Customer Reviews

Let the Dominoes Fall

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Huge rancid fan for years now. Ive seen em a few times and this record is awesome. There is soo much diversity on it. I ordered this from machete and for 25 bux I got the 3 disc set, t shirt, bandana, guitar picks, the 3 posters, a sticker, and a roots radicals cd single....WOW. Any other band this set would of been 50 bux or something.

BTW, Rancid acoustic sends chills down my spine... :-)

One of the great rock albums (let alone punk)of all time - keeping Rancid as one of the true greats of punk along with The Clash. The wait has been well worth it, with none of the staleness often associated with bands that have been around (too) long - Rancid has managed to keep the energy to create an album that probably surpasses "wolves", "Indestructible" and "life Won't Wait" - I'll decide for sure when I'm as familiar with the songs as I am with previous cds. Stand out tracks (could be just about any) but i love 'Civilian Ways', 'Disconnected' and 'Liberty and Freedom'. The acoustic cd is a great extra.

In this day and age punk bands are becoming a joke. They are either trying too hard to be over the top experimental and "mature" or are releasing stagnant, half baked albums reminiscent of how hair metal and 80's rockers were trying to get by in the 90's.

I had been anticipating this album since Rancid announced it back around 2005 or so? im not so sure of the date, but anyways, i went into this album with 2009 vision on. that means, i didn't expect And out come the wolves, let's go, life wont wait or the 2000 album. I just hoped that they wouldn't pull an AFI or Green day on us and bring in all the synthesizers, cheesy lyrics, and melodramatic vocals.

I think that rancid in 2009 is still in their element. yes, they have a new drummer, and yes, they have a bit more of a polished production, and yes, they have some recycled themes and lyrics. That does not mean that this record is bad in any way whatsoever.

the album to me sounds like a mix of Tim's solo album, indestructible, out come the wovles which is not bad. the lyrics are well placed and catchy for the most part. they aren't old, washed up, 1995 will live on forever!, yet they aren't trying to appeal to 13 year olds. it is simply Rancid being Rancid. i can especially appreciate what they were trying to say with "Last One To Die."

The two acoustic songs are well placed and don't hurt the album. not to mention the entire acoustic cd. im not usually a fan of acoustic songs, but the 12 track acoustic cd is great. the dvd, posters and guitar picks are juct icing on the cake.

my only minor complaint was that there are not enough of Lars' lead vocals on this. however, we get some good Matt vocals, so it evens out with me.

all in all, i gave it a 5 because of the awesome package deal with the 3 discs, 3 posters, and guitar picks. the album itself is a 4. definately not as good as their 90's material, but it is a great album in their discography. i might say that it is a tad better than indestructible and a lot better that some of those recent side project albums.

I am a huge Rancid fan and I was a litte nervous to listen to "Let the Dominoes Fall". Thankfully...this is a great album. Lots of surprising variety without changing drastically. I highly recommend this cd!!!

I remember the day Indestructible came out. It's hard to believe it's been six years since a proper Rancid studio album. Now, just like then, the date was marked on my calendar and I went out and bought it the very first day. Thankfully Rancid has kept us appeased with releases from Transplants, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, and Tim Armstrong during that "hiatus".

After only 2 listens (sometimes I like to wait a while and digest the music before commenting) I'm confident saying, Let the Dominoes Fall is straight-up, catchy, Rancid punk rock record. Bottom line, for old Rancid fans or youngsters who may just be getting in to them, it's a great record.

I'd rather comment on the contents of the Deluxe Edition. I was skeptical at first about the acoustic. That's been a side of Rancid that I was never interested in. I didn't feel the music translated and I thought the members of Rancid were "pushing" it on us, the fans, through live performances, live recordings, and now this: the LTDF Acoustic, in an effort to show more depth. I wasn't seeing it.

When I started to watch the Making of webisodes and saw what they were putting in to the recording (harmonica, dobro slide guitar, accordion), I realized it wasn't just Rancid playing the same songs on acoustic guitars. It's a complete, unique, stand-alone album: different song sequencing, totally different vibe, and a new song not on the primary release. It's way cool. Rancid reinvents themselves entirely and, lo and behold, shows their depth and ability that even surprises a fan of 15 years.

As for the making of documentary, I can't imagine anyone who's interested in Rancid and the release of the record who hasn't yet seen the webisodes. It's more of Rancid's grainy, black and white production that sadly has become their standard.

The rest is forgettable. The guitar picks, yes they're shaped like picks, wouldn't last one song. They're a novelty, but in no way functional for guitar playing. The posters: OK, I guess. Who wants to hang a poster on their wall with all those creases?

