| Yes L.A. | |
| Type: | compilation |
| Longtype: | EP |
| Artist: | various artists |
| Cover: | VA YesLAEP artwork.jpeg |
| Border: | yes |
| Recorded: | 1978 – 1979 |
| Genre: | Punk rock |
| Language: | English |
| Label: | Dangerhouse |
Yes L.A. is a six-song compilation EP featuring first-generation Californian punk rock bands. It was also the final release of the short-lived but influential Dangerhouse Records label.
A one-sided picture disc released at the twilight of the early Los Angeles punk scene, Yes L.A. features some of its most acclaimed bands: the Bags, the Eyes, the Alley Cats, Black Randy and the Metrosquad,[1] X, and the Germs.
The record title makes parody of No New York, the seminal no wave compilation album issued a year earlier,[2] perceived as pretentious by West Coast punkers. The EP even included a satirical disclaimer printed on the disc saying: "Not produced by Brian Eno".[2]
The compilation includes a 1978 rawer early version of X's song "Los Angeles", described by Dangerhouse Records co-founder David Brown as "a scathing, literal depiction of the scene which needs no explanation".[3] The record also features a rare alternate mix of the Germs' "No God",[4] [5] a song originally produced by Geza X for the EP Lexicon Devil, previously released in May 1978.
The Yes L.A. EP has become highly sought after by record collectors.
Yes L.A. was mastered by Jeff Sanders at Crystal Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.
All songs on the compilation were previously unissued, with the only exception of Black Randy and the Metrosquad's tune "Down at the Laundrymat", featured on the band's studio album Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie[6] [7] [8] from July 1979.
Yes L.A. was originally released in August 1979 on Dangerhouse Records, in a limited edition of 2,000 copies[2] pressed on 12-inch clear vinyl discs.[9] [10]
Designed by Pat Garrett, the record artwork was silkscreened by hand on the ungrooved side of each single disc,[2] with one of three different color combinations, namely, green/black,[11] green/blue,[12] and green/red.[13] Some of those copies were misprinted. Examples include discs with text only,[14] with the background image in front of the text, or the image and text on the side with the grooves, rendering such a record unplayable.
Some non-silkscreened black vinyl test pressings are known to exist.
Original copies came without a sleeve, instead packaged in a clear plastic bag with a white cardboard backing.[2]
At some point during the 1990s, the rights to Yes L.A. (and the entire Dangerhouse Records catalog) were acquired by Frontier Records.[4]
In June 2013, after 34 years out of print, Yes L.A. was reissued by Frontier in a one-time limited edition of 1,000 almost exact replicas of the original EP[2] [15] [16] to commemorate the label's 100th release.[4]
Where it is necessary, songwriting credits are listed in the format lyrics/music.
Eyes
Black Randy and the Metrosquad
Production
