Customer Reviews

B-Sides & C-Sides

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I didnt even know this cd existed until yesterday. i was in my local music store, saw it and bought it. anyways, it has the feel of the operation ivy release. short, poppy songs with catchy hooks and the like. a couple of songs have a strong ska influence (trumpets, horns and the like). every song is listenable but most of the songs (21 in all) are top quality, punk sounding whoa's and na-na-na's sing along punk style. personally, i would rate this album a close second behind "and out come the wolves." man i love this cd and i love rancid. if you love rancid like i know you do, BUY IT, i promise you will like it.

Hmmmm, could this be - a scrape the barrel of the archives cash-in album from the very band that brought punk rock back from the dead and championed integrity in the music industry? Yes. But, it is also nothing short of spectacular - and I'm happy to have my favorite, dust-crusted vinyl singles on CD at last. It ranks right up there with ...Wolves and Life Wont Wait and is a hair ahead of Indestructible among the best Rancid albums and side projects. Sure the rabid fan base can't wait for the next proper album, but this collection is more than enough to keep the pit jumping until then.

Like 2 new Rancid cd's for the price of 1!!! It has a bunch of gems on it, some only released on compilations or as "b" sides, some never released in the USA before.

Here's how I rank the songs:

1. Ben Zanotto (3.5 stars) Very Standard Rancid tune, circa "Rancid 2000".
2. Stop (3.5 stars) Ska tune w/ horns circa "Out Come the Wolves". Vocals are distorted which may annoy.
3. Devil's Dance (2.5 stars) A punkabilly cut, not my cup o' tea.
4. Dead and Gone (3.5 stars) 2 minute punk tune, circa "Rancid 2000". Matt sings!
5. Stranded (4 stars) A 2 minute scorcher! Cross b/t "Rancid 2000" and "Indestructible"
6. Killing Zone (4 stars) Lars song catchy tune w/ great chorus. Circa "Life wont wait"
7. 100 Years (3.5 stars) 2 minute scorcher w/ no vocals. Bass solo. Very different tune for them.
8. Things to Come (4.5 stars) Slow ska influenced track. Sounds like a lost track off Tims solo ska album. Horns featured.
9. Blast 'Em (3.5 stars) Slower solid punk track that reminds me of their early work.
10. Endrina (3 stars) 1 minute Lars sung track, circa "Rancid 2000"
11. White Knuckle Ride (5 stars) 1:25 of some of the best Bass Matt has ever played.
12. Sick Sick World (3.5 stars) 1:17 scorcher. Circa "Rancid 2000". Great bass again.
13. "Tattoo" (4 stars) 2 minute fast Lars sung track. Great bass line. Good chorus.
14. "That's Entertainment" (3.5 stars) 1:30 Lars sung track. Very "Wolves" "Life" sounding.
15. "Clockwork Orange" (4 stars). Probably the most Rancid song i've ever heard! Great bass line.
16. "Brothels" (4 stars) Slower punk track w/ good guitar hook. Catchy song! Circa "Life"
17. "Just a Feeling" (3.54 stars) 2 minute sing-along circa the first 2 albums, great bass!
18. "Brixton" (5 stars) One of my fav Rancid songs ever. Op Ivy sounding ska track. Great Oi-like sing along tune. The best find on the album!
19. "Empros Lap Dog" (3 stars) 2 minute guitar driven track. Circa "Life"
20. "I Wanna Riot" (4.5 stars) 3 minute paired down version of the song from the "Beavis and Butthead" soundtrack. I loved the old version and this new one too. Another great find! Ska classic.
21. "Kill the Lights" (4.5) Bass driven 1:20 fast punk track Classic Rancid circa "Rancid 2000".
(the following tracks are only on the Japanese version of this cd, get it!!!!)
22. "I'm not the only one" (3.5 stars). Good guitar riff. Catchy chorus, circa first 2 albums.
23. "Battering Ram" (3.5 stars) another very distinct track. Matt and Tim sing. Great chorus!
24. "The Sentence" (3 stars) 3 minute standard Rancid track. Circa first 2 albums.
25 "Media Controller" (4.5 stars) Matt Freeman Oi song w/ great chorus.
26. "Idle Hands" (3.5 stars) 2 minute, Matt sings chorus. Circa "Rancid 2000".
Hope that helps. If you like anything Rancid has done on their last 4 albums you will not be disappointed with this one! Despite how I rate the individual songs, the cd is def 5 stars! Oi!

Just to update some of the info here, the non-import copy of this CD which I just received DOES have the bonus tracks. They are listed on the inside cover and play fine, so apparently you don't have to buy the import to get them now.

I didn't know this was out there until recently. It's a great addition to a Rancid/OpIvy collection or if you just prefer the raw sounds of early-ish CA punk.

Like 2 new Rancid cd's for the price of 1!!! It has a bunch of gems on it, some only released on compilations or as "b" sides, some never released in the USA before. Buy/ steal this cd!

