The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Dicky Barrett (vocals); Lawrence Katz (guitar); Tim Burton, Roman Fleysher (saxophone); Dennis Brockenborogh (trombone); Joe Gittleman (bass); Joe Sirois (drums); Ben Carr.
Additional personnel includes: Billy O'Malley, John Goetchius, Allan Sheinfeld, Folf Lansjoen, Nat Freedberg, Fran Flannery, Mark Higgins, Paul Scarpino, Bob Richards, Ernie Wilson, The Big Bad Bollocks, Nate Albert.
Producers: Paul Konderie, Sean Slade, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Recorded at Long View Farms, North Brookfield, Massachusetts.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Dicky Barrett (vocals); Lawrence Katz (guitar); Tim Burton, Roman Fleysher (saxophone); Dennis Brockenborogh (trombone); Joe Gittleman (bass); Joe Sirois (drums); Ben Carr.
The Big Bad Bollocks: John Allen, Paul Scarpino, Bob Richards, Ernie Wilson.
Additional personnel: Nate Albert (guitar); Billy O'Malley, John Goetchius, Allan Sheinfield, Rolf Langsjoen, Nat Freedberg, Fran Flannery, Mark Higgins.
Producers: Paul Konderie, Sean Slade, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Recorded at Long View Farms, North Brookfield, Massachusetts.
Personnel: Nate Albert , Lawrence Katz (guitar); Tim Burton, Roman Fleysher (saxophone); Dennis Brockenborough (trombone); Joe Sirois (drums).
Audio Mixers: Andy Wallace; Steve Sisco.
Recording information: Long View Farms, North Brookfield MA; New Alliance, Boston MA; Sound Techniques, Boston MA.
Photographers: Bill Horsman; Joseph Cultice.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Bob Richards; Nat Freedberg; Ernie Wilson; Ernest Wilson; Billy O'Malley; Joe Allen; Rolf Langsjoen; Johnny Goetchius; Mark Higgins.
After having spent the '90s leading the ska charge, only to be commercially surpassed by West Coast peers No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' sixth studio album takes a mature turn. Still distinguished by frontman Dickie Barrett's gargled-glass vocals and a punchy horn section, the Beantown natives make a creative leap forward with their songwriting despite the departure of guitarist and main cog Nate Albert. Among the topics covered here are wisdom gained in the march towards old age ("I Know More"), a post-Columbine commentary on teens ("High School Dance"), and a slam on corporate life's influence on pop culture ("Allow Them").
Musically, the Bosstones develop beyond their third-generation approach towards ska. "Riot On Broad Street" finds them joining forces with the Big Bad Bollocks for a hometown love letter that could have easily been written by the Pogues, while "She Just Happened" is wrapped in light Caribbean rhythms and chiming Afro-pop guitar. Elsewhere, the opening track "Let Me Be" is given a cool jazz intro before morphing into an infectious Two-Tone rave-up. The riotous octet even comes up with a post-punk sequel to Dylan's "My Back Pages," in "I Know More."
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/11/00, pp.128,131) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Marks the first time the Bosstones have put their rock&roll front and center....It's their finest album....[They] loosen up enough to rock out."
Spin (6/00, pp.159-60) - 6 out of 10 - "...Concentrates a decade's worth of plaid power into a unified uptempo pop-punk. Here the horn charts and the 2 tone beat simply accessorize an even mix of amiable jock-stomp and straight-ahead modern-rockism..."
Q (7/00, pp.120-1) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Rhythmically spunky songs graced by big...kicking choruses and quirky lyrics with a solid narrative bite....Strong stuff."
CMJ (5/8/00, p.28) - "...Undeniably bouncy melodies laced with positive messages [which] are among [their] best work, suggesting that the Bosstones have perfected their formula."
Melody Maker (5/2/00, p.50) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...More of the same highly polished ska-pop....it's a bit like waking up and discovering that The Clash have turned into Madness - although that's not necessarily a bad thing..."
