Social Distortion have announced a batch of 40th anniversary vinyl reissues of their 1983 debut album, Mommy’s Little Monster, arriving November 10th via Craft Recordings.
The same label handled a 2019 reissue of Mommy’s Little Monster, though the new 40th anniversary reissue campaign will return the album to print in a smattering of color variants: black, white, ruby red, silver, clear smoke, and black and white marble.
The latest reissue also features newly remastered audio sourced from the original analog tapes, presenting the album in AAA (all-analog) fidelity, per Craft Recordings’ typical boutique approach.
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Mommy’s Little Monster captured the humble beginnings for Mike Ness and company, who would go on to become one of the most celebrated punk acts of the 1990s and beyond. Before that, the band was a pioneering force in Orange County’s legendary hardcore scene.
The story of the album begins with Social Distortion’s 1981 single “Mainliner,” which caught the ear of KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, who promoted the band on his radio show and included the Social Distortion track “1945” on several of his compilation albums. The attention culminated with a North American tour with Youth Brigade that led up to a marathon recording session at Fullerton, California’s Casbah Studio.
The studio’s owner/producer/engineer Chaz Ramirez worked closely with the band during the recording process, with Ness later telling the Los Angeles Times [via Craft Recordings’ press release] that Ramirez was influential in “helping us shape ourselves, helping us achieve our sound, achieve our character.”
You can find pre-order links to the various vinyl colorways at this location. Stream the remastered version of LP cut “Another State of Mind” and see the vinyl variants below.
Social Distortion were set to tour this summer, but canceled the outing after revealing that Ness is battling tonsil cancer. The band also halted work on its long-awaited new album.
