Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits [Vinyl]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I first learned that Social Distortion would be releasing a "greatest hits" album, I wasn't too excited about it. Of course, I have all the albums already and I wasn't looking forward to the prospect of paying $14 to get the one new song in an album of repackaged hits. I was also a bit put off by the fact that this album would only contain 11 songs. That is pretty thin for a "greatest hits" album. Still, since I can't get enough of Social Distortion and I'm a shameless completist, I knew I'd end up forking over the cash.

Let's just say that I was surprised when I first listened to this CD. As has been speculated on by Social Distortion fans for some time now, all of the songs from the major label era albums (tracks 4-9) have been given a major facelift.

This is where things get interesting. As of now, the band has not officially commented on this situation and the liner notes are no help either. Some fans are convinced that these tracks are merely remastered. Others think that the original songs have been re-mixed. Still, more think that what's on this CD is demo versions of the Sony era classics. Others think that the songs have been completely re-recorded.

I can't say that I'm an expert on mastering, mixing, or recording, but all I needed to hear was the first 5 seconds of "I Was Wrong" to realize that these songs are basically totally different. To me, the vocals and guitars sound totally different on all of the songs.

Personally, I don't buy the notion that these songs have only been "remastered". I own many remastered albums. I re-bought some of Bad Religions re-mastered releases in 2004. All of those songs sounded nearly identical to their original releases. The only difference in those releases is that they ended up much louder and crisper on the remastered discs. This is not the case with this CD. These songs have been altered and altered alot.

I'm sure some purists will be put off by the fact that the band has done this under the name of a greatest hits cd. Myself, I don't mind it one bit. It was a welcome surprise and actually made it worth me buying this cd. If I want to listen to the originals, I can pop those cd's in any time. This is a nice change of pace.

The new versions of the classic songs are interesting. I really can't call them better or worse than the originals. They are just different. I like both the originals and what's on this cd. Like I said, this is just a nice change of pace. Also, Far Behind is a great song. Classic Social Distortion.

So, I will say that this "greatest hits" album was worth the money in the end. In a perfect world, I would have preferred them to have released a b-sides/unreleased tracks cd. Social Distortion has a huge catalog of rarities that they've never released. That would have been better for the hardcore fans like myself, but I'll take what I can get. Maybe someday I'll get what I'm looking for (Mike Ness if you happen to read this: hint, hint). In the end, this will tide me over until they get around to releasing another new album. I'll just keep crossing my fingers and hoping that doesn't take nearly a decade like the last one.

If you're a hardcore SxDx fan or a newbie just looking to get aquainted with some of Social Distortion's music, you won't be disappointed with this cd.

Let me start off by saying Mike Ness (and whoever is in Social Distortion at any given moment) are an awesome band. Period. But, this 'greatest hits' cd is a disappointment. First off, all the Sony-era tracks are not included, instead we get re-recorded ones. Secondly, 11 songs? That's it? Plenty of room to add more hits (re-recorded or not). And thirdly, the liner notes are basically a cut and paste bio. No band credits, no production credits, nothing. Then to make matters worse, iTunes has a download of the old Chuck Berry song MAYBELLENE (which you have to buy the whole album on iTunes to get ) that would ahve easily fit on here. Kind of a shame.

Sounds to me like all of the Sony-era tracks on this CD are NOT remastered, but re-recorded. As a fan of Social Distortion for longer than most of you have probably been alive, I've been listening to these songs for quite a long time and I distinctly hear subtle, but obvious differences in Story Of My Life, Ball And Chain, Ring Of Fire, Bad Luck, I Was Wrong & When The Angels Sing, which is a bit disappointing, since I was really looking forward to hearing some of my favorite songs of all time remastered and the Time Bomb-era(s) tracks remain unaltered. Don't get me wrong, the sound quality IS great, they're just not the original versions of the songs I grew up with, which costs you a star in my book, especially since there's no indication anywhere on the CD case. You don't mess with the classics & we should have at least been given a "heads up" that these were NOT the original versions. My guess is that Sony would not release the original master tapes to Social Distortion, as the liner notes offer ZERO information regarding licensing or what albums which tracks were taken from. Perhaps they're planning to re-release the self-titled album, Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell & White Light,White Heat, White Trash as part of their own Legacy series? Or perhaps we'll one day see the "Essential" Social Distortion?

