The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – When God Was Great (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 58:40 minutes | 738 MB | Genre: Reggae
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Hellcat – Epitaph
When God Was Great, the eleventh studio album from ska legends The Mighty Mighty BossToneS is their first for Hellcat records. While the sound digs into their punk past and more polished pop; the songs are disjointed, worryingly preoccupied with the current pandemic and mindsets surrounding it.
Produced by Ted Hutt and Tim Armstrong the album fluctuates between tracks where the elder statesmen look back on a fading scene and others where the veterans deal with the current cultural climate. One thing common to all the songs on When God Was Great is the sense of world-weariness that colors everything; awkward small talk over Zoom, conspiracy theories, and police killings have rightfully zapped the energy from the outfit.
The opening trio of tunes recalls all of the band’s (vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, saxophonists Tim “Johnny Vegas” Burton and Leon Silva, Bosstone Ben Carr, drummer Joe Sirois, guitarists Nate Albert and Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist Chris Rhodes) strengths. The punk-ska combo of the music for “Decide”, “M O V E” and “I Don’t Believe In Anything” display the classic Bosstones sound instantly, however, Barrett’s lyrics and singing style are much more reserved, exasperatedly dealing with culture at a crossroads regarding Covid, compromised truth and moving on from the past.
Tracklist:
1. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – DECIDE (02:43)
2. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – M O V E (03:17)
3. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – I DON’T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING (03:46)
4. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – CERTAIN THINGS (03:42)
5. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – BRUISED (03:12)
6. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – LONELY BOY (03:33)
7. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – THE KILLING OF GEORGIE (PT. III) (04:25)
8. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – YOU HAD TO BE THERE (03:42)
9. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – WHEN GOD WAS GREAT (03:40)
10. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – WHAT IT TAKES (03:40)
11. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – LONG AS I CAN SEE THE LIGHT (02:51)
12. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – THE TRUTH HURTS (03:36)
13. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – IT WENT WELL (04:33)
14. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – I DON’T WANT TO BE YOU (03:56)
15. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – THE FINAL PARADE (07:57)
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