Social Distortion “Mainliner (Wreckage From the Past)” 1995. Time Bomb Recordings. A collection of singles and b-sides recorded in 1981. From Mike Ness’ liner notes “These recordings were all made when we were in high school or just getting out. Punk rock was mostly played at parties; rarely could we get shows at club or even at halls. At the time, just having short hair pretty much guaranteed getting into a fight. Anyway, this stuff reflects the time we made it – young, raw and completely unafraid of taking chances. You’d never believe it now but people were actually scared of punk being played.”

Social Distortion rerecorded “Moral Threat” and “All the Answers” for their first LP, Mommy’s Little Monster and “Justice for All” appeared as “It’s the Law” on their ‘88 release Prison Bound, but other than those tracks the album is stocked with some great early singles. Two of my favorites appear twice on Mainliner: “1945″ and “Playpen.” First up are the Posh Boy versions for each track, recorded in April of ‘81 as a three-piece with Mike Ness on guitar and vocals, Dennis Danell on bass and John “Carrot” Stevenson on drums. The Posh Boy cut of “1945″ was part of the 1985 comp Rodney on the ROQ Vol. 2  and Posh Boy included “Playpen” on its 1987 The Future Looks Bright comp. Social Distortion recorded the second variations of the songs in October ‘81 for 13th Floor Records, now as a four-piece with Ness again on guitar and vocals, Danell on guitar, Brent Liles on bass and Derek O’Brien on drums. The tracks “Justice for All,” “All the Answers,” “Mainliner” and “Moral Threat” also appeared on The Future Looks Bright.  Mainliner also has a great punked up cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb.”

From Allmusic: “Mainliner: Wreckage From the Past is a collection of early singles and rare B-sides from Orange County punk legends Social Distortion. Recorded while they were still in their teens, this early material shows no signs of the country-influenced sound that would appear later in the band’s career. The main style displayed here is pure punk fury with short, fast songs, lyrics about teen rebellion, and plenty of attitude to go around. “Playpen,” “Moral Threat,” and “All the Answers” speak of the plight of the early punk rockers who took major abuse from all forms of authority back in a period where the musical style was still considered dangerous. “Mainliner” is a not-at-all subtle tale of heroin abuse. A cover of “Under My Thumb” shows early on that the Rolling Stones were just as much an influence on Social Distortion as the Sex Pistols and the Clash. This collection is definitely intended for dedicated fans and is more of a history lesson than a proper album. Although extremely raw and a bit naïve, becoming familiar with this material will help fans understand where the band came from and appreciate their point of view on stronger, later material.”