[1] A one-sided picture disc released at the twilight of the early Los Angeles punk scene,[nb 1] Yes L.A. features some of its most acclaimed bands:[1] the Bags, the Eyes, the Alley Cats, Black Randy and the Metrosquad,[3] X, and the Germs.

[2] The record title makes parody of No New York,[nb 2][2] the seminal no wave compilation album issued a year earlier,[4] perceived as pretentious by West Coast punkers.

[4] The compilation includes a 1978 rawer early version of X's song "Los Angeles", described by Dangerhouse Records co-founder David Brown as "a scathing, literal depiction of the scene which needs no explanation".

All songs on the compilation were previously unissued, with the only exception of Black Randy and the Metrosquad's tune "Down at the Laundrymat", featured on the band's studio album Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie[nb 5][10][11][12] from July 1979.

[6] In June 2013, after 34 years out of print, Yes L.A. was reissued by Frontier in a one-time limited edition of 1,000 almost exact replicas of the original EP[nb 8][4][19][20] to commemorate the label's 100th release.