Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Pennywise

Pennywise

c. 2018-2024 (undated modern reissue)  ·  Epitaph 86412-1  ·  Stereo  ·  US  ·  LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pennywise - Pennywise: Front Cover
Back Cover Side 1 Label Side 1 Vinyl Side 2 Label Side 2 Vinyl

Pressing details

LabelEpitaph
Catalogue number86412-1
Yearc. 2018-2024 (undated modern reissue)
Mono / StereoStereo
CountryUS
FormatLP
Speed33 1/3 RPM
GenrePunk Rock - Melodic Hardcore / Skate Punk
ProducerBrett Gurewitz, Pennywise
MusiciansJim Lindberg (vocals), Fletcher Dragge (guitar), Jason Thirsk (bass), Byron McMackin (drums)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  PENNYWISE S/T 86412-1 LIVERMORE A
Side B:  PENNYWISE S/T EPITAPH 86412-1 LIVERMORE B

Condition

Cover
NM
Vinyl
NM

Variant chronology

1991 - US first press, Rainbo plant, etched 'E-86412-1-A / L-37929' runouts with no Rainbo S-numbers, includes b/w insert
1994 - Rainbo repress, same Greg Lee metal with added S-numbers (S-29116/S-29117 style) in runouts
2014 - Epitaph store exclusive clear vinyl, limited to 500 copies
2018 - black-vinyl reissue
2021 - 30th Anniversary blue w/ black splatter, limited edition
c. 2020s - undated in-print black-vinyl reissue, 'LIVERMORE A/B' runout etchings  <- this copy

This Pressing

Modern Epitaph reissue (undated, c. 2018-2024) - reproduces the 1991 jacket art on the later 2798 Sunset Boulevard label; 'LIVERMORE A/B' runout etchings identify the current in-print reissue variant, not the 1991 Rainbo first press ('E-86412-1-A / L-37929', no S-numbers).

The Album

Pennywise formed in Hermosa Beach, California in 1988, part of the tight-knit South Bay scene that also produced Black Flag, the Descendents, and the Circle Jerks. They cut their self-titled debut in 1991 at West Beach Recorders in Hollywood, the studio run by Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph founder Brett Gurewitz, who co-produced. Released on Epitaph, it was one of the key early records - alongside Bad Religion's own catalog - in the wave of fast, melodic Southern California hardcore that would define 1990s skate punk and eventually carry labelmates like The Offspring and Rancid to platinum success. Fourteen songs in under half an hour, it pairs breakneck anthems of self-reliance ('Rules,' 'Wouldn't It Be Nice') with socially barbed material like 'Homeless' and the self-mythologizing title track. Its closing song, 'Bro Hymn,' became the band's signature anthem; after bassist Jason Thirsk's death in 1996, the band re-recorded it as 'Bro Hymn Tribute' on Full Circle, and it remains a staple of their live set and of sports arenas worldwide. The album established the classic lineup of Jim Lindberg, Fletcher Dragge, Jason Thirsk, and Byron McMackin and is widely regarded as one of the band's best records and a cornerstone of the Epitaph sound. Its influence on the melodic hardcore and skate-punk scenes of the 90s and beyond is difficult to overstate.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Wouldn't It Be Nice
2. Rules
3. The Secret
4. Living For Today
5. Come Out Fighting
6. Homeless
7. Open Door

Side 2

1. Pennywise
2. Who's To Blame
3. Fun And Games
4. Kodiak
5. Unite
6. No Reason Why
7. Bro Hymn

The Label

Black/silver Epitaph label with the tombstone 'E' logo and gothic Epitaph script, catalog 86412-1, '(c)&(p)1991 Epitaph', and rim text '(c)&(p) EPITAPH. 2798 SUNSET BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90026. UNLAWFUL DUPLICATION MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH.' - the later Epitaph label, with the gothic Epitaph script and the 2798 Sunset Boulevard address the company moved to in 1995, where the 1991 first issue's label set the word Epitaph in plain type and printed the 6201 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood address. Epitaph was founded by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz out of the West Beach Recorders operation. The label keeps the original 1991 copyright line, and the jacket reproduces the 1991 back cover with the old 6201 Sunset address. The runouts read 'PENNYWISE S/T (EPITAPH) 86412-1 LIVERMORE A/B,' the etching used on the undated modern Epitaph reissue, distinct from the 1991 Rainbo original ('E-86412-1-A / L-37929', no S-numbers) or the 1994 Rainbo repress (S-numbers added). This copy therefore sits at the bottom of the pressing hierarchy as the current in-print reissue.

Fidelity

Reissue cut, almost certainly from a digital source/remaster rather than the original analog tapes; pressing quality is standard modern Epitaph fare - serviceable but not audiophile-grade. For sonics the 1991 Rainbo original (and its 1994 repress from the same Greg Lee Processing metal) remains the reference analog-era cut. The 2014 clear-vinyl Epitaph-store exclusive (500 copies) and 2021 30th-anniversary splatter editions share the later reissue source. No dedicated audiophile edition of this title exists, so the fidelity hierarchy is simply: original 1991 pressing on top, all reissues a step below.

Notes

Epitaph 86412-1 - modern black-vinyl reissue of the 1991 debut, not an original pressing. The runouts read 'PENNYWISE S/T (EPITAPH) 86412-1 LIVERMORE A/B,' the etching of the current reissue variant, while the 1991 original and its 1994 Rainbo repress carry 'E-86412-1-A / L-37929(-S-xxxxx)' etchings instead. The back cover is barcoded, and this copy is NM in shrink, the packaging of the current in-print reissue. The label keeps the 1991 copyright line beside the later 2798 Sunset Boulevard address in its rim.

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