CDReview: Social Distortion, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes

Social Distortion

Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes

(Epitaph)

I decided to stay in Aspen for a couple of extra days. Not just to enjoy the view, but also because all those crazy athletes had the planes booked and boarded, and I didn’t wanna be trapped in a tube in the air with them getting all crazy like. Now, those couple of days have come and gone in no time, and it’s time for me to quit playing around and head back to work in Texas, only this time in HD! Looks like I’ll have some new toys to play with when I get there!

So here I sit in the airport, waiting on my flight and watching the bunnies walk by, looking where to board their flight back to reality. Of course, I don’t mind the occasional glance from them as they scurry by; I think they admire my attire. Leave it to me to totally not fit in; that’s never in my plan. Where everyone here is all dressed in tight pants and bulky ski jackets, here sits this Texas boy, enjoying my well worn jeans and one of the high priced fashion shirts Elle gave me. Too bad she kept my cowboy hat; I sure could use it to keep my head warm! No need to waste time on the hat since it was in London. Instead, I decided to go to the airport bar and purchase a glass of champagne so I could make my newly invented drink. No, sorry, I can’t give the name of said drink or how it’s made just yet.

I took my drink and walked back to my seat amongst the other waiters to leave. As I sat there, I wondered how much had changed in my city since I had been gone. I should just be happy if I still had an apartment! While I had been living “abroad”, I let a friend move into my “box” to look after the place. And then there was the question of work. I wondered who was still there and who had picked up and left like I did, or who just moved on to bigger and better careers. How many new faces would I encounter at work, and would they be pretty? That’s one thing about me that hasn’t changed—I still ramble on…

Why all this reminiscing and talk about what may have changed and what may have remained the same? Simple. It has to do with the music rockin’ my headphones at the moment. It comes from a band that has spanned the music world for over 30 years. Through highs and lows (no pun intended), line up changes, and lifestyle changes, none can argue that Social Distortion’s sound has ever changed. Led by front man Mike Ness, this incarnation of the group still provide great lyrics and consistent great songs.

‘Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes’ is Social Distortion’s first release since 2004’s ‘Sex, Love and Rock ‘N’ Roll’ but takes a different twist musically than the previous recordings. For this effort, SD’s music still has the grasp of a punk monster, but is flavored heavily in cleaner, rootsy blues rather than the down and dirty aggressiveness that really fueled the past albums. I find nothing wrong with the change in style, not by any means. However, there are the narrow minded followers that claim this is more of a Mike Ness solo album rather than a new Social Distortion one. Please, give it a rest. How come Pearl Jam and Neil Young can change their style of music and writing and can be accepted but others cannot? I digress…moving forward…

Joining Ness and guitarist Johnny Wickersham for Hard Times is bassist Brent Harding and drummer David Hildago Jr, the son of the Los Lobos member. The line up works like a charm with the turn in melodic music SD takes. Reaching back into his influence of roots driven music, Ness and company set aside the angst driven edge they have displayed over the years and delve a little deeper into other genres so to speak. Don’t be misled; this is not a typical Social Distortion album. With age and new direction comes exploration in musical style, but Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes is still just as rock solid as any of the band’s previous releases.

The instrumental opener of ‘Road Zombie’ is perfect. The song gets you wound up and ready for what’s to follow it. It gives the listener the chance to dig on some great driving riffs and solid guitar leads. It reminds me of ‘Indulgence’, the instrumental opener on Prison Bound. The next track, ‘California (Hustle and Flow)’ lays down some classic rock riffs blended into a true southern rock groove. And the cherry on this blended rocker? How about background gospel singers! Doesn’t sound like the standard on an SD album, but then again, this is not a standard either. One of the band’s best performances both musically and lyrically comes on the clichéd title ‘Diamond in the Rough’, but make no mistake, this song is no cliché. Ness pours out his soul on this heartfelt song.Though there is a good mixture of music on this release, Machine Gun Blues is by far the most rockin'  and possesses that old school SD sound.

Well, they just announced that my flight is delayed; no surprise there. It allows me to stay just a little out of reach of home once again. I’ll be back soon enough with more than enough work to keep me busy I’m sure! Until then, I think I’ll flag down one of these bunnies or cougars and let them enjoy my new drink (patent pending) and the cool sounds of Social D rocking the house once again.

“Excuse me, Miss?”