Americana

The Offspring

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 17, 1998)
• Original Release Date: November 17, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DHRZ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (789 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,754 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #23 in	Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative > American Punk
  #52 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Punk Revival
  #56 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Punk-Pop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Maybe hanging out with Jello Biafra put the fun-loving spring in Offspring's step. Or perhaps it was just the royalty checks, hot babes, and fast cars. Whatever the case, the band's fourth record, Americana, is its most lively offering to date, replacing angst and rage with energy and sarcasm. The novelty single "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" matches infectious riffing and shout-along vocals with fly-girl chants of "Give it to me, baby" and lyrics about wannabe scenesters; and a storming punk-rock version of Morris Albert's "Feelings" sees the band hitting a new level of, er, (in)sensitivity. Elsewhere, the humor is slightly more subtle; "She's Got Issues" cops a new-wave guitar line from the Cars songbook, "The Kids Aren't Alright" opens like an Iron Maiden anthem, and "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is a blatant reggae-style spoof of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." Musically, Americana offers no real revelations, but the songs are a bit craftier and more diverse than the rest of the Offspring oeuvre, veering haphazardly between anthemic punk metal, blistering hardcore, and near-psychedelic experimentation. --Jon Wiederhorn

USA Today
Most bands would be skewered for failing to mature from one album to the next, but arrested adolescence is a virtue in the Offspring's case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Offspring - Americana, February 14, 2000

By	Stephen Horne (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) - See all my reviews

Criticism is abundant when it comes to this release from Dexter and the boys. "They've sold out"..."They're turned into a pop group". Nonsense, I say. Admittedly, a lot of the tracks are far less raucous than their previous work, but if people were to look past this, they'd find that the lyrics are just as intelligent and witty as ever.

'Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)' is a long-awaited mockery of the hip-hop culture, 'Walla Walla' deals with crime and the consequences and 'Americana' shows us that The American Dream isn't all it's cracked up to be. While it may not be up to scratch with neither 'Smash' or 'Ixnay On The Hombre', this is still a great listen and deserves to be included in every Offspring fan's collection.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Punk Sucks!, November 26, 1999

By	"damiel" (DSM, IA, USA) - See all my reviews

With all the "punk" fans out there trashing Americana, I'm not so sure I WANT to buy the other Offspring CDs. Every track on Americana is awesome, like Pretty Fly, Why Don't You Get A Job, Walla Walla, The Kids Aren't Alright, and Feelings. Everyone should buy this CD. It rocks!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the all time greats...., July 9, 2006

By	Mezzotint "Musical monster" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

of punk rock cds. This is a very fast in your face album with sometimes funny lyrics: Shes got issues, walla walla. However the best offspring song is on this disc: The kids arent alright.
Without the last track this disc would be barely 20 minutes long!
However even with the last song this album kicks so much @$$! If you dont have it what are you waiting for go and buy it NOW!
This is the band that got me into punk rock in the first place and now im enjoying albums by the likes of pennywise,bad religion (best punk rock band ever!), millencolin and the bouncing souls, rancid NOFX etc...