Is it possible to criticize a totally free and totally superfluous live album as lackluster without coming off as an ungrateful, potentially unappeasable fan? In other words, am I big a dick if I think 30 Years Live, Bad Religion’s second official live album, is a disappointment even though I paid exactly $0 to hear it? That is the question I am stuck with as I lord over my keyboard and hammer out this piece of lightweight reading, drunk on cheap beer and my own powers of reader-manipulation. You might read this and agree with what I have to say, you might read this and disagree with what I have to say, but at a price of $0 you’ll probably just tell me to sod off and judge the album yourself. Feel free to voice your dissent in the comment box, by the way, I actually read it. But who cares, let’s get on with the show!

This is normally the spot where I would inform you on the history of the band and fumble around with a weak attempt to put this release into some sort of context within their catalog. However, this is Bad Religion, essentially The Rolling fucking Stones of the L.A. punk rock scene, meaning that if you do not know the deal by now then you probably just don’t care. By this point the band has nothing left to prove, there is no rock unturned, and no eardrum intact. Which makes this live album a little baffling, as the live album is generally something a band will spit out early in their career, a statement of grandiosity and self-importance that is less acceptable in studio recordings: We are here, and we are the only thing in the world that matters right now. Where Cheap Trick and KISS, as a counterpoint example, had essentially “arrived” with their live records, Bad Religion are already an institution, and for a band of their stature a live album is just a holdover between studio releases. If anything, 30 Years Live is just another reminder that, yes, Bad Religion are among the last groups of their generation still standing and they could kick your ass in their sleep.

First, let it be said that 30 Years Live easily trumps Bad Religion’s first live album, Tested. Not quite an accomplishment worth bragging about, since Tested, with its pristine straight-from-the-soundboard recording kinda…sucked, but an improvement is an improvement and that is noted. 30 Years Live is also intense, as in it is really, really obnoxiously loud and raucous, which is what tends to happen when you crowd a punk rock band with three extremely talented guitar players and a vocalist as ferocious and distinct as Greg Graffin. Culled from around two dozen shows, 30 Years Live is presumably home to the best performances of these songs from the band’s 2010 House Of Blues spring tour. So what do I have to be disappointed about?

It all comes down to the selections that the band has made. Ever since Brett Gurewitz rejoined the group for 2002’s The Process Of Belief, Bad Religion have been on an absolute tear, writing and performing material on par with their late-80s/early-90s heyday. So, predictably, 30 Years Live is heavy on songs from their latest full-length LPs, The Empire Strikes First and New Maps Of Hell (mysteriously, The Process Of Belief is not represented at all). It’s not exactly a bad thing either since, after all, I’m sure in some circles the Graffin/Gurewitz credit is basically akin to Lennon/McCartney, and these latest two records are chock full of all-time highs for the duo. In fact, here on 30 Years Live we get a bombing rendition of “Dearly Beloved,” New Maps Of Hell’s best track, right out of the gate. And what would a live Bad Religion album be without the latter-day modern rock hit “Los Angeles Is Burning,” one of this set’s highlights?

Unfortunately, the attention paid to Bad Religion’s latest incarnation comes at the absence of some absolutely classic material, a good chunk of which I’m positive was performed on this tour, and I would go as far as to bet my left leg on it. The album is bookended with How Could Hell Be Any Worse?’s most popular tunes, “Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell” and “We’re Only Gonna Die,” neither of which will ever get old (especially the chunky breakdown on “We’re Only Gonna Die,” again, classic material). Recipe For Hate also gets a fair showing, particularly in a rousing rendition of the guitar heavy onslaught (more so than most Bad Religion songs, anyway) “Man With A Mission.” Suffer, Against The Grain, Generator, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Gray Race only get one song each, though, and while they generally picked strong tunes from each of the albums it is still a letdown. For instance, where are “21st Century (Digital Boy)” and “Modern Man”? And, while I’m sure most Bad Religion fans would rather forget it, I rather like “Infected.”

The real tragedy, however, is that No Control has not a single showing throughout the album. I’m sure the reliance on recent material is some sort of subtle way of implying that Bad Religion are not willing to rest on their laurels, and that is very cool and respectable, but come on! You’re going to tell me that I can’t get my “Big Bang” and “I Want To Conquer The World” on? What about the one-two knockout of “You” and “Progress”? These are some of the best songs that Bad Religion have ever written and to see them neglected like this, well, it really hurts. Seriously, there is a pain in my gut as I type this (could be the Pabst doing its work, after all it does double as a laxative). Seeing as this is a purely digital release, there is absolutely no need to adhere to physical format limitations, so why not go all out?

As a whole 30 Years Live is a confusing album. On the one hand, it rocks pretty hard and I can think of far worse ways to waste 46 minutes of my life. On the other hand, the utter lack of classic-era material and the overwhelming presence of recent songs is alarming, to say the least, even if the live performances generally improve on their studio counterparts. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there is also a brand new song called “Resist Stance,” which is about how you should resist labels and being defined by anybody other than yourself and how “passion unabated will be readily conflated with belligerence.” It’s pretty good. Overall, if you want my straight opinion, I think you would be better off finding any one of the numerous Bad Religion live bootlegs out there, especially from the 1988-1994 era. Meanwhile, however, 30 Years Live is pretty inoffensive. Just don’t pay more than the asking price.

Track List:
1. Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell
2. Dearly Beloved
3. Suffer
4. Man With A Mission
5. New Dark Ages
6. Germs Of Perfection
7. Marked
8. A Walk
9. Flat Earth Society
10. Resist Stance
11. American Jesus
12. Social Suicide
13. Atheist Peace
14. Tomorrow
15. Won’t Somebody
16. Los Angeles Is Burning
17. We’re Only Gonna Die