Webster’s Dictionary defines the phrase “guilty pleasure” as...well, actually,
it doesn’t define the term at all, but this is only because it’s not in there.
This omission is a shame, as any definition of said phrase would almost
certainly include the words “Smash Mouth” and “All Star” in some capacity, and
would therefore be perfect to quote in this review. The book does, however,
define the word “ubiquitous,” and, as most anyone who lived between 1997 and
2001 would surely agree, if “existing or being everywhere at the same time;
constantly encountered” doesn’t describe the music of Smash Mouth to a ‘T,’ few
phrases do.
Ironically, it’s this fact – that the band was virtually inescapable for a
period of about five years – that makes them a guilty pleasure. While no
statistics are currently available to actually back up the statement that will
follow the next comma, there is reason to believe that there is no-one remaining
on the planet who ever needs to hear the song “All Star” ever again. Still,
somewhere in the back of your mind – probably buried beneath a layer of synapses
screaming, “Out, out, damned song!” – you remember when you first heard it and
said, “This is a fucking great single!” Just because you remember that, however,
doesn’t mean that you want to admit it in public nowadays...because, really, is
it worth the verbal flogging that would result from such a confession?
For better or worse, “All Star” is the lead track on Smash Mouth’s appropriately
titled greatest hits collection, All Star Smash Hits. Either you get to enjoy it
right off the bat, no waiting, or you can skip past it altogether and move on to
the band’s first hit, “Walking on the Sun,” which is Track 2. Anyone who blew
their money on Fush Yu Mang (the band’s debut) because they thought the whole
album would be as good as its first single will be pleased to have access to the
song without all the excess baggage with which it was originally packaged. The
singles from the band’s third, self-titled disc, “Holiday In My Head” and the
brilliant faux ‘70s swirl of “Pacific Coast Party,” are here as well, plus
lesser-charting – but no less solid – singles from throughout Smash Mouth’s
career, like “Then The Morning Comes,” “Diggin’ Your Scene,” their cover of
“Can’t Get Enough Of You, Baby,” and “Hang On,” from their most recent (and most
forgettable) album, Get The Picture?
All Star Smash Hits also does a serviceable job of compiling several of the
band’s contributions to various soundtracks, including an utterly kick-ass cover
of Let’s Active’s “Every Word Means No,” solid takes on Steely Dan (“Do It
Again”) and the Beatles (“Getting Better”), and – ugh – their
almost-as-overplayed-as-“All Star” version of the Monkees’ “I’m A Believer,”
taken from the “Shrek” soundtrack.
As best-of collections go, this one handily does the trick to remind folks that,
overplayed or not, these guys have always had a way with a fun, radio-friendly
single. That farfisa beat never fails to scream Smash Mouth, and Steve Harwell’s
voice is a distinctive one....so much so, unfortunately, that twenty songs in a
row may be a bit too much for some to take. Still, if you need a soundtrack to
your next party and want something that you know everyone will like...well,
there’s no such disc. But if you can make it past “All Star” without having
someone attack your speakers with a carving knife, yelling, “Die! Die!,” All
Star Smash Hits will at least serve to keep everyone’s toes tapping cheerily
along.
~Will Harris
wharris@bullz-eye.com
|
|
|