Knapsack - Silver Sweepstakes LP - Clear w/ Multicolor Splatter - From The Complete Discography Box Set (/300)

Spartan (2023, Reissue)

I recently got my hands on the vinyl box set of all three Knapsack albums.  Rather than try to write one really long review that encompasses all of the albums, I figured I would break this into multiple parts like I have with other box sets I've written about.  For the next three Friday's we'll visit each of Knapsack's albums.  Even though I have the original pressings of each album, the box set was just too cool to pass up.  This week, we're starting with their debut, Silver Sweepstakes.

While this was the first Knapsack record that was released back in 1995, it was not the first album of theirs that I heard.  I started off with their second album, Day Three of My New Life.  I had to backtrack and get this album.  It was also the last album of theirs that I picked up on vinyl, having only added it to the collection about ten years ago or so.  I did have the CD for ages, having picked it up in the late 90s.

Of the three, it is the Knapsack album that I listen to the least.  That's not to say it's 'the worst' record or bad in any way, it's just that the band improved so mightily over their next two albums that they kind of left this one in the dust.  All of the necessary components for Knapsack fun are here.  The crunch guitar riffs, impassioned vocals and general feelings of angst are all exactly what I want from a Knapsack album, but the band managed to pull them off even better on the next two releases.

The reissue that is part of this is an exclusive colorway that only came with the first 300 copies of the box set.  When they sold out, the label did through together a little over a hundred more with some vinyl variants that were also available separately.  It sounds great and they have also added the song "Don't Mind," originally the B side of the Trainwrecker 7".  I'll write a bit more about the box itself when we get to the last album, but know that the box is pretty crazy with a big old book full of Knapsack information.  A very nice set and really makes rebuying these albums again worth it.

Knapsack - Silver Sweepstakes:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lci8rB0w87aaTOD72uv3kXQ8HOYKxaKs0