Picnic
    
34. Spillage
    
35. Untitled Song
    
36. Jesus And Tequila
    
37. June 16th
    
38. Storm In My House
    
39. Martin's Story
    
40. Dr. Wu
    
41. The World According To Nouns
    
42. Love Dance
    
43. Three Car Jam