DS Album Review – Circle Jerks – “Golden Shower of Hits” (Trust Edition)

In the summer of 1983, the Circle Jerks released their third LP, Golden Shower of Hits. The album continued the band’s sarcastic but politically and socially blunt songwriting that gained them the notoriety of being one of the best punk rock bands to come out of Los Angeles. After re-releasing and cleaning up the first two Circle Jerks records, Trust Records has reissued Golden Shower of Hits, and the results are spectacular.

Golden Showers‘ first side alone has so many classic songs on it. Opening with the short “In Your Eyes” is the closest thing we get to a Keith Morris breakup song. This is followed by the Lucky Lehrer and Greg Hetson-penned “Parade of the Horribles,” which leads to “Under The Gun.” While each of these songs doubles in length as we progress through them, they never lose their energy or bite.

While it may not be intentional, there has to be a bit of an ironic coincidence in re-releasing the album with the song, “When The Shit Hits The Fan” at this time in our country’s climate. Lately, it feels like the written-off warnings of punk rock lyricists and science fiction writers are becoming more and more true as time goes on. The second side opener, “Coup d’État,” also feels relevant at a time when extreme measures are being taken to change our country for the worse. It may have been written about another country forty years ago, but it’s relevant for ours today.

The one outlier on this album is “Rats of Reality,” a song that feels like it would almost fit better on the Circle Jerks’ next album, “Wonderful,” released in 1985. This Hetson and Roger Rogerson song delves a bit into metal territory, a sound Keith and Greg would experiment with more on their next record with Zander Schloss and Keith Clark. In general though, throw a rock at an album Greg Hetson played on, and you’ll find good riffs and power chords that moved punk rock guitar in the right direction.

I was surprised to learn that the only single released for this album was “Golden Showers of Hits” when there are so many great songs on it. Also known as “Jerks on 45,” the song itself is a parody of “Stars on 45,” a medley of popular songs mashed together. This version, of course, has Keith and crew’s spin on songs from the time: “Along Comes Mary,” “Close to You,” “Afternoon Delight,” “Having My Baby,” “Love Will Keep Us Together,” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E.” These are songs that were mostly seen as bad pop music then and now.

It’s hard to tell where peak Circle Jerks begins and ends because their albums are all so solid. (Yes, even Wonderful.) The core group of Keith, Greg, and Roger wrote so many solid albums, but Roger left the band after Golden Showers was released Trust has been doing a great job with these reissues. If you are a fan of the band, don’t sleep on this release. You can order the Circle Jerks’ Golden Shower Of Hits deluxe reissue at Trust Records.