Classic Rock Album of the Day- Social Distortion - White Heat, White Light. White Trash (1996) ***
Several pages ago, I coined the phrase Van Halen Factor (VHF). That is or was bands that the listener was better off buying one of a few or several compliaton albums instead of any given one. Social Distortion fits that bill. This is a great band, with incredible energy. From the persepctive of punk pioneers, they are very good mix of the two sides.... The humorous (Ramones) and the angry (Sex Pistols/Clash). I do love how Ness and his bad boys blend the head bouncing time frame of '70's punk with mosh pit mashers of his era.
When you see (watch some YT clips) and hear Ness and Co.,, you can tell that these are guys who aren't artificial, fake, or prententious in their trade. These guys seem to perform from their perspective of sorrow and anger with incredible emotion. Social Distortion also has nice streak of versatility that you normally don't see in modern punk rockers. In his repetiore you will find metal, ballads, country and straight up rock and roll. If there is one detraction to Social Distortion is that they recycle their riffs and meter way too much. I know plenty of punk bands do this, but the Ramones were the only ones who were able to intentionally pull that off as part of their persona and charm.
I have been wanting to review one of SD's albums for easily a year now. I think I changed my mind about 4 times, focusing on what I thought are their best 3. This one from '96, their last and swan song Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes from '11, and Self Titled in '90. Against my normal tendenices, I went with the one with the one song that i liked the best in their catalog. "I was Wrong". But be aware, and as I said at the onset, not every song is good, it has that incessant punk redundancy, and overt anger that sometmes overides the musical content.
Fun Fact: Number of songs to chart Top 50? Zero. This band did it skating under the radar. Good for them.
Track No.
--------------
1. Dear Lover- SD starts the proceeding with a standard rocker that comes off kind of like something Kiss would do in the early '70's. Similar chord progressions, 4/4 drum tam bumps, but just add Mike Ness growls and anger. Good start. 5
2. Don't Drag Me Down- Some serious nice guitar work by Ness on this. Guy's really good on his Gibsons, and he uses two of the three of my favorites, SG's and Les Pauls. Not 100% sure, but I think this may be when he made the conversion. SG's have a bolder sound, but if you want fast and flashy?.... 4
3. Untitled- Unique song title that has that level of despair that characterize many of Ness' tunes. The riffs? Recycled, and not the first time. 10
4. I Was Wrong- The Crowned Jewel of the entire Social Distortion discography. I will go as far, as saying this song makes it in my top 10 rock songs of the entire 1990's. Every aspect in this song clicks perfectly and comes together like a charm. It does have the same structure of a lot of other SD tunes. But never have I heard a song that so well blended punk and hard rock. Heartfelt, personal, and emotions of a guy that has lived, learned, and experienced a hard life. His ability to translate that emotion to vinyl is incredible. If you don't feel this one , you ain't a Rocker. 1
5. Through These Eye- Same emotion and power, but with a less effective musical vehicle. 6
6. Down On the World Again- Same metering and riffs, but with a little more ax shredding, and Ramones like tempo. Mike's one angry guy that is for sure. 7
7. When the Angels Sing- Even in its repetetiveness, 75% of the time, you can find some redeeming stuff. In SD's heavy edged world, this almost qualifies as a ballad. Ness' obesseion with prisons and prisoners has that Johnny Cash vibe to it. In kind of another fun fact, Ness actually does on another album Cash's "Ring of Fire"... And very well I might add. 3
8. Gotta Know the Rules - Has kind of a Judas Priest thrashish metal feel to it "Breaking the Law, Breaking the Law.!!!!" I really liked it. 2
9. Crown of Thorns- Seems Ness is running on empty on songwriting skills here. More anger, less effect. 11
10. Pleasure Seeker- See above. 10
11. Down Here (With the Rest of Us)- A little redemption from the previous 2. Innovative riffing, and drumming. Very disimilar from the rest of the album. It's like someone said to Ness..... You can't make a dozen songs on an album that sound all alike" 8
12. Under My Thumb- Silly remake of the Stones classic. Docked at least 3-4 rankings for dumbassery. 12
Several pages ago, I coined the phrase Van Halen Factor (VHF). That is or was bands that the listener was better off buying one of a few or several compliaton albums instead of any given one. Social Distortion fits that bill. This is a great band, with incredible energy. From the persepctive of punk pioneers, they are very good mix of the two sides.... The humorous (Ramones) and the angry (Sex Pistols/Clash). I do love how Ness and his bad boys blend the head bouncing time frame of '70's punk with mosh pit mashers of his era.