As opposed to an "anthology" or an "essential" compilation, this is truly just the band's greatest hits. That means that to die hard fans, indeed, there could have been so much more.

I own all but the oldest and the newest singles already, so the main reason I was looking forward to this release is the remastered sound I read it would have. (Let's face it: the Sony-era releases sound like they made the CDs off cassettes). No credit is given for remastering (in fact, except for the nice biography inside, the liner notes and credits are criminally minimal), but I gotta tell ya, my stereo came alive. This CD sounds fantastic.

I can only hope more remasters or an anthology are in the works. This CD will in the meantime serve newcomers to the band and casual fans well.

I bought this on impulse. I love the band, and see them live whenever they're within 300 miles from home.

There aren't any original studio recordings on the disc. Nothing you've ever heard on the radio, nothing you've seen live. It's a quickly thrown-together garage-studio set of re-interpreted hits, and a few non-hits mixed in. There are some obvious choices missing, as well, but I knew that when I bought it.

Some tracks have cinder-block-room reverb. Others have mic splatter. It's just a hard disc to listen to. It doesn't sound live *or* studio. It sounds like a demo tape, really, but without the energy.

If you want live recordings, get the live cd they put out a few years ago. If you want the cleaned-up originals, get the old sony cds (or better yet, just download them for free from the Social D web site). If you've already got both, just save up your nickels and dimes for the next show.

Considering that I have been enamored with Social Distortion since I was eight years old, my review may be on the biased side, but the major quips I have with this collection are that A. It's only one disc: Granted not every Social Distortion song can be called a hit, they have more than 11 tracks to consider great. B. Not all the old songs are remastered: The two tracks I'm really talking about are 'Another State of Mind' and 'Prison Bound'. If you've been lucky enough to see or hear one of their latest shows, they start off 'Prison Bound' with a beautiful piano melody, which would have been fantastic to hear in a studio form, and 'Another State of Mind' with the new dynamic duo of Ness and Wickersham would have been something for the ages. I am pleased to hear the White Light, White Heat, White Trash songs redone, but they didn't require too much reworking because of the album's sheer perfection on its release eleven years ago.

So for those just getting into Social Distortion, or the people like me who will buy just about anything they do regardless of how it's reviewed, give this a try, but don't spend too much on it or expect monumental difference in songs. Hopefully it won't be another eight years before another album hits the shelves.

I stumbled upon this the other day and of course grabbed it up. This is a great collection and well worth having, especially for existing fans of the band.

I gave it 4 stars because 1) it could have had another half dozen songs on it, 2) some of their best were left off and some that were included weren't their best, and 3) some of the songs are not the original recorded versions and this should have been disclosed up front.

That said, I think it's GREAT that they have included alternate recorded versions on this disk! They are closer to well recorded demos than fully polished studio cuts, but that's a cool thing in my book. They are well done but fairly bare bones - the real band without a lot of studio fakery & polishing. VERY cool. I'm more interested in THAT, then just another best of with the same versions I already own.

And the new track is cool as well!!!

WORTH BUYING!

Many people categorize Social Distortion as "punk" due to Mike Ness' unique voice and the heavy use of crunchy guitar and feedback. Forget about labels, Social Distortion is one of America's last great rock bands. Influences include country, rockabilly and of course punk. A few listens to these songs will motivate you to go out and purchase their previous CDs (perhaps even Mike's solo efforts).

There are a few complaints here about re-recording the original songs for this CD. Its not a big issue - the songs are all great regardless of when they were recorded. Pick up this CD and your ears will love you for it.

I would say more but my wife has had CD in her car and I haven't heard it much but they rock!

I love it. I received it quick. Brand new. Great price. I love buying on Amazon.

Tricia Westvig