Adolescents (album)

Untitled

Adolescents (often called The Blue Album) is the eponymous debut studio album by the Orange County punk rock band the Adolescents, released in May 1981 by Frontier Records. The album boasts an all-star cast, featuring three past Social Distortion members, (Rikk Agnew, Frank Agnew and Casey Royer); former Agent Orange bassist Steve Soto; and a previously unknown singer named Tony Cadena. It was the only Adolescents album co-produced by Mike Patton (not to be confused with the lead singer of Faith No More) and Thom Wilson. It was also the band's only album released before their five-year hiatus.

Released during the breakthrough era for hardcore punk, the album brought the band a small amount of success in their hometown as they started to gather a following. "Amoeba" was released as a radio single to promote the album. Adolescents is now considered a classic punk album by fans and critics alike. In California punk sales, it second only to the Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

The album has received positive reviews. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Jack Rabid gave the album four and a half out of five stars and wrote that "The debut from these five Orange County kids established the mid-tempo, punk-pop 'Southern Cal sound,' led by the long, great, pummeling, Johnny Thunders-derived solos of the two Agnew brothers, Rikk and Frank. These soaring, ripping parts still sound great today."

Legacy and influence

• "Amoeba" was featured in the film SLC Punk, MTV's Fantasy Factory, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and on the radio in Grand Theft Auto V. "Amoeba" had also been covered by Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker for the film Endless Bummer.
• A cover of "Who Is Who", performed by the Dropkick Murphys, was featured on Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.
• NOFX covered "No Way" in 2005 on the May release of their 7" of the Month Club. Their album So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes also featured a track titled "Kids of the K-Hole," a reference to "Kids of the Black Hole."
• "Creatures" was featured in the skate video "Born Dead" by Creature Skateboards during the Fiends section.
• "Kids of the Black Hole" was featured in the skate video "Mind Field" by Alien Workshop during Anthony Van Engelen's part.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Hate Children"	Tony Cadena Steve Soto	1:44
2.	"Who Is Who"	Frank Agnew Cadena Soto	1:22
3.	"Wrecking Crew"	Cadena Soto	2:06
4.	"L.A. Girl"	F. Agnew Cadena	1:46
5.	"Self Destruct"	Cadena Soto	0:47
6.	"Kids of the Black Hole"	Rikk Agnew	5:26

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"No Way"	R. Agnew	2:00
8.	"Amoeba"	R. Agnew Casey Royer	3:02
9.	"Word Attack"	R. Agnew Cadena	1:05
10.	"Rip It Up"	R. Agnew Cadena	2:10
11.	"Democracy"	R. Agnew Soto	2:07
12.	"No Friends"	Cadena Soto	2:29
13.	"Creatures"	R. Agnew	1:57

• Notes: The initial CD version of Adolescents, appended the Welcome to Reality EP (and sometimes guitarist Rikk Agnew's 1982 solo album All by Myself) to the CD as bonus tracks.

Personnel

Adolescents

• Tony Cadena – lead vocals
• Rikk Agnew – guitars; backing vocals
• Frank Agnew – guitars
• Steve Soto – bass guitars
• Casey Royer – drums; backing vocals

Session vocalists

• Danny Benair – backing vocals
• Jeff Beans – backing vocals
• Mike Patton – backing vocals

External links

• Adolescents at Discogs (list of releases)