Another CD of the latest 1 Euro batch and one of which I already had a bootleg version, having bought it from a street seller back in the day (I'm in the process of replacing old pirated CD-Rs with the real thing whenever possible). This was released in 2000 as the follow-up to the hugely successful "Americana" album. Offspring were at the time one of the most commercial US groups but still tried to keep some punk street credibility as evidenced by their support for file-sharing sites like napster at the same time that Metallica were suing their own fans for illegal downloading. It's a fun album if you don't mind the fact that they're re-hashing for the umpteenth time the formula perfected on "Smash" years before: fast and furious tempos, melodic choruses and surf guitar solos. For variation they expand (just a little bit) on the hip hop elements first introduced in their previous effort. Opener "Come Out Swinging" is one of the many songs in the typical South California punk idiom, just like the title track, "All Along", 2nd single "Want You Bad" and others. 3rd single "Million Miles Away" is the cream of that crop, featuring super-fast guitar and singalong chorus. Lead single "Original Prankster" is a shamelessly commercial rewrite of their MTV hit "Pretty fly (for a white guy)" right down to the satirical lyrics, catchy chorus, funky riff and hip hop elements. "Living in Chaos" and "Special Delivery" have a funk-metal vibe, the former sounding a bit like early RHCP. "One Fine Day" sounds more like English Oi! rather than Californian punk (until you get to the rap segment, that is) while "Denial, Revisited" is a ballad of sorts, not Offspring's forte but at least it provides some welcome variation. "Vultures" is a much more natural mid-tempo effort with echoes of Nirvana and even 80's New Wave while the CD ends with an a hidden song in the familiar melodic hardcore style. The album sold millions of copies but marked the start of decline for a band unable to renovate its sound (albums released later keep re-hashing the old formula with diminishing success). Having caught them at a festival a few years later, I can testify they were still great live, not unlike other veteran pros doing the festival circuit. That's no small thing, but it'd be great if some day they prove me wrong and make another album as good as "Smash".
**** for Million Miles Away, Original Prankster, Living in Chaos
*** for Come Out Swinging, Want You Bad, Special Delivery, One Fine Day, Vultures, Conspiracy of One
** for Dammit, I Changed Again, All Along, Denial, Revisited, Huck It (hidden track)
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