

Following up the success of their brilliant debut Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, the Dead Kennedys returned with the excellent EP In God We Trust, Inc. and full-length Plastic Surgery Disasters in 1981 and '82 respectively. This reissue set combines the two and finds the Dead Kennedys doing exactly what they do best; railing against the chaos of the world via an assortment of rollicking tracks that are simultaneously thought-provoking, hilarious, and terrifying. Jello Biafa's warbling vocal menace takes aim against Middle Americans in gas-guzzling recreational vehicles ("Winnebago Warrior"), uptight guys who get crazy once a year ("Halloween"), the alarming growth of the Christian Right ("Moral Majority"), and, returning to one of his favorite targets, then-Governor Jerry Brown on the epic "Moon Over Marin." As always, the rest of the group impresses with their unflappable musicianship, incorporating wild stylistic change-ups and never settling for generic punk rock cliches.