The Minutemen: D. Boon (vocals, guitar); Mike Watt (vocals, bass); George Hurley (drums). Originally released on New Alliance. In their sadly abbreviated career, the Minutemen proved themselves to be an incredibly prolific outfit--touring and recording incessantly between 1980 and 1985. THE POLITICS OF TIME is a mixed bag that goes back to their earliest incarnation as the Reactionaries. It may not be the place for the uninitiated to investigate the group, but fans will appreciate this collection for the way it captures the Minutemen in a variety of settings and documents their rapid musical growth, their penchant for experimentation, and the sheer hurricane force they generated. The 28 songs here were recorded between 1980 and 1983, in places as diverse as Copenhagen, Brixton, England, "a dried riverbed in the Mojave Desert" and "the shed in the back of George's house." So it will come as no surprise that the sound is often dodgy, but with the Minutemen, poor sound quality never diminished the impact of the songs. "Party With Me Punker" sounds like it was recorded in a shed, but that's part of its charm.

• Genre: Pop
• RSD Date: n/a
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 01/02/1991