Boston Drops the Gloves – “Tribute to Slapshot” – CD

Released in late 1999 as a joint effort between Flat Records (helmed by Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys) and San Francisco’s TKO Records, Boston Drops the Gloves: A Tribute to Slapshot serves as a ferocious love letter to one of the defining pillars of Boston hardcore punk: Slapshot. What makes this compilation incredibly cool is how it captures the raw energy of the late-’90s Beantown scene, pulling together 22 diverse punk, Oi!, and hardcore acts to pay homage to the band fronted by the legendary Choke. The album shines because it balances faithful, bruising renditions of classic street-punk anthems with completely unexpected genre shifts. While heavy-hitters like Blood for Blood deliver a devastatingly aggressive version of No Friend of Mine and Ten Yard Fight honors the scene’s militant straight-edge roots with Straight Edge in Your Face. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones bring their signature third-wave ska-core swagger to What’s at Stake, the Molly Maguires inject a dose of folk-punk melody into Moment of Truth, and Anal Cunt lends their notorious grindcore noise to Old Tyme Hardcore. Influenced heavily by the early template of British Oi! and the hyper-aggressive speed of early Minor Threat or Negative FX, this compilation remains a flawless time capsule of a legendary scene celebrating its elders.

Track Listing:

1 Blood for Blood – No Friend of Mine 3:21
2 Tommy & The Terrors – Chameleon 2:02
3 Ten Yard Fight – Straight Edge in Your Face 2:23
4 Close Call – Might Make Right 2:25
5 30 Seconds Over Tokyo – Do What You Want 1:18
6 Anal Cunt – Old Tyme Hardcore 1:12
7 Pug Uglies – Rise and Fall 2:07
8 Strikers – Enforcer 2:36
9 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – What’s at Stake 2:49
10 Vigilantes – Where There’s Smoke 1:33
11 Intent to Injure – Step on It 1:52
12 Kicked in the Head – I Want You Dead 2:14
13 The Trouble – Back on the Map 2:56
14 Wrong Side of the Tracks – Something to Prove 2:47
15 Pinkerton Thugs – It’s Happening Today 2:24
16 Blacklist – Johnny Was 2:40
17 Last in Line – No Guts, No Glory 1:33
18 The Grenades – Hang Up Your Boots 2:51
19 Nobody’s Heroes – No Time Left 1:59
20 Down But Not Out – Secrets 2:09
21 Molly Maguires – Moment of Truth 1:41
22 Dropkick Murphys – I’ve Had Enough 1:56