Thursday 23 October 2008

Review - Less Than Jake - Goodbye Blue and White (CD & DVD Edition)

Less Than Jake - Goodbye Blue and White (CD & DVD Edition)

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6 out of 10

With over a decade and a half of tracks to sift through even the most committed fan of Less Than Jake would find trouble getting their hands on every song the Gainesville five-piece have laid a claim to. Good thing then that the band have provided some assistance in the form of a compilation of various covers and LTJ rarities collected together in "Goodbye Blue and White". While this collection was originally released in 2002, the 2008 release features variation within the track listing and an additional DVD of live tracks so their avid and loyal followers can recreate that LTJ live experience, minus the sweat and skanking amid the ska-punk pit revelry.

This CD is a tribute to the band's former vehicle and friend, a 1979 Chevy Nomad Blue and White Van, and there are anecdotes in the sleeve notes explaining the nature of the band and van's relationship.

Even the mildest LTJ follower will already be aware of the covers on this compilation, such as David Cassidy/The Partridge Family's I Think I Love You, where LTJ's racy version renders the original as placid and stagnant as a swamp. The same treatment is also applied to We're Not Gonna Take It, by Twisted Sister which is over in a crazy whir, and is a mere one and a half minutes in total, as well as 60s angst classic, Teenager In Love.

While the 2002 version did feature four more songs, this 2008 release offers alternatives, for instance, Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sell Outs was a live audio track, whereas on this release it is a live performance featured on the DVD.

As always these tracks are rough diamonds rather than the polished and effects-a-plenty tracks featured on most current albums and the viewing on the live DVD is similar to the grainy quality of a live-download stream in parts, but then this ironically provides the quality factor of this collection.

Although Disc One is bursting with 20 tracks, the fast and furious LTJ approach means that it's all over after 33 minutes. "Goodbye Blue and White" is not likely to convert any newcomers to Less Than Jake, it simply offers yet more tracks for the fans to keep adding to their infinite LTJ song scrap-book.

Listen: www.myspace.com/lessthanjake

Tracklist:
Disk 1:

1. I Think I Love You
2. Losing Streak
3. Mixology Of Tom Collins
4. Modern World
5. Yo Yo Ninja Boy
6. Dopeman
7. Rock-n-Roll Pizzeria
8. We’re Not Gonna Take It
9. Son Of Dick
10. Teenager In Love
11. Freeze Frame
12. Your Love
13. Scott Farcas Takes It On The Chin
14. Descant
15. Evil Has No Boundaries
16. Anti Christ
17. Cheez
18. Mississippi Mud
19. Hamburger Hop
20. Kroq Song

Disk 2:

1. Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts
2. Doug Hastings
3. Rock ’n’ Roll Pizzeria
4. Sugar In Your Gas Tank
5. Scott Farcas Takes It On The Chin
6. Hamburger Hop

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