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Offspring

Americana 6 ( 1998 )
Welcome / Have You Ever / Staring At The Sun / Pretty Fly (for a white guy) / Kids Aren't Alright / Feelings / She's Got Issues / Walla Walla / End Of The Line / No Brakes / Why Don't You Get A Job / Americana / Pay The Man

Punk rock! Late Nineties grunge influenced watered down guitar pop! The quite entertaining 'Have You Ever' - very fast, the lyrics fine and the drums really rather good - pounding and demented. Things take a dip for 'Staring At The Sun' - the drums still do mighty fine, lots of energy. The guitars thrash and riff away but sound generic and don't pick out interesting melodies, anything unusual. This is standard stuff rescued by its sheer energy and force of will. 'Pretty Fly ( for a white guy )' is pandering to the lowest common denominator, 'kick his lily-white ass' indeed. It's mosh-pit fun, it's mindless and dumb. It's the kind of song that reveals EVERYTHING upon first listen, which is why of course it made for a good radio hit. Second or third listens add nothing to the experience, fourth and fifth and the sheer obviousness of the melody and structure start to really irritate. Hugely better is 'The Kids Aren't Alright' which might not have made such a big selling single - but sure would have helped their reputation a bit more. The music is intelligent, well structured, very well performed. The guitar section that follows the verse/chorus sequence is very good indeed, not too wild but full of genuinely interesting melody.

Very few moments of interest remain. 'Feelings' is far too obvious in every single respect, 'She's Got Issues' another radio hit that you'll never want to hear again after the fifth or sixth listen. Of course, this style of music ( punky guitar pop ) isn't meant to be tricky or difficult. There is a compromise though. You can do other interesting things, especially over the course of a whole album. The closing 'Pay The Man' is ten minutes long and far more ambitious a song and all the better for it. Ultimately this album suffers from inappropriate production and the far too obvious 'hit' nature of 'Pretty Fly ( for a white guy ). It loses the band credibility as a serious musical group. It's a shame really, as there are a few genuinely interesting things here.

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Readers Comments Aaron glen@mitchell1818.fsnet.co.uk No are you insane this yes has the poppy but polite pretty 'fly for a white guy' but they needed that to get on to the market if you want punk and not "Waterd down guitar pop" yeh its really late influenced grunge yeh right its so far from it concidering the offsping came on the scene in '1989' I really carnt belive you said that. Walla walla' one of the best songs ever so great it sucks you in with that powerful chorus and the lyrics really are quite good i no its your opinon and im disagreeing you misguided individual ‘grunge’ I ask you. This album is such a strong ten I couldn’t break it with a slege so don’t start picking with ya little pick axe it aint goona break Adrian please re listen 10 10 10 (aaron) bass player edd eddie123zeppelin@hotmail.com i agree. The offspring are overrated shite. Every song sounds the same. Nick nickspicer@talk21.com self esteem was a fuckin beast of a song, total class. Apart from that the offspring, and the remainder of their songs, are complete wank. David Owens davidowens78@yahoo.com I heard this album once and vowed never to do so again. It is dreadful, which is a shame as Smash, their debut, was a genuinely exciting affair. I bought it on the strength of hearing Self Esteem in the spring of 1995. Indeed, it was my first CD purchase. But from that point on, this band seemed to lurch from one bad record to another. Their most famous moment was Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), but it didn't deserve to be - Self Esteem and the other tracks from Smash did. Will willvero@iprimus.com.au 6 is a fair rating for The Offspring's Americana. But I strongly recommend Ixnay On The Hombre (1997), its a wonderful record, their best, deserving of a solid 8. Also Conspiracy Of One (2001) is good, a better version of Americana. There is, believe it or not, some genius to this band. It lies in those two albums.br> Brandon Toronto, On "The Kids Aren't Alright" video seemed to get a fair amount of play on Much Music (Canada's answer to MTV, without the production values. Yeah, the shit's that bad). It's a banging tune. It marries the Springsteen American social commentator and rabble rouser approach with a slacker aesthetic. The kids ain't alright, but there isn't a damn thing this gang of grungy-pop stars are gonna do about it. Pass the chronic.