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Rating: Between the late '80s and early '90s, hard rock was undergoing a phase of profound change. After the glorious Eighties, glam and hair metal were starting to fade, soon to be swept away by the grunge phenomenon and alternative rock; old glories like Kiss, AC/DC, and Scorpions, for their part, were losing steam. In short, the genre was becoming old and overdone. Meanwhile, however, bands like Jane's Addiction, Faith No More, and Living Colour set out to reshape hard rock by adding elements of funk, psychedelia, punk, metal, post-punk, rap, and more, making it fresh, lively, and relatable to new generations: call it crossover, if you will.
One could indeed speak of a dualism between old and new, between purity and contamination in those years. And indeed, the newcomers and debutants could be divided into two categories: on one side, there were those who, faithful to the old creed, persevered in the stylistic tradition of the just-concluded decade: Skid Row, and especially the phenomenal Tesla are the happiest examples; on the other side, there were those who followed the new trends and, without fully entering the crossover area, tinged their hard rock with funky and alternative elements: we can mention the vastly underrated Extreme ("Who? Oh yes, those of 'More Than Words') and, indeed, Ugly Kid Joe.
Our guys formed in Isla Vista, California, in 1989. After the '91 EP "As Ugly As They Wanna Be" and the very successful single "Everything About You", also included in the soundtrack of "Wayne's World," they finally reached their first full-length in '92, "America's Least Wanted," an ironic twist on the phrase "America's Most Wanted." And it is precisely the strong dose of irony and irreverence that gives the Kids the right drive towards success: after a decade of rock stars self-proclaimed gods on earth, a band calling themselves 'America's least wanted' cannot but win the public's favor. But beyond silliness, Ugly Kid Joe (at the time comprised of Whitfield Crane on vocals, Klaus Eichstadt and Dave Fortman on guitars, Cordell Crockett on bass, and Mark Davis on drums) were deadly serious. "America's Least Wanted" is fundamentally a hard rock album, but the never banal solutions that the group adopts, a good range of influences, and the right amount of madness make it an excellent hard rock album, surprisingly varied and mature for a band debuting on a large-scale discography.
The songs mainly refer to glam and street metal ("Panhandlin' Prince" and the opener "Neighbour" in particular, two of the best songs of the batch), but there are also plenty of Sabbath-like quotes ("Don't Go"), of which they often covered live "N.I.B." and "Sweet Leaf", and pure heavy metal ("So Damn Cool"). However, as I said before, the album does not live by hard rock alone: Faith No More showed how far hard n' heavy can go, and the Californians do not hold back, directly inspired by Patton and company in "Come Tomorrow" and "Madman", while the brilliant "Same Side" dives headlong into funky antics. There are also power ballads, never trite and always classy: "Busy Bee" recalls alternative rock, but the highlight is the splendid cover of Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle": the guitar arpeggio reminds of a sitar, the atmosphere becomes evocative and Ugly Kid Joe gives us one of the most thrilling ballads of the '90s. Missing is the already mentioned "Everything About You", another peak of the album: irony pedal pressed to the floor, and off you go, everyone having fun like teenagers to the beat of this volcanic funk metal!
In short, this album, and the group in general, deserved more than they actually received. Today, no one remembers them anymore, although at the time, they indeed had their moment of glory; in fact, on many P2P networks like Emule or Limewire, if you search for "Cat's in the Cradle", it will come up as by Guns or even Kid Rock (horror!). They did not deserve all this, also because they were always consistent and honest with their audience, another rarity in the hard rock field: dissolved in '99, to this day, they have never announced moneymaking celebratory reunions, for instance.
If you love Extreme or Living Colour, get this album and love it!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Neighbor (04:45)
Sittin' in your front yard drinkin' lemonade
Suburban life, a pretty wife, you think you've got it made
But you don't know what's in store, for you and your family
Ha, ha, I'm movin in right next door, won't you welcome me?
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood
And I hope I didn't ruin your day!
Won't you be my neighbor?
Yeah, I brought my life, my ugly wife, my dirty dogs with fleas
My kid's a punk, and I'm a drunk, but this I'm sure you'll see
And you don't know, what it's like, to live in misery
C'mon and welcome to, home sweet hell, dissastifaction guaranteed
It's beautiful day in the neighborhood
And if I could I surely would
invite you in and say...
