The Ataris are one of my favourite bands in the whole wide world, so I was more than a little intrigued to hear the re-worked version of their 1997 masterpiece ‘Anywhere But Here’. However, this beefed up version, which shows just how far the band have come in five years, is unfortunately not quite as good as that legendary first release.
The punk community has been split over the news that Kris Roe and company signed to a major label. Personally I think it is great and I hope it works out for them. But the new version of ‘Anywhere But Here’, their parting gift to Kung Fu Records, just lacks that little something that the original had. Don’t get me wrong, this new version is an excellent record that is well worth checking out, but hardcore fans of the band will surely agree when I say that it lacks what made The Ataris so special in the first place – the intenseness, the desperation and the urgency. In throwing money and good quality production at songs which were great anyway, Kris Roe has, in some cases, made them worse. Of course there are improvements too, but the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke why fix it’ rings true here. For starters the tracklisting has altered significantly and for the first dozen listens it is genuinely disorientating. Kris said that he believes the new running order fits better, and to be honest I’d be inclined to agree with him, although it does take a long while to get used to.
‘Bite My Tongue’ kicks things off and the extra layered guitars are immediately noticeable. To be fair this was always a great song and even though the extra parts do add to it, it couldn’t ever better the original. ‘Make It Last’ is beefed up too, as is ‘Clara’. Both are good solid songs, but not The Ataris at their best – I’ve never really thought these songs were that great, especially compared to the likes of ‘As We Speak’, with its immortal line, “It’s nice to meet someone with a future as fucked up as mine, so I’m unpredictable, is this a fucking sign of the times?” Personally that line means so much to me, and this new version tops the older one. It’s only 60 seconds long, but it’s classic stuff.
‘Blind and Unkind’ is a lot more layered and the vocals seem cleaner, ditto ‘Take Me Back’, which is perhaps as guilty of having less urgency than the rest of the tracks here. It’s still a great track and shows how good a storyteller Kris Roe really is, but again the original is slightly better. The new version of ‘Lately’ is better than the old one, although I can’t put my finger on why. But it is, trust me… ‘Let It Go’ is fantastic too, really benefiting from the extra parts and production and it becomes a real monster of a song. ‘Alone In Santa Cruz’ doesn’t really vary that much from the original, unlike the Jawbreaker cover ‘Boxcar’ which is completely overhauled, and sounds absolutely brilliant. Kris re-recorded the vocals, the only track where this happens, and they sound great.
‘Are We There Yet?’ is another great example of the Ataris early work, and the new version carries on their fine tradition of short, sharp quality punk rock. Newie ‘Anderson’ fits in snugly, a rip-snorting tale of small town angst. “Hate it here, I hate it here,” Kris screams, something that we can probably all empathise with. It’s rather crudely written, lacking the subtleties of the band’s later efforts, but it fits in well with The Ataris circa 1997. The same can be said about ‘Neilhouse’ and ‘Perfectly Happy’, neither of which would find their way on to an Ataris record in 2002. But the latter in particular is as visceral as the band have ever been and the lyrics are painfully honest as always. With their early work Kris Roe showed how much of a talent he is with his lyrics as there was something that everyone could associate with, so much so that the amazing ‘Blue Skies…’ opus is something of a holy grail amongst fans. And there is plenty of evidence on this record of what was to come.
‘Four Chord Wonder’ is a blatant tongue-in-cheek look at the scene, and the track rather ironically, looks as though it could come true. “We could write a four chord wonder and make a million bucks,” Kris sings, and bearing in mind the new Columbia deal, you sense that this may be a little prophetic. ‘Hey Kid’ is stunning, a classic song made better with its anthemic “bitch, bitch, bitch” chorus. Simple yet stunningly effective, like ‘Sleepy’, a mini-story lasting less than a minute. ‘Angry Nerd Rock’ is brilliant lyrically, yet this slow paced effort just doesn’t work. It just plods on and is a bit dull really. Check out the ‘Blue Skies…’ version because it is so much better. ‘1,2,3,4’ is basically the same as it has always been, whilst album closer ‘Ray’ is an angry blast which would wake the dead.
Add to this the bonus track, the cover of Weezer‘s ‘Butterfly’ and the 15-minute video extra that you get, and this is well worth buying. But, be warned, this just isn’t quite as good as the original. ‘Anywhere But Here’ is a great album, but I would probably recommend getting the 1997 version first. Then go out and get this and be part of one of the best bands around at the minute, because if The Ataris aren’t lording it around on TRL with Carson Daly this time next year, I’ll eat my hat…
Paul Savage