Is there anything left to say about Snuff that hasn’t already been said? The words legendary and seminal spring to mind, even if they probably aren’t as well known by a new generation of music lovers as perhaps the last one. I fear there may even be people reading this who have never, ever even heard a Snuff song before. The shame. I could recall many a drunken evening at university dancing away to ‘Arsehole’, ‘Nick Northern’ or What Happened To The Likely Lads’. Or even ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’. Oh the memories. If you’re one of those yet to sample the pop-punk delights that Snuff have in abundance, then this ‘greatest hits’ record is the absolutely perfect starting point.
Now when I mentioned pop-punk before, let’s get this straight – we’re not talking about Yanky doodle do vocals and an overproduced sound. This is gritty, underproduced, funny and very, very English. And the band themselves are nearly 20 years old, give or take some time for a brief early 90s hiatus. They’ve been released records on Fat Wreck, toured the world, supported bands like NOFX and Less Than Jake and influenced more bands than I’ve possibly eaten hot fish. They’ve also got a pretty legendary live show, which anyone who’s seen them in the flesh will testify.
So, a ‘greatest hits’ package – a double CD of album tracks, b-sides and remixes, all for the price of a single record. In truth it’s a bargain, if only for tracks like ‘Arsehole’ and ‘Numb Nuts’. The first CD is made up of choice album cuts, assembled from all the eras and, as I mentioned before, is a real trip down memory lane. The second side features a stack of covers and b-sides, ranging from ‘Any Old Iron’ to a cover of the ‘Hokey Cokey’. I shit you not. The only thing that’s missing is their awesome cover of Girls Aloud’s ‘Sound of the Underground’. Other than that, it’s all here. A retrospective look at one of the UK’s best punk bands – you owe it to yourself to own this record.
www.snuff.net
10past12/Fat Wreck
Paul