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Could you be my nieghbor?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Oh c'mon I don't think you'll find
A place to live in peace of mind
You're gonna live in misery
When you're livin' next to me!
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
Raaah! Won't you be now, won't you be my funky neighbor?
Well I drink, I stink, I smoke, I'm a joke
I try all night and day to get a piece of the action, a-haa
And you should know by now you're never
Gonna forget it, a-haa
Now I know just what you're thinkin'
It could be you out 'n' you're drinkin'
Don't you knock it till you try it
It could be you in a little while
I hope I didn't ruin you day!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood
And I dig your wife, she sure is good
A beautiful day in the neighborhood
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ha ha ha!
05 Busy Bee (04:11)
If I had the time and lotsa money
The Id take you round the world
n if I had a dime for every penny
Then Id buy you diamonds girl
You dont even know how much I love you
And how much I wanna be...
Your knight in shining armor, yeah, baby
Thats good enough for me...
And Ill keep tryin
Yeah Ill keep tryin, to make you mine
...mine all mine
I hope youre buyin, I hope youre buyin
All of my lines
Now if I was the king and had a castle
Then youd surely be my queen
We would live up in the tallest tower
And we rarely would be seen
You dont even know how much I need you
And how much you mean to me
Im dog without a bone hear me cryin
And its time for you to see that...
And Ill keep tryin
Yeah Ill keep tryin, to make you mine
...mine all mine
I hope youre buyin, I hope youre buyin
All of my lines
08 Same Side (04:51)
It doesnt matter who you are
Or what youre gonna be
People from all walks of life
You gotta have diversity
Were all in this together
And together we shall be
You gotta be a friendly neighbor
If youre gonna live next to me
Were all
Livin on the same side
Same side of town
Walkin down the same streets
The streets that are all around
You could be my brother
Or you could be my friend
But dont turn your back on me
Cause well be here til the end
Yeah, were all in this together
And we all have that dream
To live in perfect harmony
Like a family thats the scene
Yeah, were all...
Livin on the same side
Same side of town
Walkin down the same streets
The streets that are all around
Livin on the same side
Same side of town
Shufflin to the same beat
The beat thats all around
Stumblin down on d.p., keggers all around,
Laughin at the police as they try to take us down
Hangin with each other, yeah hangin with our bros
We all love one another, from our heads down to our toes
09 Cats in the Cradle (04:02)
My child arrived just the other day
Came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
He was talkin' 'fore I knew it
And as he grew he said,
"I'm gonna be like you, Dad,
You know I'm gonna be like you."
Chorus:
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon.
"When you comin' home?"
"Son, I don't know when. We'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."
Well, my son turned ten just the other day He said,
"Thanks for the ball, Dad. Come on, let's play.
Could you teach me to throw?"
I said, "Not today. I got a lot to do."
He said, "That's okay."
And he walked away and he smiled and he said,
"You know, I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."
(Chorus)
Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"I'm proud of you. Could you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"
(Chorus)
I've long since retired, my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
"I'd like to see you, if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu,
But it's sure nice talkin' to you, Dad.
It's been sure nice talkin' to you."
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon.
"When you comin' home?"
"Son, I don't know when. We'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."
11 Everything About You (04:20)
I, hate the rain and sunny weather,
and I, hate beach and mountains too;
(and) I don't like a thing about the city, no, no,
and I, I, I, hate the countryside too!
And I, hate everything about you!
...everything about you!
And I, don't like a thing about your mother,
and I, I hate your daddy's guts too,
And I don't like a thing about your sister, no, no
'cause I I I think sex is overrated too.
CHORUS
And I, get sick when I'm around, I, can't stand to be around,
I, hate everything about you!
Everything about you, everything about you, everything about you!
BRIDGE
Some say I've got a bad attitude,
but that don't change the way I feel about you,
and if you think this might be bringing me down,
look again 'cause I ain't wearing no frown!
SOLO
Well I don't really care about your sister
Fuck the little bitch 'cause I already kissed her
One thing that I did to ol' lady
I put her on the bed and she didn't say maybe
I know you know everybody knows
the way it comes, the way it's gonna go
You think it's sad,
well that's too bad,
'Cause I'm havin'
A ball hatin'
Every little thing about you! ha-ha!
Everything about you, everything about
I get sick when I'm around
I can't stand to be around
I hate everything about. . .
YOU!
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