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Dude Ranch, their final album with original drummer Scott Raynor and only album produced by Drive Like Jehu drummer/Jimmy Eat World producer Mark Trombino, is rawer and simpler than the Travis-era records and Mark and Tom can barely sing, but all the ideas they'd later finesse are laid out here, and it's still their most wall-to-wall consistently great record. Once blink-182 hooked up with drummer Travis Barker and producer Jerry Finn, they became the force of nature most people know them as today, but as I've gone on record saying before, they made their best record before all that. Read on for the list, in alphabetical order. Either way, I hope it's as fun for you to read as it was for me to dive back into these records and to write it. Maybe you'll discover something new from this list, or maybe it'll just induce a rush of nostalgia. It's a mix of obvious classics, underrated records, scrappy debuts by bands that later got famous, big budget records by bands who already released breakthroughs, and one or two oddities that seem more important/influential in hindsight than anyone could've guessed they would have in 1997. The list isn't ranked (alphabetical order) and it's not necessarily the 23 best, just the 23 that most stand out to me today. Most of them are pop punk/skate punk, though a few are "just punk" and would probably be offended by me calling them "pop punk," but they're at least melodic and/or were influential on poppier punk records to come, so that's why they're on a mostly-pop punk list. Can we take a moment to appreciate 7 H.All the 1997 albums turn 23 this year (you get the joke) and to celebrate their birthdays, I've picked 23 albums from that year to write and reminisce about.
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Pridelands - Heavy Tongue (Official Music Video)
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It's a bit on the inconsistent end, but the great moments easily eclipse the weak moments. If you're looking for some eclectic funky nu metal, this is a great album. Despite "Hold Your Eyes" being a great track, "Danzig Needs a Hug" has less of the lounge-funk of the former and sounds more like some commercial jingle. "Drive By" could have been one of the best on the album with it's dark and dirty opening bass line, but is ruined by annoying pointless speech that takes up most of the track. However, there are some disappointments here unfortunately. "Mean Machine" is a highlight as well, immediately getting you pumped with it's driving opening riff. I'm sure Beastie Boys fans like me will get some enjoyment out of those. Along with the aforementioned track, the previously mentioned rap metal songs are pretty damn great. "Hold Your Eyes" is surprisingly one of the best songs on the album with an infectiously catchy hand-clapping beat and a bluesy slap bass. "Big Black Woman" and "Mean Machine" provide the punk end, while "Hold Your Eyes" and the comically titled "Danzig Needs a Hug" are the oddballs being in the lounge/RnB sound.ĭue to this eclectic mix, there are some ideas that work and some that don't. Songs like "Rhyme Stealer" and "10 Seconds Down" are in a rap metal style, sounding like a metal-ized Beastie Boys. What you get here is an eclectic mix of metal, funk, rap, punk, lounge, and even RnB. While the band is really only known for their hit song "Fly" and the pop-rock albums that followed, Sugar Ray's first two albums display some damn catchy funky nu-metal along with some musical styles you may not expect from a 90's nu-metal band. I know what everyone's thinking, "Sugar Ray, metal?".