It is becoming increasingly common practice for front men in punk bands the world over to strike out on their own. The solo album or side project band seems to be the choice for most of these individuals. Now what we have here is something a little bit different. Joey Cape of Lagwagon fame and Tony Sly of No Use For A Name had a conversation one day that suggested the two of them should do a split acoustic album. Often these ideas never come to fruition, but on this occasion it has, and the simply titled ‘Acoustic’ is the result of the pair’s efforts.
So what we have with ‘Acoustic’ is two of the lead singers from two of Fat’s biggest bands playing six tracks each. Tony and Joey both perform five catalogue songs and one new track – potentially a real treat for fans of either band!
Tony is up first and his six tracks prove to be the strongest half of the album. I’ve always liked No Use For A Name, but the stripped down acoustic versions of songs like ‘Not Your Saviour’ and ‘Justified Black Eye’ has hammered home just strong their songs are - as only one man and a guitar can. New track ‘Stunt Double’ also proves to be a worthy addition to Sly’s repertoire.
Now as much as I have enjoyed No Use over the years I have always had more of an inkling for Lagwagon. However, Joey’s set on this album falls short of the standard of his label mate. ‘Twenty-Seven’ and new song ‘Violet’ sound good but in the main, there is just too much going on with the songs. I would have preferred to hear the songs stripped down to the bear essentials. You just get the impression that the presence of Bad Astronaut is a hard one to shift.
‘Acoustic’ then, proves to be something of a mixed bag. There can be no doubting the quality of the songs on offer, but the way they are delivered has a big impact on the standard of performance. That said this is still a worthy purchase for fans of either band, if only to hear some of their favourites in a different form.
Mark
