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Review: 'Mighty Mighty BossToneS, The'
'When God Was great'   

-  Label: 'Hellcat records/Big Rig'
-  Genre: 'Reggae' -  Release Date: '7.5.21.'-  Catalogue No: '0539-2'

Our Rating:
The Mighty Mighty BossToneS are back with the bands eleventh studio album to continue to spread the bands tried and tested Ska Punk message of hope to the world in this time of crisis. This album features as many members of the band past and present as they could get involved and is co-produced by Tim Armstrong and Ted Hutt as Dicky Barrett corrals the band into making a great joyous ska punk album to cheer us all up.

From the opening Decide it's clear they are not messing with a formula that works as this is speedy brass led upbeat Ska Punk with a need to talk about the issues of our times and how to make things better.

Move has more of a skanking edge to it as they try to persuade us to go and live a more rural life and to be more in touch with nature as they drive their Mercury Pick-up truck, they might need to work on making that a bit cleaner as they seem to be trying to set up a commune in the countryside.

I Don't Believe In Anything has a trumpet part we should all believe is magically great as they go world-wide in an effort to bring Ska Punk into all of our lives as one of the ways to stop a world-wide disaster, they may have been a bit late on that one.

Certain Things see them questioning their own values and admitting they considered buying a gun before coming to their senses and continuing in their peaceful way to persuade us all to live better lives and certainly to get the USA to get over its love affair with guns and violence, this has some cool slide guitar that adds a bit of a country ska edge to things.

Bruised is a shout out of a song to all the bands they have toured with and everyone who has emerged from a mosh pit with a few more bruises, as the skanking beat drives it along and it sounds like this will get a crowd bouncing and singing along to it when they are allowed back on tour.

Lonely Boy isn't a cover version thankfully, as they sing about going down to Kingston at the weekends, which I'm sure means something different from their perspective to my London centric view of going to south West london, as there are no beaches in the Kingston I go too. This comes complete with seagull sounds and a very gentle breakdown to almost lovers ska feel as they try to persuade the object of their desire to go to Kingston with them and no they won't hang out at Bentalls.

The Killing Of Georgie (Part III) updates and moves the original tale of the killing of a Gay man into a song about the tragic murder of George Floyd and the despair they feel at the situation over the most righteously angry guitars on the album that are cut with some very sharp brass to make sure we know that they want everyone to pull together and find a better way to interact with each other and the police no matter what color or creed or orientation you might be. This really should be a hit single and love the barrelhouse piano part.

You Had To Be There is a party time ska punk song about going out and about in Boston hanging out at The Rat (The only rock club I've ever been thrown out of, and deservedly so), as they hang out on Kenmore Square and celebrate the madness of the scene they come from, I assume they hung out in the combat zone as well, as the trombone part sounds like they have stolen a line or two from Rico.

The album's title track When God Was Great is a celebration of growing up in a good god-fearing neighborhood and how they felt hearing the hymns in the local church, but this isn't a bible bashing tune more a glorious slice of sun dappled ska with a punky edge that only appears when the guitars briefly come in.

What It Takes is more pulsing driving ska punk to dance about too and have a good time as they make us think about what has been going down as you make sure to turn up the volume so you can hear everything going on in the music on this album.

Long As I Can See the Light is gospel ska punk cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song that urges us all to light a candle and put it in the window to remember those who need remembering, this is as downbeat as they get and feels very in touch with our times.

The Truth Hurts and damn it has hurt a lot in the last couple of years and this is rousing and also rather thoughtful look at some tragic events and why you would want to fight to keep going but accept that others might want things to end.

It Went Well is slower and looks at what life in lockdown is like and how they hope to come out the other side ready for new experiences and what happens when you have an argument when you can't just walk away, so make things up and get on with being friends.

I Don't Want To Be You is a song that could be applied to lots of people but seems aimed at certain powerful politicians that deserve our ire and hatred and to be consigned to that special place in hell that this lilting ska tune will help send them too.

The album closes with The Final Parade that see's the bands already 10-piece line-up expanded by a roll call of special guests including Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Angelo Moore (Fishbone) Jay Navarro (Suicide Machines), Jimmy G (Murphy's Law), Christian Jacobs (The Aquabats), John Feldmann (Goldfinger), Steve Jackson (The Pietasters) members of H20, and Less Than Jake, to name a few. Along with some of the new ska-guard such as Aimee Interrupter and The Interrupters, Jet Baker (Buster Shuffle), and Laila Khan (Sonic Boom Six.) Together they make a great anthem in praise of Ska and punk and the joys of playing and listening to great music before they let the Stranger Cole have the last say, now I'd better dig out some Stranger Cole vinyl to listen too.

Find out more at http://www.bosstonesmusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/themightymightybosstones/ https://www.instagram.com/bosstonesofficial/

  author: simonovitch

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