Reagan Youth Live & Rare Review

Originally appeared in Married Punks 13, which was published in 1998. Reagan Youth Live & Rare Reagan Youth, in its day, was anti-Nazi and pro-anarchy (the two should always go hand in hand), and that's why it's great that New Red Archives, one of the best punk labels around, has released this. Face it, a lot of today's "popular" punk is sorely lacking in the political department. Live & Rare is exactly what it claims to be. It's live cuts from CBGB's and demo versions of songs. The straightforward punk of "It's a Beautiful Day," "New Aryans," "USA," "Are You Happy?" and "In Dog We Trust" are the epitome of good punk music. Sadly, the singer, Dave Insurgent, never got the recognition he and the band deserved. Dave killed himself after his mother's death, his girlfriend's murder at the hands of serial killer Joel Rifkin, and years of drug abuse. This is a fitting way to remember him.