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Rating: THE REVIEW
The new punk wave (?) is in full swing, and bands like Offspring and Green Day are riding the wave, selling about 10 million records each thanks to their albums Smash and Dookie.
But this is only on the surface. While the aforementioned bands don't have much of punk (especially Green Day), there were much "tougher" bands that are REALLY riding the wave. Not the summer or the MTV chart wave. Something more significant. Nofx, Rancid, and even Pennywise (perhaps a bit less them), reignite the punk scream, this time in America. It's clear that compared to the old Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Damned, and Clash, they are minor, but you start seeing people with mohawks, leather jackets, and tight pants again. They are not the TRUE PUNKS; they are the punkabbestia, a less revolutionary but more carefree type of punk.
Rancid are one of the "sacred" bands for these punkabbestia.
The album I'm going to review, Let's Go, is in my opinion, one of the best punk albums released in the '90s and by Rancid, if not the best.
The album begins with distorted guitars and hoarse, out-of-tune voices. Here comes Nihilism. The track is fast, like the entire album, where the songs don't exceed 3 minutes.
The first 3 tracks are DEVASTATING: fast, powerful, angry, aggressive. It's like reliving '77 (for those who experienced it... unfortunately I didn't), up to Salvation, the most beautiful song of the album and by Rancid.
The melodies of the following tracks are like those mentioned above. 1:50, this is the average length of each song. The choruses are easily catchy and memorable, also thanks to the phrases spoken repeatedly at that moment, for example As One, Let's Go, I Am the One, and Gave It Away.
The ska innovations that are noticeable in ...and Come Out the Wolves or Life Won't Wait aren't here yet, and this is to their advantage. In fact, while there they seem too "copied" from the Clash, making them look like a bad copy, here the work is raw, genuine, and above all sincere.
In conclusion, in my opinion, this album is one of the best punk records of the nineties, certainly better than Nofx or Pennywise.
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Summary by Bot
The review praises Rancid's Let's Go as one of the best punk albums of the 1990s, emphasizing its raw and genuine sound. It contrasts Rancid's authentic punk style with more commercially successful but less true-to-punk bands like Green Day. The short, powerful tracks and memorable choruses make it a standout. The absence of ska experimentation found in later albums is seen as an advantage. Overall, the album is favored above contemporaries like Nofx and Pennywise.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Rancid
Rancid is an American punk band from Berkeley, frequently discussed in reviews for blending punk rock with ska and reggae elements and for comparisons (favorable and hostile) to The Clash.12 Reviews