All this for $12.00. Thank you Rancid. Welcome back. See you this summer.

This has grown on me to the point I can honestly say its on of my favorite albums, liked it at first, LOVE it now, there is not a skipper on it. Some people don't like "I ain't Worried" but I really like how weird Tim's voice on it sounds. Favorite tracks are East Bay Night, Bravest Kids, You Want It, You Got It , The Highway, and Disconnected, but they are all good IMO

Also Amazon lists "Outgunned" as a track on the album, it's only on the bonus acoustic disk, there are 19 tracks on the album

You, yes you, can create your very own Rancid record! I know what you're thinking: however will I accomplish such a difficult feat? Well, let me give you the ingredients dear reader!
Take one part late eighties melodic hardcore, and add a healthy dash of the Clash. Throw in some thug life style vocal tics, some killer bass lines, and psudo-political lyrics with a few odes to San Fransisco, and bam! You have your very own Rancid album. Like this band I was listening too, I forget their name. The name of their record was "Let the Dominoes Fall". Crap, let me go see the name of the band. They weren't very good. Let's see, here it is. It's...
Oh.
Seriously, after waiting six whole years, this is the best they could come up with? This sounds like a band trying to approximate the Rancid sound but not doing a very good job. All the ingrediants are there, for sure. But somewhere in the bland, colorless production work and not exactly inspired songwriting, the band just didn't manage to come up with many memorable songs here.
The playing is what you expect. Matt Freeman is still a helluva bassist, and new drummer Brandon Somethingoranother, he used to play in the Used I believe, acquaints himself well enough. Lars and Tim still play the songs with some vigor, but no one here seems to be giving it their all.
Vocally Tim continues to grow increasingly incoherent, but thankfully leaves the semi-rapped style that marred some of the more recent Rancid products mostly behind. Matt, well, he still sounds like Matt, though he comes across much better on the recent Devil's Brigade record. Lars, well, he gets weaker with age, his intro to the song "Disconnected" unintentionally funny. Thankfully there are no odes to hookers on this record that I remember, but a few lines that seem to be about strippers, bringing the gap between Rancid and the Crue one step closer.
Look, this isn't an awful record. It plays, and it ends, and nothing stays with you. The songs are not melodic enough to stay with you, and the playing and performances are washed away in bland production. Rancid have made, and are hopefully still capable of, great records. This isn't one of them. Save your money.

One of the things that has made Rancid a consistently interesting band is that despite a very recognizable style, each of their albums has a unique feel to it. While each track individually could have come from any rancid album, put them all together into an album (each with around 20+ tracks!) and you've got a unique little snapshot into what the band is feeling at the time. With "Out Come the Wolves" you get the band hungry and fierce as it makes the jump into the mainstream, with "Life Won't Wait" you get the Jamaican and Global-minded vibe of the album's recording, with "Rancid 2000" you get a blast of aggression as the band revels in their hardcore roots, and with "Indestructible" you get an older punk band reflecting on its now lengthy past, failures, and stories.

"Let the Dominoes Fall" continues the story begun in "Indestructible" but without some of the rawness brought in by Tim's divorce and the band's struggle to stay legit and relevant. Here, the band sounds like they're having a laid-back good time playing the kind of music which by now they can play in their sleep. The single "Last One To Die" is a perfect example of the kind of warm, mid-tempo punkish vibe that permeates the whole album. That track is a tribute to the band's longevity, and the whole album feels like it too; a kind of celebration at being able to do what you love so successfully after so many years. There's some sadness in the lyircs, and some muted discontent with the state of the world, but Rancid itself seems to be feeling pretty happy with its existence. Rancid, it seems, just doesn't have that much to be angry about these days. The album has the feel of a bunch of middle age guys getting together with some friends and a few bottles of wine and playing the music they love. Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz, as the album's producer (he also did their fantastic and vibrant "Indestructible") emphasizes the easy-going vibe of the songs with warmer, low-tone guitars and seamless, laid-back multi-part harmonies.

Nice as this sounds, its probably more fun for Rancid to play than it is to listen to. This kind of punk comes so easily to them that they barely have to try to get one of these songs up and running, and as a result the album kind of coasts a lot of the time, just energetic and catchy enough to keep moving but not enough to really engage. Without their usual mix of aggression and melody, the whole thing leaks energy and kind of slowly deflates, sounding more and more flat. The band is actually at its best when playing things a little out of that comfort zone, like the bubblegum ska of "Up to no good" the Matt-Freeman-lead scatting jumble of "LA River" and the earnest, folky "Civilian Ways." Cuts like these prove that Rancid doesn't have to be hard rock to do great work, especially with the sensitive and subtle production on "Civilian Ways". When they're trying, they can work expertly in a number of genres, but too often here they fall back on their punk basics, only without the intensity that made their earlier work feel so vital and immediate.

