Smash Mouth broke into the mainstream pop radio with their last album, “Astro Lounge” and it was a commercial success and disappointing, because it left behind what was loved from the debut album. In the third album the self-titled, they have become almost a solid pop rock band. This album is the worst of the first three albums (I didn’t even try album four, “Get The Picture”). The band at the time was:
Steve Harwell-Vocals
Greg Camp-Guitar/Backing Vocals
Paul DeLisle-Bass/Backing Vocals
Michael Urbano-Drums and Programming
Additonal Instrumentals
Micheal Klooster-Keyboards
Mark Cervantes-Percussion
Mike Busbee-Trombone
Lewis Castle-Trumpet
Rich Seinhauser-Trombone
Pros
-Catchy
-A few good tracks
-It is short
Cons
-Very little change in songs
-Full of filler
-Bland generic instrumentals
The Individual Tracks
Holiday In My Head-The first single off the album and featured in the movie Clockstoppers. The song begins with a very poppy very bland guitar line, with the synthesizer compliments. The lyrics are boring and sound like the band decided to just churn out pop hits without any thought or effort. The song is formulaic with verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, this is the whole album song by song in a nutshell. There is a nice solo in the bridge of the song, but even that can’t save the song from being anything more than a bad pop rock hit (why is that usually the way of things). 1.5/5
Your Man-The song continues the pop rock feel of the last song, but it is better. The lyrics sound like they have slightly more thought in them, the instrumentals are still not great, but better than the first track. The song still follows the same formula as the rest of the album. There is no solo to give the song a little more personality, and overall it isn’t a great track. 2/5
Pacific Coast Party-Another single this song is “Holiday In My Head” with new thoughtless words. The lyrics are again poor, and the music is the same poor, except for the bass line which sets up a solid groove. The song is another bad pop rock hit. The funky solo in the bridge helps the song keep its head slightly above water, and it makes you wonder what these instrumentalists could do if they were given the freedom to play. 2/5
She Turns Me On-Opens with a guitar riff, and this song finally sounds like it might be a winner. The lyrics are actually decent, dodging the bullet by using plenty of innuendos. The instrumentals are the best so far, but still nothing amazing, at least there is a solid riff. Paul shows off his ability to keep a solid groove yet again, and Greg plays subtle hits and riff throughout the verses. The solo in this song is again great for breaking up the song but still can’t make it great. An average track. 3/5
Sister Psychic-This song is as you might have guessed about psychics. Lyrics are decent, but the instrumentals sound the same as they have in all the other songs. It really feels like you have heard this song before on the album, because you have, about four times. This song is boring, unless you listen to it first, then the other songs are boring, this is beginning to look like a boring album. 1/5
Out Of Sight-The song features an acoustic riff, but the lyrics don’t make any sense. This is the first track that sounds different. Once the band comes in the song keeps it’s mellow feel. The song is the first one that will remind you of the older Smash Mouth which is good. This song is decent with a nice solo on keyboard or harmonica I can’t really tell. The song ends as it began acoustic guitar and is possibly the best song on the album. 3/5
Force Field-Another song with lyrics that don’t make sense. This song is another pop rock song though a little less generic than the others. The instrumentals are better on this track than on the other pop tracks. Paul does some nice bass work and keeps his groove going. The guitar solo is good, but not amazing, and when verse three comes in and the guitar fills join it, you wish they were in the whole song. The song ends with a very mellow mood. 2/5
Shoes ‘N’ Hats-This song is another generic pop rock song with badly written lyrics. The generic riff behind the song doesn’t help it, instead makes it sound like the same song that has been heard all album. There is a nice solo in the song showing off Greg’s abilities. The song continues with another verse and chorus and then the song is over. 1.5/5
Hold You High-Finally some lyrics that make a little sense are seem well written. The backing vocals are ok but I would prefer Harwell do them instead. This song would have been better if not for the fact that it is a better version of what we have heard 7 times. Greg has another decent solo, but it still only breaks up the song, it doesn’t save it. 2/5
The In Set-This song is written about being a part of the cool crowd. These guys are all in their early thirties so a song about being in the cool crowd shouldn’t be what we expect out of them, we should look for something more mature. Opening with a guitar riff you will swear you have heard before it leaves as quickly as it entered. The lyrics are decently written, but are immature. The music is not worth listening, its only advantage is that it is catchy. There is what seems to be a solo though what instrument I cannot tell, and it really feels out of place. This song is just not worth listening and sounds like another mindless pop song. 1/5
Disenchanted-Another good song. The brass backgrounds are nice and the lyrics though don’t make sense much like the other good song, “Out Of Sight.” The song has a feel more similar to older Smash Mouth tracks, but it is still a long way away. The backing vocals are better but I would still prefer Harwell handled them instead. The song also features a solo section for the trombone and trumpet which makes it better. If the lyrics only made sense we might have a had a really good song. 3/5
Keep It Down-Percussion intro leads to the verse, which is soft. And from the title, you can tell the song is quiet. The lyrics are annoying (he rhymes ok with ok and uses alright and ok several times). The song tries to be interesting by building volume then just dropping but it doesn’t work. The song gets repetitive like most of the songs on the album, and you really never feel compelled to listen all the way through. The only part of the song that is cool is the techno/electronic section after all the lyrics. 2/5
I’m A Believer-The Neil Diamond cover is another generic pop song. The song is a little more snythpop tinged than some of the others. Everyone has heard this song so I won’t say much, but that as a single it is catchy and fun to sing, and listen to. This song makes you think you will have a catchy pop album , and you do indeed get a catchy but generic and repetitive pop album. Would be one of the better tracks if it wasn’t repeated 10 times earlier. 2/5
Download
-Out Of Sight
-Disenchanted
Overall
This album is a huge disappointment. It is a bad pop album, and a bad album from what was once a promising band. There is no reason to buy this album, if you want the singles buy them or download them, but don’t make my mistake and waste 15 dollars on this album.
2/5
