When people look at the overarching career of the Descendents and All, many seem to only celebrate the Descendents portion, while viewing All as a substitute while Descendents frontman Milo Aukerman was working as a scientist. And while the group may lack the former's geeky, bespectacled vocalist, that does not diminish the group's overall musical output, and it tends to get overlooked as a result.
To sum it up, the Descendents were an influential punk band in the early-mid 1980s. However, by 1987, lead vocalist Milo Aukerman left the band to pursue a full-time career in biochemistry. Not wanting to continue under the Descendents name without Milo, drummer Bill Stevenson, guitarist Stephen Egerton and bassist Karl Alvarez decided to continue under a new name: All, taken from the most recent Descendents album. If you have not yet, I encourage you to read my previous post about the Descendents for additional background.
With the band now renamed All, they needed a new lead singer. Enter Dave Smalley, formerly of DYS and Dag Nasty (another personal favorite of mine). According to Smalley, as soon as he got off the plane and met up with the other members, they went straight to the restaurant, Alfredo's, and then to practice, highlighting the band's intense work ethic. By 1988, the band had already pumped out their first album, Allroy Sez... and was soon followed up with the EP, Allroy for Prez. However, the rigor of being on the road and performing with the band was beginning to wear on Smalley and he soon left the group. Smalley would go on to form his own band, Down By Law, and participate in two Dag Nasty reunions in the years following his time with All.
Smalley was replaced with Scott Reynolds, and the group began working on their sophomore album, Allroy's Revenge. For All fans, this seems to be one of the band's strongest albums, with songs such as "She's My Ex" and "Mary". Allroy's Revenge was soon followed up by Allroy Saves in 1990, and Percolater in 1992, which began pushing the band in a more experimental direction. However, by the time the group was touring for Percolater, conflicts began to arise between Reynolds and the other members, namely Alvarez, and it was decided Reynolds would leave the group following the European tour.
After the tour, Reynolds was replaced with Chad Price, who debuted on the 1993 album, Breaking Things. With the heavier instrumentation and Price's deeper voice, the new album gave the band a more muscular, albeit, less diversified sound.
By this point, alternative and punk had hit it big and countless bands were gaining mainstream attention. After being courted by major labels for a couple years, All signed a deal with Atlantic Records and put out Pummel in 1995. While the album had little commercial impact, Stevenson and Egerton decided to use the funds from the deal to build their own recording studio, The Blasting Room. Due to the limited success of Pummel, Atlantic dropped All from the roster.
By this point, Milo Aukerman was interested in performing with the Descendents again, and All went on hiatus for the former to put out Everything Sucks and tour. All benefited from this reunion, however, when it got signed with the Descendents to Epitaph Records, which had several successful releases in recent years and was doing incredibly well for an independent label. Once the Descendents disbanded again, All was able to ride the success of the Descendents with their newest album, Mass Nerder. However, by the new millennium, the group's success began to dwindle and the group ultimately went into hibernation.
After 2000's Problematic, the only release by the band was the split-live album with the Descendents, Live Plus One, from 2001. As the years went on, the members carried on with different projects and only resurfaced as All by the 2010s, with both Scott Reynolds and Chad Price fronting the band at different shows.
For me personally, I actually got into All before I got into the Descendents. And as much as I love the Descendents, I generally prefer All's output in the long run, no matter how blasphemous that sounds. By the time All was founded, had developed as songwriters to a point where they could largely avoid the growing pains early Descendents material had. However, despite sharing three of the four members, All is virtually ignored by most fans. If anything, it seemed to be derided for simply not being the Descendents. As a result, its discography has gone largely unnoticed despite it is largely on par with its Milo-fronted counterpart.
With the release of the Descendents' Hypercaffium Spazzinate, it makes me wonder about the future of All. The musicians are clearly active, but Milo also announced his retirement from science, which almost seems to put All in limbo. Nonetheless, I hope to see the groups coexist and both release albums.
