''Two Things at Once'' is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a ...

, released in 1988 through

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equip ...

. It combines the band's 1982 debut album ''

Milo Goes to College ''Milo Goes to College'' is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Descendents, released on September 4, 1982 through New Alliance Records. Its title referred to singer Milo Aukerman's decision to leave the band to attend college, ...

'' with the 1985 release ''

Bonus Fat ''Bonus Fat'' is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1985 through New Alliance Records. It combines the band's 1979 debut single "Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" with their 1981 '' Fat EP'' and ...

'', itself a compilation of 1981's ''

Fat EP The ''Fat EP'' is an EP by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1981 through New Alliance Records. It was the band's first recording with singer Milo Aukerman and established their presence in the southern California hardco ...

'', 1979's "Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" single, and the track "Global Probing" from a 1981 compilation titled ''Chunks''. ''Two Things at Once'' has been described by critics as an essential collection of the band's early years.

Background

From 1981–86 the Descendents' releases had been published by

New Alliance Records New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern Cali ...

, an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

run by D. Boon and

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

of the San Pedro-based punk band the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

, who were contemporaries of the Descendents. Following Boon's death in 1985, New Alliance was sold to

in 1987. SST released the Descendents' 1987 albums '' All'' and ''

Liveage! ''Liveage!'' is a live album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1987 through SST Records. The band's first live album, it was recorded July 13, 1987 at First Avenue in Minneapolis during their summer 1987 "FinALL" tour, ...

'' and also re-released all of their previous albums. ''Two Things at Once'' was released in 1988, combining all of the band's recorded output from 1979 to 1982 in a single release: Their debut single "Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" (1979), the ''

'' (1981), their first full-length album ''

'' (1982), and the song "Global Probing" from the 1981 New Alliance compilation ''Chunks''.

Reception

Mike DaRonco of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

gave ''Two Things at Once'' four stars out of five, saying that "All that mischievous teenage skaters could appreciate is here, classics like 'Myage', 'I'm Not a Loser', 'Bikeage', and 'Hope'. But for all those who already own their "best of" (''

Somery ''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' ...

'', which features the previously mentioned songs), other less-known hits such as 'Marriage', 'I'm Not a Punk', and 'Catalina' are exclusive to this release." Jenny Eliscu of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' called the album "an essential introduction to the group."

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *

Milo Aukerman Milo Jay Aukerman (; born January 1, 1963) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and former research molecular biologist. Aukerman is most widely known for being the lead singer of the punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to b ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

Tony Lombardo Tony Lombardo (born c. 1945) is an American musician who was the original bassist in the punk rock band the Descendents. He joined the band in 1979 and played on their debut single, the ''Fat EP'' (1981), and the albums ''Milo Goes to College'' ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, vocals on "Ride the Wild" *

Frank Navetta Frank Navetta (March 6, 1962 – October 31, 2008) was an American musician who was the original guitarist of the punk rock band the Descendents, which he co-founded. He formed the band in Manhattan Beach, California with Dave Nolte in the late 1 ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, vocals on "It's a Hectic World", ''Bonus Fat'' cover art * Bill Stevenson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

;Production * Spot – producer and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

of tracks 1–21 *David Nolte – producer and

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

of tracks 22 and 23 *Jeff Atkinson – ''Milo Goes to College'' cover art; Milo character illustration on ''Bonus Fat'' cover art

References

{{Authority control 1988 compilation albums Descendents albums SST Records compilation albums