•
Rating:
Sometimes, thankfully, they return. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, or how much (very much) they have to lose. What mattered, in the case of Mike Ness, was simply returning from that hell made of drugs, prison, violence, abandonment, which almost sucked him into the abyss where so many other bad boys from the old Orange County had already ended up.
For Mike, evidently, destiny had something different in store than a cemetery or a jail: continuing a fantastic story that began in 1983 with that small (barely 27 minutes long) yet great (listen to it to understand) gem titled "Mommy's Little Monster". A shining comet whose golden trail would have been a crime not to follow. So we arrive at 1988, the year when the celebrated Metallica released "...And Justice For All" (pay attention to this title, as we'll find it partially in the realm of Social D too), the first album post-Cliff Burton, while Social Distortion released the first LP signed by the Recovered Ness. Or, depending on the point of view, the first album of the new era.
"Prison Bound", the album in question, is indeed the launching pad for what Social D would become up to the present day: an unrepeatable (and very personal) fusion of melodic California-made punk and the best of American music, the kind with a capital A. With a good dose of Rolling Stones added (here honored with the beautiful cover of "Backstreet Girl"). Some will call it Country Punk, others will simply be captured by this warm sound that mixes Johnny Cash and the Ramones (or Hank Williams and the Clash, if you prefer), all concentrated in the charisma and songwriting—somehow wonderful from the start—of the poetic and tormented Ness.
Compared to the sacred triad signed with Epic ("Social Distortion", "Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell", "White Light White Heat, White Trash"), "Prison Bound" enjoys an evidently more spartan production, closer to the group's beginnings in Fullerton rather than to the bright future. The ties to the past are highlighted by the first tracks: "It's The Law" is nothing but a re-proposition of the original "Justice For All" (see above to remember the nominal connection between Mike Ness's band and L.A.'s Thrashers) contained in the Mainliner collection, while "Indulgence", with its breaks and restarts and its essential lyrics, appears as the ideal link between "It Wasn't A Pretty Picture" and "Moral Threat" featured on their debut platter. "Like An Outlaw (For You)" should be remembered for several reasons: besides being the first openly western-punk song of the work (and perhaps of the entire production of the group), it is the result of a collaboration between Mike Ness and his comrade-in-arms Dennis Danell, who co-signs three tracks on the album. It is peculiar that the two guitarists had very few other occasions to demonstrate their compositional harmony, while in private life they were inseparable until Dennis's premature death. The title track, a wonderful country punk ballad that foreshadows the more renowned (and equally splendid) "Story Of My Life" and "Ball And Chain", talks about the frontman’s tough experience in prison, linking it to the discovery of new influences (Cash above all) and stylistic and attitudinal change. It’s hard to think of a better and more personal way to seal the first half of the album.
"No Pain No Gain" doesn't entirely convince, with its unusual flamenco progression, immediately followed by the much more impactful "On My Nerves" and "I Want What I Want" (opened by a menacing riff, precursor of dark-toned pieces like "Pleasure Seeker" and "Gotta Know The Rules"). The closure is entrusted to the dark and tormented blues-punk of "Lawless", whose mournful tone even harks back to the best Mississippi tradition, and the autobiographical "Lost Child", where themes of perdition and turmoil are narrated with the flair and punk poetry that only Mike Ness can evoke.
Regardless of discussions about individual tracks and the production still anchored to lo-fi standards, it would be unfair to reduce Prison Bound to the role of a mere transition album. Despite being without the groundbreaking impact of MLM, it maintains the fundamental energy while attempting to develop it in more personal directions and trace that path which would allow Social Distortion to survive the fate of many other punk bands born and buried in L.A. suburbs, eventually earning the well-deserved title of legend. A myth that has lasted for more than three decades, built on a few but brilliant albums; on enviable consistency and the ability to play punk rock by combining simplicity and personality. It might seem like little, just as few are the chords Ness uses to craft his jewels of suburban poetry and blues-country warmth. Very few, however, manage to offer the same, astonishing result.