MY COLLECTION
1. Allroy Sez... (CD, 1988) - The group's debut is not necessarily the band's best, but it's also not the group's worst. I don't have a whole lot to say about this album. I got it in January 2015, I can appreciate it because Dave Smalley is on it, there are some good songs, but I'd just rather to listen to some of the bands other works.
Highlights: "Pretty Little Girl", "Sex in the Way", "Sugar and Spice"
2. Allroy for Prez (CD, 1988) - This EP is probably one of my favorite releases by the group, and definitely my favorite of the releases with Dave Smalley. From what I remember, this is my second All album and it has some of my favorite tracks by them. In all honesty, the only track I don't particularly like is the instrumental, "Son-O-Qua". Regardless, if you wanted to check out this band, I'd say this is a good release to start on.
Highlights: "Just Perfect", "Skin Deep", "Daveage", "Wishing Well"
3. Allroy's Revenge (CD, 1989) - The band's first with Scott Reynolds, this album has some of the band's best songs. However, much like my initial opinion of the Descendents' I Don't Want to Grow Up, while there are a number of songs I love, I'm also not crazy about some of the other songs on this release. However, I still find it to be an enjoyable listening experience.
Highlights: "She's My Ex", "Mary", "Scary Sad"
4. Allroy Saves (CD, 1990) - Of all the albums by All, this is one I rarely listen all the way through. The sound on this album starts to push in a more diverse, experimental sound, which yields mixed results, and was the first All album to be produced by Stevenson and Egerton, which proves to be a drawback on this outing. While I can enjoy this album, I do not recommend it for someone just getting into All.
Highlights: "Educated Idiot", "Just Living", "Explorador"
5. Percolater (CD, 1992) - This album continues the more diverse experimentation All was playing around with, with better results in my opinion. The production is still not great, but is better than Saves. This was actually one of my favorite albums by All when I first heard it, and I can still enjoy it. I probably wouldn't recommend it to a new listener just yet, but it is still one that can be enjoyed.
Highlights: "Dot", "Nothin'", "Nobody's", "Breathe"
6. Breaking Things (CD, 1993) - With Chad Price now on vocals, the music on Breaking Things is much more powerful, with better production and heavier instrumentation. I know Bill Stevenson is actually disappointed this lacks the diversity of Percolater and Saves, but that doesn't really bother me. This album actually has a handful of songs that really got me into the group in the first place, such as "Guilty" and "Cause". It also has heavier topics such as "Birthday I.O.U", which really hits hard when you hear the lyrics and realize they deal with abortion. This was a fairly strong album in the long run and gives insight to what the band would do in the future.
Highlights: "Original Me", "Cause", "Guilty", "Birthday I.O.U.", "Shreen"
7. Pummel (CD, 1995) - All's first and only major label album has come to fall through the cracks of time, but that does not mean it is a bad album by any means. Much like Allroy Sez..., this album has several strong songs, which unfortunately seem to have been forgotten by fans, but it is also dragged down by others. One thing that really makes this album stand out from the rest of the band's discography is that it has some very angry, mainstream-unfriendly songs such as "Uncle Critic", "Stalker" and "Hetero". "Hetero" in particular bothers me due to its blatantly homophobic lyrics, which is saying something, because I am not particularly offended by political incorrectness. However, the good songs on here are still very enjoyable.
Highlights: "Self Righteous", "Million Bucks", "Long Distance", "Breakin' Up", "Black Sky"
8. All (CD, 1998) - This old, out of print compilation was one that I basically bought out of impulse for $20, but is also one I treasure. In essence, the band compiled a number of fan favorites and remixed them for one CD. This gives the songs a much greater sense of consistency and it almost sounds like songs sung by Dave Smalley and Chad Price could have been on the same album at one point. The remixing fixed many of the issues I had with songs on Allroy Saves and Percolater, such as the overabundance of reverb and making it sound much more modern. It also features a new version of the song "Just Like Them", from Allroy Saves. Originally written by Milo Aukerman, this version actually features Milo on vocals, and is a neat contribution. As of now, this CD fetches for about $33, but if you're a bit All fan or a completist, I'd recommend it.
