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Review |
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Social Distortion were formed back in 1979 by frontman Mike Ness and have
since released many albums and gone through many line up changes in the
past 30 years the band have been together. The band last released an album
in 2004 with their 'Sex, Love And Rock 'n' Roll' album and are now ready
to release their first ever greatest hits album.
The sad bit about the release of Social Distortion's 'Greatest Hits' album
is the fact that the band have been together for 28 years and they can
only manage 12 tracks on the album with one being a new track making it
just 11 classic Social Distortion tracks, but the good thing is the tracks
the band have chosen for the album are good tracks.
The album opens with 'Another State Of Mind' which is a really old school
sounding punk song and really gets you into Social Distortions sound if
you are new to the band, the song originally featured on the bands debut
album 'Mommy's Little Monster' which was released back in 1983. Track
2, 'Mommy's Little Monster' is one of the best songs on the 'Greatest
Hits' collection being quite a catchy sing a long song. The song is also
what helped get the band a name for themselves in the punk rock scene
back in 1983.
Track 3 'Prison Bound' is taken from the bands album of the same name
and is such a good song that brought the band much success, and was written
after frontman Mike Ness struggled with heroin addiction and spent much
time in and out of jail.
The next three tracks on the 'Greatest Hits' were taken from the bands
self- titled major label debut album, which was released in 1990. The
first of the three tracks 'Story Of My Life' is a really good upbeat track
and one of the most successful Social Distortion tracks. The second track
'Ball And Chain' is quite an emotional song that features very personal
lyrics. The third song 'Ring Of Fire' is a cover of the classic Johnny
Cash song who vocalist Mike Ness is very influenced by and does a good
job covering the classic song.
'Bad Luck' is a pretty average song that is quite repetitive; the song
is the only song on 'Greatest Hits' taken from the bands 'Somewhere Between
Heaven And Hell' album.
'When The Angels Sing' is my favourite track on 'Greatest Hits', the song
is a very personal song to Mike with him singing about all the close friends
of his that have died, the song is very upbeat and catchy but still quite
emotional. 'I Was Wrong' is a song about growing up with Mike singing
about things that he has done wrong and regrets, the song also shows how
the bands music has changed throughout the years. Both songs were originally
released on the bands 1996 Epic records album 'White Light, White Heat,
White Trash'.
'Reach For The Sky' is the bands last single release and is one of the
fastest tracks Social Distortion have ever written and played and is a
top song that was from the bands last album 'Sex, Love And Rock 'n' Roll'.
The end of the 'Greatest Hits' album sees a new Social Distortion song
recorded just for this album release. The song is called 'Far Behind'
and carries on from the last Social Distortion single with the way it
is fast and really catchy and shows that the band still has what it takes
to write a good song.
Overall 'The Greatest Hits' is a good album, it is a little disappointing
that the band can only come up with 12 tracks for the album but the tracks
that are on the album really can’t be faulted. If you are yet to
check out Social Distortion but would like to check them out, buy this
album as it wont disappoint you and you will see how Social Distortion
have influenced some of the best punk bands around.
4/5
Review by Trigger |
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| Band
Members |
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Mike Ness (Vocals, Lead Guitar)
Brent Harding (Bass)
Jonny Wickersham (Backing Vocals,
Rhythm Guitar)
Charlie Quintana (Drums) |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Another State Of Mind
2. Mommy's Little Monster
3. Prison Bound
4. Story Of My Life
5. Ball And Chain
6. Ring Of Fire
7. Bad Luck
8. When The Angels Sing
9. I Was Wrong
10. Reach For The Sky
11. Far Behind |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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