An indispensable album, if one wants to understand and delve into the history of a unique group; nevertheless precious, for those who believe that punk rock can also (or mostly) be a winning mix of melody, lyricism, and feeling.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 It's the Law (02:38)
We're sitting here in this cell
You know it's like a living hell
Was what you did really a crime?
The judge says you have to serve time
It's the law, you're in jail
It's the law that sets your bail
Don't bother to try and fight
It's only a few more nights
The deputy had a bad night
He couldn't get it up for his wife
So he's gonna be pissed on the job and
He's gonna bum out your life
02 Indulgence (04:34)
A wish or a longing for, an obsession much too strong
Gratification of desire, an object requested for
A sesual feeling, an extension of time
Is it good or bad?
Does your conscience bother you
Does it make you sad or glad?
03 Like an Outlaw (For You) (05:21)
Like an outlaw
I'd lie for you
I'd kick and scream and do time for you
I'd rob and steal and go without meals and
Terrorize this town
For you-for you
Like an outlaw
I'd lurk in the baddest parts of town
I'd wait there for you baby
Until they hunt me down
For you-for you
Like an outlaw
They'd put a price on my head
Wanted dead or alive or painted a bloodied red
For you-for you
Like an outlaw
I'd kill for you
I'd kick and scream and hang for you
I'd go inside and kick some hide and
Bury a man who died
For you-for you
05 Prison Bound (05:24)
Well, I'm goin' to a place
Where the tough guys go
And come out even tougher
A place where a man don't show his feelings
A place where a man don't cry
They say I'm being punished
And they say I can be reformed
But some day I'll return
Did they really think that
This time it would work?
You know all along it wouldn't
Oh, I'm prison bound
I did a crime
One too many times
It's on the outskirts of town
By the railroad tracks
Where the country moon shines
Oh, I'm prison bound
Tell my girl
I'll be back one day
Oh, I'm prison bound
I may never know any other way
(Any other way)
Well, they take away my freedom
Of expression or action
Johnny says I'll walk the line
With three hots and a cot
And a lot of talk
With lock up
Concrete and steel
Well it's cold and it's clammy
Man, it's colder than a pimp's heart
But I gotta do my time
There's a lesson to be learned here
But what a price to pay
You know, I may never learn
Oh, I'm prison bound
I did a crime
One two many times
It's on the outskirts of town
By the railroad tracks
Where the country moon shines
Oh, I'm prison bound
Tell my girl
I'll be back one day
Oh, I'm prison bound
I may never know any other way
(Any other way)
06 No Pain No Gain (03:42)
Well I walked
Man I walked
Through some pain today
Well I guess today was my turn to hurt
Well, why not
You know I'm not any different
And no pain means no gain
I've heard them say
Well I used to think that life
Was so ugly
Live fast, die young
Leave a pretty corpse
But now I see things so much different
And life seems sometimes pretty to me
07 On My Nerves (04:23)
The sound of a neighor's barking dog
The high prices of gigs today
I ordered a meal not an insult
I have nothing else to say
Something's gone wrong with my bike again
Can they play that song just one more fucking time?
That girl's attitude is hurting my head
Where am I supposed to draw the line?
Someone scratched my favorite Stones LP
My boss says that I'm a little slow
These people, places and things just aren't going my way
Situations that I can't control
I got in a fight at the liquor store
My neighbors are making too much noise
My girlfriend's not acting the way she's supposed to be
With a little time it'll all work out fine
09 Lawless (03:21)
A question of morals, black market love
Street survivors for another cause
Family traditions of another kind-
Challenging politics with payoffs twice a month
Too much is not enough and enough is just too much
Not afraid of one man, not afraid of ten
Like a pirate in the city, he's a lover man too
Whatever it is that he wants from you
Just remember he always gets what he wants-
With a gun in one hand, a drink in the other
Deep inside he knows his days are numbered
In his world he led an important life
Loading comments slowly
