A.C.A.B. - Where Have All The Bootboys Gone? The Best Of!

KB Records

 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first walked into a Malaysian record store when I was in Kuantan 18, maybe 19 years ago. So many CD's and probably even more cassettes, and all – for me as a Western tourist – so cheap, I must have bought over 100 releases there in a couple of weeks’ time! I got my hands on a lot of international releases, but also local artists I never heard of before – which I kind of took a gamble on – such as The Blades, The Official, Saturday Heroes, The Rudeboys, The Maniacs, but also the fairly brilliant compilation “Oi! It's A Malaysian League” (Roots ‘N’ Boots absolutely kills it on that cassette!) and – of course – A.C.A.B.!

 

Now I don't remember which A.C.A.B. release I listened to first when I got home – I bought “Unite & Fight”, “We Are The Skins” and “Eastern Oi!” on cassette and “Live & Loud” on CD – but I do remember that I was instantly hooked and honestly, I still am! A.C.A.B.'s “Live & Loud” is without a doubt one of my favorite live CD's ever, the sound quality is superb and anthems like “Unfairground”, “Born To Be Skins”, “We’re Coming Back”, “Streets Of Uptown” and of course “Where Have All The Bootboys Gone?” are carved in my brain forever.

 

Funny, or sadly, enough I never got my hands on anything else this Malaysian cult-outfit released afterwards – until now that is! Because with “Where Have All The Bootboys Gone? The Best Of!” KB Records not just reissues this eighteen-track best of compilation, which was originally released in their homeland in 2008 through Clockwork Records and – believe it or not – EMI, it's also A.C.A.B.'s first ever release in the West (though they’ve been covered several times), as well as the band's first ever release on... vinyl! Making it an instant must-have for me.

 

And holy shit am I enjoying this release! Not only because it's a feast of recognition, but also because the studio-versions of tracks like “Racial Hatred”, “We Are The Skins”, “Fight For Your Rights”, “Unite & Fight”, “Unfairground”, “Violence”, “Born To Be Skins” and “Where Have All The Bootboys Gone?” sounded so good (remember that I only have these versions on highly violated cassettes)! I am also hearing the studio recordings of “Streets Of Uptown” and “We Are A.C.A.B.” for the first time and damn, I have to admit I am still trying to get used on how “Streets Of Uptown” differs from the live-version on “Live & Loud” (it's... a... bit... slower...), but “We Are A.C.A.B.” is an absolute scorcher, both live and on record!

 

Besides the familiar songs, “Where Have All The Bootboys Gone? Best Of!” also holds another eight tracks I am not so, or not at all familiar with, such as “Oi! Pengkhianat”, “We Are Youth”, “Orang Timur”, “Skinhead 4 Life” and “Spread The Joys Of Eastern Oi!”. Though I favor some more than others, the track list compiled for this best of release is extremely strong and filled with one incredible anthem after another – in one word, superb!

 

Therefor this is not just a must-have for me, but for everyone who likes the joy of (Eastern) Oi! - now easily available through KB Records! Released on black vinyl (100 copies), clear vinyl with black smoke (150 copies) and red vinyl (250 copies), each edition comes with a CD-version of the compilation and includes all 18 songs (like the aforementioned Malaysian release), while there was only room on the LP for 14 of them. Get this. Now.