9. Mass Nerder (CD, 1998) - After the success of the Descendents' Everything Sucks, this album gave All a good amount of publicity. Personally, it was my first All album. I found it at a Goodwill in 2014 for $2 and it may be one of the best purchases I ever made there. Musically it combines some of the heaviness of Breaking Things and Pummel with the melody of Allroy for Prez and is my favorite latter day albums by All. This is one I highly recommend.
Highlights: "World's On Heroin", "Until I Say So", "Honey Peeps", "Silly Me", "Vida Blue", "Until Then", "Silence"
10. Problematic (CD, 2000) - While I particularly enjoyed Mass Nerder, I was not a big fan of Problematic. It's not that the music is particularly bad, but it was just not as strong as previous efforts. I'm not crazy about some of the lyrics, and it's sort of a shame that this is currently their last studio album. In the long run, I'd probably say this is my least favorite album by them, and would only really recommend it to completists.
Highlights: "Carry You", "Better Than That", "Real People", "Drive Away"
11. Live Plus One (CD, 2001) - As I previously wrote about in the Descendents entry, this live album was actually a split album with the Descendents. While the Descendents disc was recorded in 1996 and was the real draw of the album, I was interested in the All disc, recorded on the Problematic tour in 2001. The most interesting thing to me is to hear songs initially done with Dave Smalley or Scott Reynolds sung by Chad Price, breathing new life into some of my favorite All songs. While I'm aware of another All live album, Trailblazer, I have yet to listen to it. In the meantime though, I seriously recommend this album, because it gives you a sampling of each band.
So why am I writing about All? Because in recent times, all the attention has been focused on the Descendents, and as much as I love them, I also want to give some love and attention to All, which I feel has been sorely lacking. So who knows if All will make any more music? In the meantime, for many listeners, even Descendents fans, All's material is a new goldmine waiting to be explored.
Highlights: "Pretty Little Girl", "Sex in the Way", "Sugar and Spice"
2. Allroy for Prez (CD, 1988) - This EP is probably one of my favorite releases by the group, and definitely my favorite of the releases with Dave Smalley. From what I remember, this is my second All album and it has some of my favorite tracks by them. In all honesty, the only track I don't particularly like is the instrumental, "Son-O-Qua". Regardless, if you wanted to check out this band, I'd say this is a good release to start on.
Highlights: "Just Perfect", "Skin Deep", "Daveage", "Wishing Well"
3. Allroy's Revenge (CD, 1989) - The band's first with Scott Reynolds, this album has some of the band's best songs. However, much like my initial opinion of the Descendents' I Don't Want to Grow Up, while there are a number of songs I love, I'm also not crazy about some of the other songs on this release. However, I still find it to be an enjoyable listening experience.
Highlights: "She's My Ex", "Mary", "Scary Sad"
4. Allroy Saves (CD, 1990) - Of all the albums by All, this is one I rarely listen all the way through. The sound on this album starts to push in a more diverse, experimental sound, which yields mixed results, and was the first All album to be produced by Stevenson and Egerton, which proves to be a drawback on this outing. While I can enjoy this album, I do not recommend it for someone just getting into All.
Highlights: "Educated Idiot", "Just Living", "Explorador"
5. Percolater (CD, 1992) - This album continues the more diverse experimentation All was playing around with, with better results in my opinion. The production is still not great, but is better than Saves. This was actually one of my favorite albums by All when I first heard it, and I can still enjoy it. I probably wouldn't recommend it to a new listener just yet, but it is still one that can be enjoyed.
