Review: 40th Anniversary Reissue of Social Distortion's 'Mommy's Little Monster'

Although Social Distortion emerged from the same West Coast hardcore scene as Black Flag and The Circle Jerks in the early eighties, you could be forgiven for assuming they hailed from across the other coast's pond because of Mike Ness's vocal affectations (reminiscent of Jake Burns) and beret (reminiscent of Captain Sensible) and the group's understanding of dynamics and variety, which were often lost on American punks. 

Those strong qualities were there from the beginning on Social Distortion's first album. Recorded in a single session and flashing by in under a half hour, Mommy's Little Monster spews nine memorable tracks that range from the riffy and speedy "The Creeps" to the echoey and anthemic "Another State of Mind" to the hippity-hoppity "It Wasn't a Pretty Picture" to the mid-tempo "Hour of Darkness" to the elated title track to the apocalyptic "Moral Threat". Their lyrics mostly threaten and celebrate punk attitude, while "It Wasn't a Pretty Picture" observes the Decline of Western Civilization with an ambivalence that is both chilling and oddly refreshing. These twenty-one-year-olds were old enough to recognize that society is fucked up and wise enough to know they couldn't offer any solutions.

For its fortieth anniversary, Craft Recordings is reissuing Mommy's Little Monster on vinyl with fully analog "lacquers cut from the original master tapes" (so reads the official pr). The vinyl is dead quiet, although my copy had a slight bowl-effect, which can generate inner groove distortion. Does this record have that problem? How the hell should I know? Social Distortion is so deliberately distorted its tough to tell what is or isn't intended, so I'm just going to go with my gut and say it sounds great, especially considering the recordings' lo-fi origins. The cover, which is awesome, is beautifully reproduced too.