Social Distortion: Girls, Cars and Loud Guitars

No, you haven’t somehow slept through the release of Social D’s 6th album. This is a very limited CD, released only in Germany, which brings together most of their B-sides from their many demo singles over the years. On those demo singles they would pair their most popular songs with a cover of an obscure country or rockabilly song. The demos are very hard to get a hold of, so this compilation is a boon to the hardcore Social D fan. However, as it’s harder to get hold of than most of the demos, good luck trying to find it. There are 9 tracks present, 3 of which you already own: alternate and acoustic versions of Ball & Chain, and an acoustic version of Bad Luck. The others are all covers that show some of Mike Ness’s roots: It s All Over Now, Pretty Thing, Shame on Me, Lonesome Train, Alone and Forsaken and Ready for Love. They all get the standard Social D treatment, and as such, sound great. Lonesome Train and Alone and Forsaken are standouts. It’s actually a very good primer for Mike Ness’s solo record.

(Note: There is a second edition too – Even Faster Girls, Cars and Guitars, and that one is even more limited – 300 copies, all vinyl. However, that one isn’t as essential, as it’s mainly live stuff, with Mainliner 1992 being the only studio track.)

Track List: It’s All Over Now, Pretty Thing, Shame on Me, Lonesome Train, Ball & Chain (edit), Ready for Love, Alone and Forsaken, Bad Luck (live acoustic), Ball and Chain (acoustic).