Social Distortion

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Social Distortion

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Ten years ago, I was in hell or high school to be exact. Being an outcast from the jocks and the cheerleaders, I sought solace in alternative/punk music while everyone else was listening to either hair metal or r&b music which didn't sit well with me. One day I was hanging out at a friend's house and while watching MTV (pre-Carson Daly), out of nowhere the video for Social Distortion's "Ball and Chain" appeared right before my eyes. Within a matter of seconds, I found myself humming along to the song. It was the catchiest song I had ever heard at the time. It is one of those songs that you can never get out of your head to save your life. To this very day, I still find myself humming that song. After hearing the song "Ball and Chain", I immediately bought the album a few days later. Like L7's "Bricks Are Heavy", Social D's self-titled album made an huge impact on me. The band's cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" was incredible from the very second I heard it. I loved Social D's version of the song. The entire album is incredible. All of the songs are catchy as hell and just overall fun to listen to. I love Mike Ness' raspy vocals and searing guitar licks. Other than "Ring of Fire", the rest of the album are originals that chronicled Mike's battles with alcohol & drugs and just life in itself. "Social Distortion" is the other album from the early '90s that still holds up in the sea of [junk] that is passed off as "alternative music".

First of all I'd like to mention that this review is biased since I'm a fan of the slightly more raw sounding Social Distortion. Social Distortion has put out some awesome Rock N' Roll but a lot of this album sounds a bit like washed down college rock to me. Very slick production & a bit too poppy here & there. HOWEVER, there are still some damn good songs on here, a cover of Ring Of Fire, & the classics Ball & Chain, So Far Away & Drug Train make this album good. The best songs are the well-honed bluesy-Social-Distortion-brand-rock while some of the rest sound a bit whiny. I definitely recommend Mommy's Little Monster over this or even Mainliner if you wanna hear some early punk rock Social D. (I'd actually give this 3.5 stars since I like basically half the album).