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Somery
Compilation album by the Descendents
Released	July 16, 1991 (1991-07-16)
Recorded	March 1981 June 1982 April 1985 January 1987
Studio	Music Lab, Los Angeles Total Access, Redondo Beach, California Radio Tokyo, Los Angeles
Genre	Hardcore punk skate punk
Length	53:12
Label	SST (259)
Producer	Spot, David Tarling, Bill Stevenson
Descendents chronology
Hallraker: Live! (1989) Somery (1991) Everything Sucks (1996)

Somery is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1991 through SST Records. It compiles songs from their Fat EP (1981) and the albums Milo Goes to College (1982), I Don't Want to Grow Up (1985), Enjoy! (1986), and All (1987).

Background

In 1987 SST Records had purchased the Descendents' previous label New Alliance Records, releasing their 1987 album All and re-releasing all of their previous material. Following the Descendents' final tours in spring and summer 1987, singer Milo Aukerman had left the band to pursue a career in biochemistry. The remaining members—bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and drummer Bill Stevenson—relaunched the band under the name All, releasing three albums on the SST subsidiary Cruz Records between 1988 and 1991 with singers Dave Smalley and Scott Reynolds. SST also released the Descendents live albums Liveage! (1987) and Hallraker: Live! (1989), both recorded during the final two Descendents tours. Somery was released in 1991, compiling tracks from the Descendents' past studio releases. Stevenson created the cover art for the compilation while Egerton did the graphics. The Descendents would later reunite with Aukerman in 1995 to record Everything Sucks.

Stevenson remarked in 1993 that "Somery sold more than any of the Descendents albums put together. All the kids are just now getting into it, so that way they can buy one record and kind of get into it and see what it's all about, and then if they really like it they can buy all the other records. See, back when we were touring, nobody came to see us. It's only now the Descendents have become popular."

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Tom Hull – on the Web	B+ ()

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave Somery four and a half stars out of five, saying that although "a handful of great songs from their best albums are missing, Somery nevertheless selects the highlights from their occasionally uneven records, making it a useful and comprehensive retrospective." Erlewine's colleague Mike DaRonco called it a felony that "Pep Talk" from All was not included on the compilation. Rock critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A− rating, opining that the 1988 compilation Two Things at Once contained the band's best material, "But anyone beguiled, enthralled, or smacked between the eyes by how nakedly these guys don't quite understand their class rage and love-hungry sexual anxiety will hear through their bouts of misogyny and sophomoric humor for the 19 more tuneful if less inspired selections from three later and lesser albums, as in the tortured breakup song/metaphor 'Clean Sheets' and the fuckup/square's confession 'Coolidge'." Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone called Somery "the only Descendents record to qualify as must-have. It's got virtually all of the winning songs, from the goofy hardcore tunes to the more commercial-sounding rockers".

Track listing

Personnel

Band

• Karl Alvarez – bass guitar on tracks from All
• Milo Aukerman – vocals
• Doug Carrion – bass guitar on tracks from Enjoy!
• Ray Cooper – guitar on tracks from I Don't Want to Grow Up and Enjoy!
• Stephen Egerton – guitar on tracks from All, graphics
• Frank Navetta – guitar on tracks from the Fat EP and Milo Goes to College
• Tony Lombardo – bass guitar on tracks from the Fat EP, Milo Goes to College, and I Don't Want to Grow Up
• Bill Stevenson – drums, cover art, producer of tracks from I Don't Want to Grow Up, Enjoy!, and All

Production

• Richard Andrews – engineer of tracks from Enjoy! and All
• Ethan James – engineer of tracks from Enjoy!
• Spot – producer and engineer of tracks from the Fat EP and Milo Goes to College
• David Tarling – producer and engineer of tracks from I Don't Want to Grow Up

References

1. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (2004). "Descendents Biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
2. "Descendents - Somery". Punknews.org. January 16, 2004. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
3. Chick, Stevie (2009). Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag. London: Omnibus Press. p. 363. ISBN 978-1-84772-620-9.
4. LaCour, Deedle (Director); Riggle, Matt (Director) (2013). Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All (DVD). Manchester: Rogue Elephant Pictures. Event occurs at 38:30.
5. ^ Stevenson, Bill (1989). Hallraker: Live! (CD liner). Descendents. Lawndale, California: SST Records. SST CD 205.
6. ^ Somery (CD liner). Descendents. Lawndale, California: SST Records. 1991. SST CD 259.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. "All – Interview". allcentral.com. Suburban Voice. 1993. Archived from the original on 2001-07-17. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
8. Hull, Tom (April 19, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
9. Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, eds. (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 303. ISBN 0-87930-653-X. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
10. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: Somery". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
11. DaRonco, Mike. "Review: All". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
12. Christgau, Robert. "Review: Descendents – Somery". robertchristgau.com. Consumer Guide. Retrieved 2015-02-09.

External links

• Somery at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

• Descendents albums
• 1991 compilation albums
• SST Records compilation albums
• Albums produced by Bill Stevenson (musician)