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5 comments about Anthem.

1. Alright, I know I'm gonna piss off a few so-called "true LTJ fans". First off, if you're a true fan, you'll understand the way they went with the CD. You may not like it, and you may [...] (way too much, I might add) about it, but that can't change the CD. I personally loved it. Tough cookies.
   
   Now on to the review:
   
   1. Welcome to the New South - 10/10 Very nice opener, with a fast guitar riff to get the listener into the song, followed by Chris' signature sound. I can definitely picture them rocking out to this one.
   
   2. Ghosts of Me and You - 9/10 Loved this one, but there's just something about Roger's voice in this one that makes me want to stop listening to it. That and I heard this one for weeks before I got the CD, and it got boring after a while.
   
   3. Look What Happened (Remix) - 10/10 Heard the B&B version, and I like this one much better. Maybe it's just the punk rocker in me, maybe it's the fact that this song's just awesome.
   
   4. The Science of Selling Yourself Short - 10/10 Never heard a slow-ish LTJ song before, as this was the first LTJ CD I'd ever bought. I loved it, and the music vid they did for this really made me laugh. Roger couldn't have done better.
   
   5. Short Fuse Burning - 11/10 I know. I rated it higher than 10. Sue me. This song...there aren't words enough to describe how awesome it is. Sorta like an ACDC + LTJ + Hooters Hot Wings kinda thing. It is just that good.
   
   6. Motown Never Sounded so Good - 9/10 Once again, this song rocks, and maybe it's just me, but Roger's voice is kinda whiney, like early Tom Petty almost.
   
   7. The Upwards War and the Downturned Cycle - 10/10 Nothing too extremely special here, just some hard rocking and awesome lyrics.
   
   8. Escape From the ABomb House - 9/10 When you first listen to this song, it's amazing and you want to listen forever. Unfortunately, it's got that feel that once you've heard it for a while, it gets horribly repetitive.
   
   9. Best Wishes to Your Black Lung - 10/10 Just plain awesome. I'd like to pack this song, Short Fuse Burning, That's Why They Call it a Union, and Gainesville Rock City into one little album and listen to them forever.
   
   10. She's Gonna Break Soon - 8/10 This one's the album killer. There is nothing worse in a song like this than repetitive "She's gonna break soon, gonna break soon, gonna blah blah blah" over and over again. I liked it for the first ten or twenty plays, but after that, it became "meh".
   
   11. That's Why They Call it a Union - 10/10 This is it. THE song that got me into LTJ. I've loved it forever, and it hasn't let me down yet.
   
   12. Plastic Cup Politics - 10/10 Loved it, nice little ditty about drinking and how it affects things. Great party song.
   
   13. The Brightest Bulb has Burned Out/Screws Fall Out - 11/10 I know, another unfair rating. Like Short Fuse Burning, there aren't words to express how great this song is. Just play it.
   
   14. Surrender (Cover) - 10/10 It's not the original, it's better. Loved it, but like Escape From the ABomb House it gets old after a lot of plays.
   
   There you have it! If I had to recommend this CD in three words or less, it would probably be this: GET THIS ONE!!!!



2. This is vintage Less Than Jake. Fun, slightly homogenous, but fun enough to make up for that for the most part. The new version of "Look What Happened", "Science of Selling Yourself Short" and their cover of "Surrender" are LTJ at their best. The album does kinda fade into a blur towards the middle, but snaps out of it with the decent "She's Gonna Break Soon" and the excellent "Brightest Bulb Has Burnt Out" There isnt anything quite as brilliantly simple yet easygoing and fun as "History of a Boring Town" or "Gainesville Rock City". But there's plenty here to add to the library. It isnt a highlight in their career, but far from a blemish.



3. Their maturity as songrwriters gets better and better with every album... None of their other albums quite compare to the songwriting talent displayed in this.



4. Just because of this album, Less Than Jake goes to #2 on my list of favorites(No one can kick Sublime out of my #1)



5. Ok, First of all... this message goes out to all the reviewers who say that I'm stupid or wrong for rating Anthem less than 5 stars. A review is an opinion and I will rate based on MY opinion. If you don't agree with me, then so be it. All you judgemental naysayers can just ignore my review and go buy this CD and listen to it all day long. You can love it, marry it, sleep with it, and cook it dinner. Good for you. Thats Your opinion.
   As far as my opinion goes... THIS ALBUM WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT.
   
   I first started listening to Less Than Jake when they released Losing Streak, dead set in the middle of the late 90's ska revival. I loved em. I love the ska/punk sound in general. I love the upbeat songs, skankin' guitars, and the horns all rolled into happy little 3 minute packages that barrage your eardrums with fun. I thought Losing streak was a really good album. Then Hello Rockview was released. That album convinced me that Less Than Jake was one of the best ska/punk bands anywhere because I was crazy about every single track on the disk and I couldn't have asked for more. Next out was Borders and Boundaries, which was ALMOST as good as Hello Rockview, but not quite. I still enjoyed it immensely.
   
   and then came ...Anthem...
   
   I bought the CD almost immediately after its release date expecting another fantastic album.
   WOW. I couldn't believe the disappointment I'd bought, and it was a doozy!
   The very first thing I noticed, and it may well be the one thing that upset me most, was the fact that they rerecorded one of the best songs from Borders and Boundaries, Look What Happened. In the rerecorded version, they removed the entire horn intro and made the song more of a punk song, removing much of the horn parts, or making them barely audible over the other instruments. That annoyed me right from the start. So after the initial shock and annoyance, I listened to the album once though as I do with most new CDs. I found about half of the tracks to be rather lousy. The songs weren't interesting or catchy and they seemed difficult to sing or hum along with for lack of an interesting melody (I'm a sucker for a good melody). Much of the horn sound for which Less Than Jake had become heavily assiciated with was either missing altogether, or barely audible over the other instruments. After a few more listens through the CD... and 3 years later, I STILL find that I only like about half of the songs on the CD... and that may be a generous estimate. I admit that one or two have grown on me since, but a truly good album shouldn't have to grow ion you.
   I did eventually burn myself a custom copy of Anthem using only the tracks that I like and the GOOD version of Look What Happened from the Borders and Boundaries album (YES, I already owned both of the CDs!) and now I can enjoy my copy of Anthem without all the garbage tracks.
   
   My Final Thought:
   My opinion is that Anthem is a big disappointment from previous Less Than Jake CDs. If you're considering this album, I strongly suggest you listen to the sound clips and base your decision on them. I also mention that if you were a big fan of earlier Less Than Jake albums, you may well be disappointed with this one.
   ...But hey, thats just my opinion...

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1 comments about Bones.

1. Bones is the ideal summer CD. The ska band blends jazz and reggae, big horn sounds and more conventional rock sounds, into an album of upbeat tunes that just seem to demand that you get outdoors and do something. This is the kind of CD that you listen to once, and have know which song is your favorite, then you listen to it again, and decide that another is your favorite, and so it continues until you find that you HAVE no favorite. It's the kind of CD that you find yourself singing the songs in your head two days after you listen to it . . . and find you don't mind. Highly recommended album from a highly talented, and largely unknown, band.

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