The album has some great tunes on it, including those mentioned above and a few other fun romps (its hard not to smile at the cliched but good-natured punk of "New Orleans" or "Skull City"). But the band works best when they've got something to prove, and on "Let the Dominoes Fall" they sound perhaps a bit to complacent.

Let the Dominoes Fall's greatest strength is also it's only weakness. And that strenght/weakness is how upbeat it is. It's fun and catchy, "poppy" if you will. Which is great because Rancid has always made very catchy music. It's weakness is because it's so upbeat, at times it is missing some of the raw aggression - especially in the vocals.

Tim's vocals in all there slurred glory (one of my favorite qualities of his unique style), are missing some of their raspy intensity. He just sounds a little more mellow than on previous releases. I'm not saying he sounds bad, I could just stand to hear a little more energy in the delivery. Try listening to this album and think of how it would sound if Tim was growling with the urgency and intensity that you hear on Rancid's earlier albums. This alone could make some of the mediocre songs good to great.

One really strong criticism I have is of the chorus of LA River. The whole, "Shimmy shimmy shake" lyric just makes me cringe every time. It's one of those instances where you feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. How it made it on the final cut of the album is beyond me.

All criticism aside, Rancid has given us another quality batch of (mostly) well written sing-a-longs that will keep themselves stuck in your head all day long. Never wanting anyone to say they skimp on quantity either, Dominoes has 19 tracks, plus 12 acoustic tracks on a bonus disc that comes along with this EXPANDED version. AND a DVD of the making of the album.

The songs themselves run the gamut. Punk rock, ska, raggae, all the styles that have become synonymous with Rancid.

Here is how the songs breakdown as far as style and sound:

East Bay Night - Punk, mid tempo, Indestructible
This Place - Punk, Let's Go, Indestructible
Up To No Good - Ska, A Poet's Life, Life Won't Wait
Last One To Die - Punk, Out Come the Wolves
Disconnected - Punk, Out Come the Wolves, Indestructible
I Ain't Worried - Ska, A Poet's Life, Life Won't Wait, Indestructuble
Damnation - Punk, Life Won't Wait, Indestructible
New Orleans - Punk, Out Come the Wolves, Life Won't Wait
Civilian Ways - Acoustic
Bravest Kids - Punk, Let's Go, Out Come The Wolves, Indestructible
Skull City - similar to songs like Memphis and Back Against the Wall.
L.A. River - Punk, Rockabilly, I could REALLY do without the "Shimmy shimmy shake".
Lulu - Punk, Life Won't Wait, Indestructible
Let the Dominoes Fall - Pop, dancehall
Liberty and Freedom - Ska, raggae, LWW, Poet's Life, Indestructible
You Want It - Punk, Let's Go, Indestructible
Locomotive - Punk, Let's Go, Wolves, Indestructible
Thats Just The Way It Is Now - Ska, Indestructible, Poet's Life
The Highway - Acoustic

I've been a fan of Rancid for 15 years and they've never taken longer than three years to put out an album. So, the six year wait for Dominoes seemed like an eternity. My first thought upon hearing the album was that this thing is perfect for blasting in the car on a warm summer afternoon. So, it hit the stores at the perfect time. There are a bunch of different styles used on this album. "Civilian Ways" has a country/songwriter feel to it and "I Ain't Worried" has a ska beat with Tim, Lars, and Matt contributing vocals with a rap-like delivery. There are a number hard-driving punk songs that sound like they could fit into Lets Go, especially "This Place." My personal favorite song on the album is "L.A. River,"(instant classic in my mind) where Matt Freeman does most of the singing while Tim helps out on the chorus. The song has a big X feel to it and Matt pointed out that this was on purpose. I always love when Matt sings and he shares his unique vocal style on a number of tracks here. I was disappointed that Lars didn't sing more songs, but when he does its nothing short of Awesome. Just listen to "New Orleans." "Up To No Good" is classic ...And Out Come the Wolves" ska. I love Tim's voice, but he seems be talking more than actually singing, yelling, or screaming. Tim does the majority of the vocals and he proves he can still steal the spotlight on songs like "Lulu." I can't wait to hear Rancid play "You Want It, You Got It" live!

-See Ya In The Pit