Offspring

Americana

my first and favorite offspring album

Review Score:

(10/10)
Among past and present Offspring fans, the quartet's 1998 release Americana has long been a controversial topic. While the album was a huge success and helped restore the band's following (although with a younger crowd), many old-school Offspring fans complained about the CD's poppy sound and accused the group of "selling out". Personally, I find these complaints very short-sighted, and I don't fault the Offspring for changing their sound. Every good band needs to evolve somewhat over time, and I think the Offspring have done so remarkably well.

While I slightly prefer Ignition and Smash to Americana, I like this CD a lot because of its diversity and great songs. The album starts off with two excellent, classic Offspring songs - Have You Ever and Staring at the Sun. Tunes like these are what the group has become known for - fast-paced, energetic, catchy rock. Next comes Pretty Fly for a White Guy, an irresistible, Latin-tinged pop-rock track that scored huge with the MTV crowd back in 1998. Other notable songs include the awesome, anthemic rocker Kids Aren't Alright (as a side note, this was the first song the group played at the WBCN River Rave in Mansfield, MA on May 30, 2004, which I was happily able to attend); the peppy Walla Walla, which has a great sing-along chorus; Why Don't You Get a Job, a funny and extremely catchy track; the kick-ass title track, Americana; and the 8-minute closer Pay the Man - possibly the Offspring's most ambitious song ever, it starts off as a creepy ballad with an Egyptian-sounding guitar, but halfway through erupts into a fist-pumping rocker.

Anyway, Americana is an excellent offering from the Offspring. True, it is their poppiest record, but almost all of the songs are great and very enjoyable. All in all, Americana is a high-spirited, energetic rock album, and is well worth picking up.

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