Maybe hanging out with Jello Biafra put the fun-loving spring in Offspring's step. Or perhaps it was just the royalty checks, hot babes, and fast cars. Whatever the case, the band's fourth record,
Americana, is its most lively offering to date, replacing angst and rage with energy and sarcasm. The novelty single "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" matches infectious riffing and shout-along vocals with fly-girl chants of "Give it to me, baby" and lyrics about wannabe scenesters; and a storming punk-rock version of Morris Albert's "Feelings" sees the band hitting a new level of, er, (in)sensitivity. Elsewhere, the humour is slightly more subtle; "She's Got Issues" cops a new-wave guitar line from the Cars songbook, "The Kids Aren't Alright" opens like an Iron Maiden anthem, and "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is a blatant reggae-style spoof of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". Musically,
Americana offers no real revelations, but the songs are a bit craftier and more diverse than the rest of the Offspring oeuvre, veering haphazardly between anthemic punk metal, blistering hardcore, and near-psychedelic experimentation.
--Jon Wiederhorn
1998-11-09
Usually dispatched within 7 to 10 days
Columbia
5099749165625
1 x Audio CD
1. Welcome
2. Have You Ever
3. Staring At The Sun
4. Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
5. Kids Aren't Alright
6. Feelings
7. She's Got Issues
8. Walla Walla
9. End Of The Line
10. No Brakes
11. Why Don't You Get A Job
12. Americana
13. Pay The Man
2005-07-04
Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Sony
5099751874621
1 x Audio CD
1. Cant Repeat
2. Self Esteem
3. Come Out And Play (Keep Em Separated)
4. Gotta Get Away
5. All I Want
6. Gone Away
7. Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
8. Why Don't You Get A Job?
9. The Kids Aren't Alright
10. Original Prankster
11. Want You Bad
12. Defy You
13. Hit That
14. (Cant Get My) Head Around You
15. The Kids Arent Alright (Wise Guys Remix) (Bonus Track)
16. Next To You (Bonus Track)