Other than the lyrics, it's kinda standard. 'No Such Thing' has the most depressing lyrics on the album, and that's no easy task. It has a wonderful build-up throughout, which leads up into a the energy hits a peak and the guys basically sound like their about to pop, but bring it down and up again, extending the song into a healthy 2:50. 'The Last Goodbye', obviously is not the last song on the album. Another awesome bassline and basic surf drumming pop up in this one making it one of the albums best. It's pure surf with punk distortion poping up at all the right places. The song feels like Mike was sitting alone in a dark dreary room when he wrote it. "No matter what they think, or do, or say, everything turns grey.' The song basically continues on this path fleshing out near the end with a terrific solo before ending upbruptly. 'Everything Turns Grey' is a very dark song both lyrically and sonically. 'Too Young To Die' has a wonderful freak-out at the end and the guitar sounds like it's creeping up on someone, while the drums and bass slowly build the momentum, until they get far enough to have Mike scream "WE'RE ALL TOO YOUNG TO DIE!!!!!!" Which brings the song into a sonic barrage of noise, which is what the song was building toward the whole time. However, their are highlights in those 8 songs. Why? Mainly because the album kinda runs together and because the production is different then the other songs included they feel too close to one long song. This is also what I believe is the weakest part of this album. Up next is the actual album 'Living In Darkness', consisting of track 2 through 9. This feature is not included in the album version.
The scream right before the surf solo at the end of the song is probably the best mix of a punk scream and a surf shout I've ever heard. The bass is far more noticible (Played by The Adolescents' Steve Soto) and the energy of Mike's vocal preformance is much more energetic.
If you listen, you can easily tell why, as it's far superior to the other version included. The first track is their most famous song 'Bloodstains', as it says in the liner notes, this is the original version which gave them their record deal. It takes a few listens to get into it, but when you do it's extremely rewarding.
Also an Interview from 1981 is included as track 16. It includes their stellar first album (Tracks 2-9), and some other tracks that didn't make the cut. Straight outta nowhere, Agent Orange stepped up and created a genre that was never seen before or since, surf-punk. Steve Soto: Bass, Backing Vocals (Tracks 1,13,14,15)
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