When you see (watch some YT clips) and hear Ness and Co.,, you can tell that these are guys who aren't artificial, fake, or prententious in their trade. These guys seem to perform from their perspective of sorrow and anger with incredible emotion. Social Distortion also has nice streak of versatility that you normally don't see in modern punk rockers. In his repetiore you will find metal, ballads, country and straight up rock and roll. If there is one detraction to Social Distortion is that they recycle their riffs and meter way too much. I know plenty of punk bands do this, but the Ramones were the only ones who were able to intentionally pull that off as part of their persona and charm.
I have been wanting to review one of SD's albums for easily a year now. I think I changed my mind about 4 times, focusing on what I thought are their best 3. This one from '96, their last and swan song Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes from '11, and Self Titled in '90. Against my normal tendenices, I went with the one with the one song that i liked the best in their catalog. "I was Wrong". But be aware, and as I said at the onset, not every song is good, it has that incessant punk redundancy, and overt anger that sometmes overides the musical content.
Fun Fact: Number of songs to chart Top 50? Zero. This band did it skating under the radar. Good for them.
Track No.
--------------
1. Dear Lover- SD starts the proceeding with a standard rocker that comes off kind of like something Kiss would do in the early '70's. Similar chord progressions, 4/4 drum tam bumps, but just add Mike Ness growls and anger. Good start. 5
2. Don't Drag Me Down- Some serious nice guitar work by Ness on this. Guy's really good on his Gibsons, and he uses two of the three of my favorites, SG's and Les Pauls. Not 100% sure, but I think this may be when he made the conversion. SG's have a bolder sound, but if you want fast and flashy?.... 4
3. Untitled- Unique song title that has that level of despair that characterize many of Ness' tunes. The riffs? Recycled, and not the first time. 10
4. I Was Wrong- The Crowned Jewel of the entire Social Distortion discography. I will go as far, as saying this song makes it in my top 10 rock songs of the entire 1990's. Every aspect in this song clicks perfectly and comes together like a charm. It does have the same structure of a lot of other SD tunes. But never have I heard a song that so well blended punk and hard rock. Heartfelt, personal, and emotions of a guy that has lived, learned, and experienced a hard life. His ability to translate that emotion to vinyl is incredible. If you don't feel this one , you ain't a Rocker. 1
5. Through These Eye- Same emotion and power, but with a less effective musical vehicle. 6
6. Down On the World Again- Same metering and riffs, but with a little more ax shredding, and Ramones like tempo. Mike's one angry guy that is for sure. 7
7. When the Angels Sing- Even in its repetetiveness, 75% of the time, you can find some redeeming stuff. In SD's heavy edged world, this almost qualifies as a ballad. Ness' obesseion with prisons and prisoners has that Johnny Cash vibe to it. In kind of another fun fact, Ness actually does on another album Cash's "Ring of Fire"... And very well I might add. 3
8. Gotta Know the Rules - Has kind of a Judas Priest thrashish metal feel to it "Breaking the Law, Breaking the Law.!!!!" I really liked it. 2
9. Crown of Thorns- Seems Ness is running on empty on songwriting skills here. More anger, less effect. 11
10. Pleasure Seeker- See above. 10
11. Down Here (With the Rest of Us)- A little redemption from the previous 2. Innovative riffing, and drumming. Very disimilar from the rest of the album. It's like someone said to Ness..... You can't make a dozen songs on an album that sound all alike" 8
12. Under My Thumb- Silly remake of the Stones classic. Docked at least 3-4 rankings for dumbassery. 12
