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It’s 1999 when Mike Ness, the legendary frontman and soul of Social Distortion, releases the excellent "Cheating At Solitaire", soon followed by another solo album of covers.
From the very first notes of the dark and vaguely country "The Devil In Miss Jones", we understand the vibe. In this work, Ness leans much more into Rock and Roll and Country than his original Punk, whose shadow, however, continues to hover over many songs, such as the unusual Dylan cover, "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right". Covers abound, while many ballads are present, especially the title track and "Rest of Our Lives", rendered truly special by Mike’s rough yet full of emotion voice.
Moving from the already mentioned Country to Blues episodes and other Folk, Mike Ness reconfirms his greatness and reveals a surprising eclecticism, gifting us with a varied, inspired, and unexpected album, which draws inspiration from a great variety of musical genres, all, however, played by Mike without forgetting his Punk origins, which as I mentioned before, permeate almost every song.
A truly great album, indeed.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Don't Think Twice (03:47)
Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why,
If you don't know by now
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why,
It don't matter, anyhow
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm trav'lin' on
But don't think twice, it's all right
An' it ain't no use in turnin' on your light,
A light I never knowed
An' it ain't no use in turnin' on your light,
I'm on the dark side of the road
Well I wish there was somethin' you could do or say
To make me wanna change my mind and stay
We never did much talkin' anyway
But don't think twice, it's all right
An' it ain't no use in callin' out my name,
Like you never did before
An' it ain't no use in callin' out my name,
I can't hear you any more
Well I'm a-thinkin' and a-wond'rin' all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told
I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's all right
Well I'm goin' down that long, lonesome road,
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
But goodbye's too good a word,
So I'll just say fare thee well
Well I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
I coulda done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right
Yeah don't think twice, it's all right
Yeah don't, think twice
Don't you ever, think twice,
Yeah don't, think twice, it's alright
07 Cheating at Solitaire (03:53)
You can lie to yourself, you can lie to the world
You can lie to the one you call your girl
You can humble yourself to the hearts that you stole
Wondering who's gonna love you when you grow old?
With a fist full of curage and a heart full of rage
I realized I'd locked myself in a cage
I'll be the one standing there with the watery eyes
I'll be the fool in the mirror asking you why...asking why
When I got to the end of my dirty rainbow
And I found that there was no pot of gold
Well, I learned that I was empty and not quite as strong
For I had robbed my heart and cheated my soul
Look for the one with the watery eyes
I'll be the fool in the mirror asking you why
Cursing lovers in a warm tender embrace
Scoffing at the world and the whole human race
Chorus:
You can run, you can hide
You can feed your foolish pride
You can use and abuse
In the end you'll always lose...at the game
Chorus:
You can run, you can hide
You can feed your foolish pride
With the hearts that you stole
And an empty pot of gold
And the lover's warm embrace
And the whole damned human race
You can use and abuse
In the end you'll always lose...at the game
"For I cheated myself at solitaire"
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