Tracks
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This was a good move for Bowling For Soup, whose name indicates how serious they aren't about their music. Not that they aren't good, as they are certainly talented, they just don't really work as a serious, straightforward rock band. So they continue as that strangely labeled alt-indie-rock band, which is exactly what they are. Their big hit was "1985", a humorous look at aging, and they were never quite able to follow it up properly. So a cover album wasn't the worst idea for them; covering television and movie theme songs just cemented the ridiculousness of the idea.
The unfortunate thing about such novelty albums is that they no staying power. People will listen to them once or twice, then put them away for good. That's exactly the situation this album sits at. They cover some interesting ground: The Gilligan's Island theme is particularly good, of course. 5 O'Clock World, one of the Drew Carey Show themes is ok, but not memorable. Jimmy Neutron is great for the show's fans, others will be left scratching their heads.
The best tracks are the rock covers. They do a great cover of Matthew Sweet's "Sick of Myself", a greatly underrated song, and they are pretty much spot-on with it. They also turn in a solid rendition of the Modern English hit, "I Melt With You". These would lead you to hope that a more conventional song like Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" would be a unique take, but sadly it just sounds like Bowling With Soup singing the song; no real detours are taken, it's a bit too straight up.
And that's the recurring theme here, they all start to sound essentially the same. If such a strange collection of songs all sound the same, it's a bad omen for their own tunes. So while some of the songs here are solid, nothing is more than a novelty. Nothing makes you like the cover more than the original, they just make you want to listen to the original. For the most part, it's best to just look for them, and skip this release.
The unfortunate thing about such novelty albums is that they no staying power. People will listen to them once or twice, then put them away for good. That's exactly the situation this album sits at. They cover some interesting ground: The Gilligan's Island theme is particularly good, of course. 5 O'Clock World, one of the Drew Carey Show themes is ok, but not memorable. Jimmy Neutron is great for the show's fans, others will be left scratching their heads.
The best tracks are the rock covers. They do a great cover of Matthew Sweet's "Sick of Myself", a greatly underrated song, and they are pretty much spot-on with it. They also turn in a solid rendition of the Modern English hit, "I Melt With You". These would lead you to hope that a more conventional song like Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" would be a unique take, but sadly it just sounds like Bowling With Soup singing the song; no real detours are taken, it's a bit too straight up.
And that's the recurring theme here, they all start to sound essentially the same. If such a strange collection of songs all sound the same, it's a bad omen for their own tunes. So while some of the songs here are solid, nothing is more than a novelty. Nothing makes you like the cover more than the original, they just make you want to listen to the original. For the most part, it's best to just look for them, and skip this release.