Goodbye Blue & White

by

Less Than Jake

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Less Than Jake fans should love this compilation, as it encompasses the band's entire career, except maybe for the really gritty earliest days. They excel at covers, and since a lot of their own work on this CD appeared on 7"s or b-sides or whatever (the unspoken symbol of that which lacks a certain quality), none of it is quite as rambunctious, well-produced, and capable of pumping you up as the songs "I Think I Love You", "We're Not Gonna Take It", and "Teenager in Love". Another habit of theirs is remaking earlier music, such as "Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore" and "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" reappearing with superior recordings on Losing Streak; on GB&W there's a slew of familiar titles, from "Scott Farcas" and "Rock'n'Roll Pizzeria" to "Dopeman" and "Cheez" (shortened from the Hello Rockview track "Richard Allen George...No, It's Just Cheez"), but aside from "Dopeman", most of them sound more primitive than their official versions, which is a bit disappointing. As for "Dopeman", I've always considered it an anomaly of LTJ's. The most mellow of all their songs, it's practically hip-hop, so the potential for fans of this furiously upbeat punk troupe to dislike it is high. Even I used to think it was weak, but after a while you get used to it, and the remix presented here is actually better than the original, I think. The background drum beat is accentuated, for one thing, making the overall rhythm catchier than before. A number of other selections fail to leave their mark; I'm thinking of "Descant", "Evil Has No Boundaries", "Son of Dick", and "Anti-Christ". In most cases it's the vocals, which are less refined than the best of Less Than Jake (which, I think, is represented by the supreme Hello Rockview; none of their other albums even come close). Thankfully, these hints of mediocrity are overshadowed by perennial tunes "Freeze Frame", "Your Love", "Losing Streak", "Modern World", and "Mixology of Tom Collins", any of which would be welcome alongside the tracks on their full-length albums. "Yo-Yo Ninja Boy" has a stupid title, and the lyrics ain't a big improvement, but it's kinda fun, albeit short (like most everything on this CD, I should warn, it's less than 2 minutes long). But best of all, even better than "I Think I Love You", are the final 3 tracks, each a brief advertisement-related ditty that stray from the usual LTJ formula. "Mud" is a rushed a-capella, while "Hamburger Hop" sounds just like some '50s radio commercial, and "KROQ Song" is a catchy, self-effacing little jingle. Creative endeavors like these really distinguish a band, and don't receive nearly the attention they deserve. I imagine the majority of bands have music recorded in all sorts of venues and circumstances beyond album and concert formats, and Goodbye Blue and White is an ingenious shout-out to all those lost, forgotten, or otherwise uncredited pieces in the resume puzzle. LTJ aren't the first ones to compile previously released stuff (for the sake of cashing in on their eventual success, obviously), but if more artists had copious and diverse comp records like this one, instead of small-sized EPs littered with their worst junk and fit only for the most die-hard collector, maybe the waters of music consumerism would be safer to navigate

1) I Think I Love You (A)

2) Losing Streak (B)

3) Mixology of Tom Collins (B)

4) Modern World (B)

5) Yo-Yo Ninja Boy (B-)

6) Dopeman (remix) (B)

7) Rock-n-Roll Pizzeria (7" version) (B-)

8) We're Not Gonna Take It (B+)

9) Son of Dick (C+)

10) Teenager in Love (B+)

11) Freeze Frame (B+)

12) Your Love (B+)

13) Scott Farcas Takes it on the Chin (7" version) (B)

14) Descant (B-)

15) Evil Has No Boundaries (B-)

16) Anti-Christ (B-)

17) Cheez (7" version) (B-)

18) Mississippi Mud (A-)

19) Hamburger Hop (B+)

20) KROQ Song (B+)