The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It

Published in 1997

Wikipedia

Hi, and welcome to third wave ska month at... No, I'm just kidding.  We're going to get away from the theme stuff for a while, and just write about albums because we want to, damn your eyes.  So, here is the filtered understanding that I have of the Bosstones, through years of nostalgia and enjoyment.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones play awesome music, and I may only be saying that because this was one of the first albums I ever owned, and may be directly responsible for me having this compulsion to listen to full albums.  Let me explain.  I didn't own a lot of music back in the day, when it was expensive and hard to know what to listen to.  I listened to that ever present mythical radio station known at 99.1 HFS at every opportunity.

Like Proust's tea cookies,  WHFS brings the memories of youth flooding back to me.  Riding in the car too and from places, listening in my room, hating DC 101.  Bob Wah, the Weasel, all the rest of the great DJ's and actually pretty strange music.  This was one of the last bastions of the alternative alternative rock station, at least in my area, and it kept that funk up until I was at least in late elementary school.  Since it turned into El Zol in high school, that's not a bad run.

I get these memories coming back from listening to this album.  It's astonishingly good, but back when I got the album, I was a big single kid.  I loved singles, because they were what I would listen to over and over, and I knew all the words to most of them, and they were fun.  However, in owning CDs, I came to realize something pretty incredible.  The singles were rarely the best song on the album.

Now, I know I am a card carrying member of the hipster militia for even uttering that sentence, but I think it is true for anyone who routinely listens to albums.  Think about your favorite album with a mega smash single on it.  Now think about your favorite track on that album.  Chances are, they are two different tracks.

The Bosstones are just incredible, straight across the board.  The horns are tight, the message is good, and the songs are well done.  They are just an excellent band, with excellent vocals.  Looking back, I'm glad that I found their album better than The Impression That I Get.  Let's talk about The Impression That I Get for a second.

It's a solid song.  Well written, sounds interesting, and the horns are awesome.  However, compared to songs like Another Drinking song and the Rascal King and a couple of others, it seems a bit simple and less interesting.  However, the fact that they were ubiquitous on the radio for that amount of time is a great thing, and I am sure that the catchyness is still being played on alt stations today.

Every song on here has a message, and that can get a little heavy handed, but I think the music more than makes up for that.  It takes a lot to write a good song about something real to people, and they dodge the hokey hole pretty well.  Also, who would be on the other side of these arguments but exactly the people you'd expect.

Another thing to know about the album is that it moves.  The longest song clocks in at 3:49, and that is because it has a long intro.  If you don't enjoy one song, the album gets over it pretty quickly, and the quick clip between songs gives you a big palette to find one that you enjoy.

I don't have much more to say about this album, because I enjoy it so much.  If you like ska at all, you've probably heard this album, and if you haven't you should.  If you haven't heard this album, you should, goes for everyone too.  It's a great album.

"The Furher does not say this, 'Achtung, baby.'"

Matt

PS. Write more comments, lose me some money, and some weight.  Give Phil Five.  Suggest albums!