Cover albums rule. I'm still waiting for my dream album of heavy-as-stink metal versions of popular songs. Until then, this is the next best thing: pop punk versions of popular songs. Pranksters Ghoti Hook try their hand at classic rockers like "I Love Rock and Roll" and "Just What I Needed"; oldies like "Earth Angel," "Burnin' Love," and "On the Road Again"; and lesser known indie/punk gems by The Dead Milkmen, X, The Pixies, The Violent Femmes, and so on. The two "Christian" songs to make the cut are from different extremes: Michael W. Smith's teeny-bopper theme-song "Friends" and Stavesacre's intense "Acquiesce." The latter is one of the album's best cuts and drove me to pull out a Stavesacre disc afterwards.
Overall, the selection is greater, more diverse, and more fun than MxPx's similar but shorter On the Cover album a few years back. The production (engineered by Kevin 131 of Aleixa) is crisp and complaint-free. One possible weakness might be that Joel's vocals aren't always distinctive enough to be interesting, which dulls the style of some of the songs. Also, one of the things that sets Ghoti Hook apart from the million other cookie-cutter sound-alike pop punk bands is their humor, which is noticeably absent from the album aside from the artwork, some of the song choices, and the forced laughter track at the end (which isn't really funny). Oh, and uptight Christian music fans might be bothered by the lack of anything overtly spiritual on the album.
All in all, you can't go wrong with a cover album. It's good fun to listen to no matter what.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
7ball #21Reviewed by Dan MacIntoshSince punk rock's inception, bands have been applying hyperactive tempos to songs not normally associated with the punk rock movement. But giving pop songs the old buzzsaw guitar assault treatment is no longer the novelty it used to be. With Songs We Didn't Write, Ghoti Hook could have very easily slapped together a collection of popular songs ready-made for instant-mix slam dancing. Instead,…HM Magazine #74Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovernYou see 'em with their black T-shirts and their heavy metal scowls... You may even hear the metal guitar in the first song on this record ("I Love Rock & Roll"). Well, yeah, Ghoti Hook has always said they were just a rock & roll band, though you've always considered them punk rock. Whatever you call it, their trademark zany antics and willingness to not take themselves too seriously has led to…Similar sounding releases
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