Are a Drag [Vinyl]

Me First and The Gimme Gimmes | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (May 18, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Wreck Chords
• ASIN: B00000JML0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,879 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gloriously Entertaining, August 21, 2002

By 

Paul H. "rmj84" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are a Drag (Audio CD)

Gimmicky? Not as much as one might think. While a lesser band might have intended this collection as a batch of cynical parodies, Me First & The Gimme Gimme's Are A Drag comes off as a loving tribute to Broadway and other assorted musicals. The tunes are played quite straight-faced, and the tight musicianship and raw yet charming vocals make for some very enjoyable repeated listenings. Think a great pop-punk band hooked on Andrew Lyodd Webber and Rodgers & Hammerstien. Other bands might attempt to do what the Gimme Gimme's set out to accomplish (see New Found Glory, whose movie theme song covers come off as more grating than particularly entertaining), but it doesn't get better than Me First. Any band that can pull of a ska-punk version of "Cabaret" deserves a pat on the back.

And for those who'd like to know....the songs and their corresponding musicals:

Over The Rainbow (The Wizard Of Oz)
Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Evita)
Science Fiction Double Feature (Rocky Horror Show)
Summertime (Porgy & Bess)
Favorite Things (The Sound Of Music)
Rainbow Connection (Muppet Movie)
Phantom of the Opera Song (duh)
I Sing The Body Electric (Fame)
It's Raining On Prom Night (Grease)
Tomorrow (Annie)
What I Did For Love (A Chorus Line)
Cabaret (duh) (why does every website list this a "Stepping Out"?)

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best cover band ever..., July 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Are a Drag (Audio CD)

MFATGG can do no wrong. On this, their second full length album, the best cover band ever has moved from covering the soft rock hits of the 70's to reworking the songs of Broadway into punk classics. 12 covers of showtunes. Most are two minutes or less, and always leave you wanting more. The best songs are "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess, The Phantom of the Opera theme song, "Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, and "Stepping Out" from Cabaret. "Favorite Things" also steals it intro from the Bad Religion song, "Generator". This CD is so good, no matter what kind of music you, like you'll have to at least appreciate these songs. They play them with a sense of reverence and not at all with a condescending or 'punker than thou' attitude. Go. Buy. Now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a novelty, September 22, 2004

By 

aaron florian "Punk Soul Brother" (Lakewood, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are a Drag (Audio CD)

Musically one of the tightest punk bands around, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes belt out one of the best albums in my collection with this compilation of Broadway and Film tunes.

A long time fan of punk (from the Dead Kennedy's days, when they were still together), I find myself going back to this album, and the rest of the Gimme's library, for solid, competent punk that simply kicks your butt over and over again with each listen.

Standouts on this album (personally) include Science Fiction (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Over The Rainbow, and a fantastic rendition of Summertime. Summertime hit me hard when Fantasia Burrino sang it on AI3, which is a powerful song to begin with. Me First accomplish an incredible feat with this song, turning it into punk while retaining its' soul.

You simply cannot go wrong with this album, nor anything in the Me First arsenal of punk hits.