Perhaps I’m showing my age, but I’ve always thought of AVAIL like s’mores. S’mores are, as you know, gram crackers, chocolate and marshmallows; simple, very tasty, always welcome, and yet, somehow, much more than the sum of its parts. You can see where this is going, I’m sure. Describing AVAIL is simple, and yet odd. Take a plate of old fashioned punk rock, add a dollop of hardcore, a sprinkle (just a little, mind you) of classic rock, and a heaping dose of Richmond VA pride, and you’ve got AVAIL. Not news so far, eh? Fair enough. Get to the point, man! The reissues! How are they? Jade Tree has organized the reissues as a collection, like a box set, minus, of course, the box. If you get your hands on all three, you’ll see the jewel cases complete the iconic man walking with a flag (Dixie) and the eagle (Over the James) on the spine. There’s nigh-binders worth of of rare photos, most in color, all lovingly crafted, like reissues should be. There’s a noticeable difference in mixing between my Lookout! era copy of Dixie and Over the James sounds slightly better than the original. I can’t speak for 4 AM Friday, since I came late to the game, and by the time I got into AVAIL, 4 AM Friday had gone out of print. Each of the reissues is bolstered by either the addition of an entire other full-length or rare material otherwise vinyl only. (Victory Records, I hope you’re taking notes.) As hinted at, three AVAIL full-lengths have been reissued: Dixie, 4 AM Friday and Over the James, and a pleasurable amount of bonus content accompanies each one. Obviously, these stand a lot better as a whole, but if you’ve got rent to make or bills to pay, here’s the blow by blow report. Dixie Dixie is arguably the group’s defining moment, when they changed from a bunch of guys with some good ideas to a bona fide songwriting machine. It includes an early live set previously available on vinyl only called At the King’s Head Inn and the Attempt to Regress 7 inch. If you’re looking for the source of AVAIL’s spark then this is the one you want. The significant re-mastering job doesn’t nuture Dixie, but just makes it sound a little louder, so your iPod doesn’t have to burn that much power to play it at a level where you can hear it. Dixie has 23 songs in total. I’m sure you’re saturated with bands that are described as a screamy hardcore band one moment, a singing punk rock one the next, but this one’s legit. It’s about being poor, ugly and destitute, and not about the girl of the week. “25 Years” is chock full of classic Tim Barry rage and plants the foundation that would be the source of AVAIL’s aggression for years and years to come. Dixie can some musically crude compared to AVAIL’s latter works, but its emotional novelty and undisturbed rawness clearly sets it apart as one of hardcore’s most distinctive releases. 4 AM Friday In terms of songs per dollar, this is your purchase. As bonus content, 4 AM Friday contains the full length CD Live at the Bottom of the Hill, previously released by Lookout! Both CDs come in at 15 tracks, so for $15, you just scored 30 songs. AVAIL’s live sets are legendary for a good reason, and that shines through on the record. All the sickening ProTools in the world can’t touch “Simple Song” and the other 14 songs that make up 4 AM Friday, and Jade Tree understands that a light touch is best, so as opposed to putting on makeup on a bulldog, they just get a little of the dirt out of its eyes. (Ed. Note – 4AM Friday was an immensely important release to me growing up. As a shell-shocked, still-just-getting-into-punk-and-hardcore 15 year old, hearing the kind of political and personal anger that’s evoked on this release sowed early expectations of what I would seek out in bands. Songs like “Governor” and “Monroe Park” and “Order” struck like bolts of lightning. The tacked on-live set is anything but. Unlike today where most bands know they’re recording a live set, AVAIL had no idea that they were being recorded for a live release, and no ‘are you ready to rock?!?’ bullshit creeps its way in. Nothing replaces the feeling of seeing AVAIL live, but the Live… material is more than impressive – Jordan). Over the James Over the James is considered by many to be AVAIL’s very finest hour, containing some of their best songwriting, complete with a recording quality that didn’t sound like it was recorded in a tin can. This has the least amount of rare tracks, but contains their split with the YOUNG PIONEERS called “the Fall of Richmond”, their contributions to the “Land of Greed, World of Need” comp and the return of the “Red Menace.” Over the James has 18 tracks. If you’re wondering where to start with AVAIL, my humble opinion says that this is the starting point. “Scuffle Town” and “Deepwood” are still speedballs, having lost none of their urgency or import even after 8 years committed to tape. It seems kind of insulting, actually, to suggest that it wouldn’t. Has AVAIL aged well, with all the advances in recording technology? I’d argue quite so, as the bass throb and Tim’s distrustful yell in “New #2″ prove the bass hasn’t become magically overpowering, and Tim’s voice still has the gurgle of 8+ years of rec room hardcore. As for some of the liner notes that accompany all three releases, I think A.C. Thompson goes a little far calling AVAIL “blue collar iconoclasts,” but ultimately, the idea that these three CDs had a huge influence on music to come hits the nail squarely on the head. And while punk rock grows and blossoms today, here is a fine testament, and hopefully not the last, to AVAIL, a band made up of poor, dirty Southern men who took well to what life has given them, and continue currently to make a wonderful band around it. So what separates these reissues from the littany of other music reissues clogging store shelves? What raises AVAIL beyond another amazing band you weren’t around for? Alright, smart guy, they’re still around. AVAIL’s sound is uncomplicated, but not without merit; it’s honest and wears its heart on its sleeve without being pained about it – earnest without cutesy, angrily political without being shrill. If you’re new to the AVAIL game, and wonder what the fuss is all about, go catch them on tour. If they’re not touring near you (which is what, Russia?) then these CDs are documents to an illuminating history still being written.