Here's how I rank the songs:

1. Ben Zanotto (3.5 stars) Very Standard Rancid tune, circa "Rancid 2000".
2. Stop (3.5 stars) Ska tune w/ horns circa "Out Come the Wolves". Vocals are distorted which may annoy.
3. Devil's Dance (2.5 stars) A punkabilly cut, not my cup o' tea.
4. Dead and Gone (3.5 stars) 2 minute punk tune, circa "Rancid 2000". Matt sings!
5. Stranded (4 stars) A 2 minute scorcher! Cross b/t "Rancid 2000" and "Indestructible"
6. Killing Zone (4 stars) Lars song catchy tune w/ great chorus. Circa "Life wont wait"
7. 100 Years (3.5 stars) 2 minute scorcher w/ no vocals. Bass solo. Very different tune for them.
8. Things to Come (4.5 stars) Slow ska influenced track. Sounds like a lost track off Tims solo ska album. Horns featured.
9. Blast 'Em (3.5 stars) Slower solid punk track that reminds me of their early work.
10. Endrina (3 stars) 1 minute Lars sung track, circa "Rancid 2000"
11. White Knuckle Ride (5 stars) 1:25 of some of the best Bass Matt has ever played.
12. Sick Sick World (3.5 stars) 1:17 scorcher. Circa "Rancid 2000". Great bass again.
13. "Tattoo" (4 stars) 2 minute fast Lars sung track. Great bass line. Good chorus.
14. "That's Entertainment" (3.5 stars) 1:30 Lars sung track. Very "Wolves" "Life" sounding.
15. "Clockwork Orange" (4 stars). Probably the most unusual Rancid song i've ever heard! Great bass line.
16. "Brothels" (4 stars) Slower punk track w/ good guitar hook. Catchy song! Circa "Life"
17. "Just a Feeling" (3.54 stars) 2 minute sing-along circa the first 2 albums, great bass!
18. "Brixton" (5 stars) One of my fav Rancid songs ever. Op Ivy sounding ska track. Great Oi-like sing along tune. The best find on the album!
19. "Empros Lap Dog" (3 stars) 2 minute guitar driven track. Circa "Life"
20. "I Wanna Riot" (4.5 stars) 3 minute paired down version of the song from the "Beavis and Butthead" soundtrack. I loved the old version and this new one too. Another great find! Ska classic.
21. "Kill the Lights" (4.5) Bass driven 1:20 fast punk track Classic Rancid circa "Rancid 2000".
(the following tracks are only on the Japanese version of this cd, get it!!!!)
22. "I'm not the only one" (3.5 stars). Good guitar riff. Catchy chorus, circa first 2 albums.
23. "Battering Ram" (3.5 stars) another very distinct track. Matt and Tim sing. Great chorus!
24. "The Sentence" (3 stars) 3 minute standard Rancid track. Circa first 2 albums.
25 "Media Controller" (4.5 stars) Matt Freeman Oi song w/ great chorus.
26. "Idle Hands" (3.5 stars) 2 minute, Matt sings chorus. Circa "Rancid 2000".
Hope that helps. If you like anything Rancid has done on their last 4 albums you will not be disappointed with this one! Despite how I rate the individual songs, the cd is def 5 stars! Oi!

My honest opinion: after promising the Rancid fans a new record like... two years ago when they started touring again with the Explosion and we all realized that no, Matt Freeman is not going to die of lung cancer just yet, they needed to give something, SOMETHING, to the fans while they keep pushing back the release date of the still mysteriously unknown seventh studio album. So I guess the plan of action was this; compile all the songs that weren't on the first six CDs and put them on one CD that would stall for time a little for the fans that haven't picked up any of the compilations that these songs were featured on.

Well played, Rancid, well played. What's cool about this CD is that the songs come from different periods in time and Rancid's career. Since their sound has changed over the years so much, it's cool to be listening to one song and thinking, "Oh, it sounds like they wrote this some time around the 'Life Won't Wait' time period, and then the next song might me more hard hitting and take you back to their 2000 self titled. Ultimately the music can be traced back as far as 1994's 'Let's Go' and that's not a bad thing at all.

So basically, since this is a record of b-sides and there's nothing new, nothing about the sound has really changed. Matt Freeman is still the star of a lot of the tracks, moreso than he was on "Indestructable" which is kind of nice, he was definitely underutilized there. The guitars are nothing special but they never really are, and I continue my stance on their vocals; Tim's voice is amazing, Lars's is okay, and Matt actually sings on this CD too. I love when he gets to since because his voice is just so awesome and different, it's what made Rancid's debut CD so good. The standout tracks are "Dead and Gone" "Killing Zone" "Blast 'Em" and "White Knuckle Ride" which features bass to rival "Maxwell Murder" and "Axiom" and probably surpasses both. For any fan of Rancid this is a must have CD, even if Devil Dancing is really annoying and goes on forever.

But seriously Rancid, no more stalling. We want the seventh album and we don't want to wait another two flippin' years.

Lots of great tracks - many of which I hadn't heard before. Any Rancid fan will love it!

It's all there and it ain't light.
As someone else already noted... it does span the band's career which gives it a pretty rounded play. I too want a new album but this f***** WILL hold you over until that s*** happens!!!
The album also has 5 bonus tracks that add a nice right cross to finish it off.

This album DOES put out. It won't disappoint.