The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Devil’s Night Out
welcome back to the Skaject folks! this week, we’re checking out the first record from the Stones! no not the Rolling Stones, the Mighty Mighty Bos…stones! this is another band i checked out during the original Skaject, though there’s an album or two at the end of the discography i’m not familiar with. the members of this band were active in the Boston music scene, mostly playing hardcore and hard rock, and they formed in the mid 1980s as their other bands shifted. they wouldn’t make their full record debut until today’s record, Devil’s Night Out, in 1989, with a cover featuring the plaid that the band would become well known for sporting at live shows. let’s check it out!
Devil’s Night Out, the title track, kicks this record off in a very interesting way. there’s tones of the hardcore influences they bring in, flipping on a dime to bust out some really good horns. something that’s stuck with me since the first few listens of this song years ago is how the transition points on this song are kinda awkward. Howwhywuz, Howwhyam is a much mellower track, about growing up and changing. p good track – i think this one’s a bit weak to start but quickly picks up and crescendos real well. there’s chunks of Drunks and Children i really enjoy, but there’s enough here that doesn’t that keeps it at a “sometimes” track for me. Hope I Never Lose My Wallet is a very interesting track having a better understanding of the Bosstones’ full discography and which songs would strike a chord with people in the future. instrumentally, they’ve got some really cool fast-paced ska beats. i dig it. Haji is a bit of a silly track referencing the character from I Dream of Jeannie. i enjoyed this quite a bit on my last set of listens, but im less of a fan this time. not a bad track, just not doing a ton for me. i was a bit on the fence for The Bartender’s Song coming out of the old skaject, but i’m really happy to hear it now. really fun track. Patricia isn’t really my style. The Cave (Cognito Fiesta Version) has a nice groove to it for sure. Do Something Crazy goes kinda all over the place in a way that i have a hard time denying. very cool track. A Little Bit Ugly is a very silly and fun duet. really nice way to bring it all together, haha.
faves – Devil’s Night Out, Howwhywuz, Howwhyam, Hope I Never Lose My Wallet, The Bartender’s Song, Do Something Crazy
dislikes –
yeah i was pleasantly surprised revisiting this record. the records im most fond of are still in the future from here, (i’m especially looking forward to their next full album, More Noise and Other Disturbances), but this is one of the ones that context has actually helped inform why these folks were such a central pillar of American ska. really reaching to pull in harder and more frantic sounds that would settle down into the more mellower 3rd wave sounds and ska punk, there are places where the fusion REALLY works, and there are definitely a few pain points, but on the whole this is an incredibly solid opening record.
Devil’s Night Out – 7/10
next week, we return to Bim Skala Bim for their second record, Tuba City
previous: Energy | next: Tuba City
this is the first Mighty Mighty Bosstones release | next: Where’d You Go?
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