Highlights: "Dot", "Nothin'", "Nobody's", "Breathe"
6. Breaking Things (CD, 1993) - With Chad Price now on vocals, the music on Breaking Things is much more powerful, with better production and heavier instrumentation. I know Bill Stevenson is actually disappointed this lacks the diversity of Percolater and Saves, but that doesn't really bother me. This album actually has a handful of songs that really got me into the group in the first place, such as "Guilty" and "Cause". It also has heavier topics such as "Birthday I.O.U", which really hits hard when you hear the lyrics and realize they deal with abortion. This was a fairly strong album in the long run and gives insight to what the band would do in the future.
Highlights: "Original Me", "Cause", "Guilty", "Birthday I.O.U.", "Shreen"
7. Pummel (CD, 1995) - All's first and only major label album has come to fall through the cracks of time, but that does not mean it is a bad album by any means. Much like Allroy Sez..., this album has several strong songs, which unfortunately seem to have been forgotten by fans, but it is also dragged down by others. One thing that really makes this album stand out from the rest of the band's discography is that it has some very angry, mainstream-unfriendly songs such as "Uncle Critic", "Stalker" and "Hetero". "Hetero" in particular bothers me due to its blatantly homophobic lyrics, which is saying something, because I am not particularly offended by political incorrectness. However, the good songs on here are still very enjoyable.
Highlights: "Self Righteous", "Million Bucks", "Long Distance", "Breakin' Up", "Black Sky"
8. All (CD, 1998) - This old, out of print compilation was one that I basically bought out of impulse for $20, but is also one I treasure. In essence, the band compiled a number of fan favorites and remixed them for one CD. This gives the songs a much greater sense of consistency and it almost sounds like songs sung by Dave Smalley and Chad Price could have been on the same album at one point. The remixing fixed many of the issues I had with songs on Allroy Saves and Percolater, such as the overabundance of reverb and making it sound much more modern. It also features a new version of the song "Just Like Them", from Allroy Saves. Originally written by Milo Aukerman, this version actually features Milo on vocals, and is a neat contribution. As of now, this CD fetches for about $33, but if you're a bit All fan or a completist, I'd recommend it.
9. Mass Nerder (CD, 1998) - After the success of the Descendents' Everything Sucks, this album gave All a good amount of publicity. Personally, it was my first All album. I found it at a Goodwill in 2014 for $2 and it may be one of the best purchases I ever made there. Musically it combines some of the heaviness of Breaking Things and Pummel with the melody of Allroy for Prez and is my favorite latter day albums by All. This is one I highly recommend.
Highlights: "World's On Heroin", "Until I Say So", "Honey Peeps", "Silly Me", "Vida Blue", "Until Then", "Silence"
10. Problematic (CD, 2000) - While I particularly enjoyed Mass Nerder, I was not a big fan of Problematic. It's not that the music is particularly bad, but it was just not as strong as previous efforts. I'm not crazy about some of the lyrics, and it's sort of a shame that this is currently their last studio album. In the long run, I'd probably say this is my least favorite album by them, and would only really recommend it to completists.
Highlights: "Carry You", "Better Than That", "Real People", "Drive Away"
11. Live Plus One (CD, 2001) - As I previously wrote about in the Descendents entry, this live album was actually a split album with the Descendents. While the Descendents disc was recorded in 1996 and was the real draw of the album, I was interested in the All disc, recorded on the Problematic tour in 2001. The most interesting thing to me is to hear songs initially done with Dave Smalley or Scott Reynolds sung by Chad Price, breathing new life into some of my favorite All songs. While I'm aware of another All live album, Trailblazer, I have yet to listen to it. In the meantime though, I seriously recommend this album, because it gives you a sampling of each band.
So why am I writing about All? Because in recent times, all the attention has been focused on the Descendents, and as much as I love them, I also want to give some love and attention to All, which I feel has been sorely lacking. So who knows if All will make any more music? In the meantime, for many listeners, even Descendents fans, All's material is a new goldmine waiting to be explored.
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