Review of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' "Let's Face It"

Let's Face It (1997) is the fifth album from the American group The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The story of the band is an interesting one in its own right, and this certainly is an interesting group.

For starters it is very large- eight piece to be exact- with Dicky Barrett on vocals, Nate Albert on guitar, Joe Gittleman on bass, Joe Sirois on drums, Dennis Brockenborough on trombone, Ben Carr on bosstone and Kevin Lenear and Tim Burton on saxophone. This leads on to another of the group's features- its unique sound. While the first four members give the Bosstones a very traditional rock feel, it is their combination with the last four which gives the band its personality.

Their biography captures their musical experimentation well. Let's Face It segues "from purist ska ('Noise Brigade,' 'Rascal King,' 'Royal Oil') to melodic punk pop with irresistible choruses ('That Bug Bit Me,' 'Nevermind Me'), to the hyperactive all-of-the-above hybrid that hundreds of thousands of loyal fans have come to cherish ('The Impression That I Get,' 'Numbered Days,' '1-2-8')."

However while the bio does illustrate the creative side of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, it is a bit generous with the conclusions. Actually this is not a very good album at all. With the exception of a couple of tracks- here 'The Impression That I Get' and 'Nevermind' come to mind- this is a poorly made album, despite what Albert has to say.

"We wrote about 30 songs this time and forced the cream to rise to the top," he explains. "In the past we would write however many songs we needed to fill an album and get right back to nonstop touring. With this album we took our time. We ignored any pressure to release this before its completion."

One of the problems with the album is- paradoxically- what many of the fans like about it. The trombone/bosstone/saxophone background which permeates the entire record just comes across as being boring, repetitive and poorly thought out. Obviously with eight guys in the band parts have to be written for all of them, but it takes a very skilful musician (or musicians) to write an entire collection of songs like this without it sounding contrived. Unfortunately it does sound contrived.

Either you like this about The Mighty Mighty Bosstones or you don't. Two people can listen to the same thing and have completely different opinions about it. To some the idea of an eight piece sounds inspired as does the music that comes with. To others it is just dull and uncreative. Either way, though, this is a band that makes you take notice of them.

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