Social Distortion Albums (7)
'Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll'
Release Date 9/28/2004
Tracks 10
Label Time Bomb
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What The Critics Say
Eight years separated the release of Social Distortion's misguided White Light, White Heat, White Trash and their next studio album, 2004's Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, and a fair amount happened to the band in that time. Most notably, Dennis Danell, who had been the only constant in the band's lineup besides leader Mike Ness, died in 2001 at the age of 39, and on a pair of solo albums Ness began digging deeper into the roots music that had long informed his style. After confronting the grief of losing one of his best friends and exploring the less muscular side of his musical personality, Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll makes it clear Ness and his bandmates were ready to turn up the amps and make some noise, but while musically this is firmly in the So-Cal punk mode of their best work, lyrically this music reflects the mind of a more mature and thoughtful Mike Ness. Much as Ness dealt with the toll his years of drug abuse and casual violence had taken on him on the albums Social Distortion and Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll finds him pondering the stuff of genuine adulthood -- love, relationships, and looking to the future while trying to reconcile the past. "Live Before You Die" celebrates life in the moment without giving in to hedonism, Ness declares "I'm gonna trade in my old ways for a new shot at life" in "Faithless," and "Footprints on My Ceiling" tells the story of a man who has come to the realization that he has to accept his feelings if he's ever going to be loved. Some might think this means Ness is going emo on us after all these years, but in context these songs become the work of a man who's strong enough to know his own weaknesses and is struggling to become a better man by working through them, and the music -- with Ness ably assisted by John Maurer on bass, Jonny Wickersham on guitar, and Charlie Quintana on drums -- is potent, hard-hitting rock & roll with real heart and soul behind it. Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll shows that Social Distortion have held onto what made them great while growing and changing in the best ways, and the result is one of the best albums this band has made to date. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
By 1997, it had become clear to Social Distortion that their relationship with 550 (formerly Epic Records) had not worked out and that it was time to move back to the independents. They wrestled themselves free from the contract and signed with Time Bomb Recordings. Their first album for the label was Live at the Roxy, a blistering set that offered a career summation and effectively set the band up for a new beginning. No matter how good Social Distortion records are -- and they're usually fairly strong -- the band performs with more energy and passion on-stage, and Live at the Roxy captures the intensity of their live show. It doesn't have any surprises, but the set list is solid and the performance's thrilling, which makes it a must for dedicated fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'White Light, White Heat, White Trash'
Release Date 1/1/1996
Tracks 12
Label 550 Music/Epic
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What The Critics Say
With White Light, White Heat, White Trash, Social Distortion made a conscious attempt to cash in on the alternative "revolution" of the early '90s." Underneath the layers of glossy hard rock production, the band still hold fast to some of their punk roots, but too often they sound like a heavy hard rock band. Of course, that commercial sheen is intentional -- it's the only way they could appeal to the legions of post-grunge alternative fans who appeared since Social Distortion released Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell in 1991. The problem is, the band doesn't deliver enough songs to justify the production. Mike Ness still wails away and growls out confessional lyrics, but too often they are ham-fisted and clichéd, much like the music that supports them. The band sounds tight and muscular, but the songs have few hooks to make them memorable. In trying to appeal to a wider audience, Social Distortion have lost much of their identity on White Light, White Heat, White Trash. ~ Stephen Thomas ErlewineR 7263, All Music Guide
'Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell'
Release Date 1/1/1991
Tracks 11
Label Epic
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What The Critics Say
Social Distortion finally achieves the perfect balance between their two major influences, the country anguish of Johnny Cash and the furious punk rock sound of early Clash, on their 1992 album Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, making it the band's finest hour. The band tears through a fair share of rollicking, straight-ahead hard rock with songs like "Cold Feelings" and "When She Begins," but they also show a reflective, heartfelt, country-inspired side with songs like "This Time Darlin'" and the hard rock tribute to "Folsom Prison Blues," the cold blooded, murderous tale "99 to Life." At times the band slows down the pace a bit more than on earlier albums, but the band hasn't lost any of the edge or attitude they had as the brash young punks who recorded Mommy's Little Monster. Social Distortion classics "Bad Luck" and "Born to Lose" find a more mature Mike Ness still continuing to play the familiar role of the steadfast underdog with better results than in previous efforts. This album had all the earmarks of a major commercial success with some radio friendly tunes and strong production, but it never found the large audience Epic records expected. Regardless of the sales totals, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell finds Orange County's most enduring punk band, Social Distortion, at their creative peak, and this album is the crown jewel of their entire catalog. ~ Paul Tinelli, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After the long layoff that followed their groundbreaking debut, Mommy's Little Monster, Mike Ness and Social Distortion dropped another seminal punk offering, Prison Bound, in 1988. Slower and more song-driven than their previous disc, this sophomore outing is an absolute triumph. The epic stories of hard living and regret that became Social Distortion's trademark fill Prison Bound's track list. Right off the top, the band adds Ghost Riders-like surf/country guitar riffs to "It's the Law," proclaiming a commitment to their rootsy punk direction. Cautionary tales like the title cut foreshadow future monster hits like "Ball and Chain" off of the group's self-titled 1990 release. Other highlights include "Like an Outlaw" and a raucous cover of the Rolling Stones' "Backstreet Girl." Fans of Social Distortion who have somehow neglected to pick up this gem are encouraged to do just that at their very first opportunity, as the list of West Coast punk offerings more influential than Prison Bound is extremely short. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With Prison Bound, Social Distortion began to metamorphasize from a rather ordinary L.A. hardcore band into a roots rock band willing to make with more than their share of the attitude, and this process continued on their self-titled third album (which was also their major-label debut). Musically, Mike Ness and company had learned to split the difference between rockabilly and Ramones-style punk, not unlike fellow L.A. vets X, and if Ness couldn't sing or write with the skill or the resonance of John Doe, "Story of My Life" and "It Coulda Been Me" sound a lot more personal and deeply felt than anything on Mommy's Little Monster, and "Ball and Chain" and "So Far Away" prove he could crank out a respectable honky tonk number if he put his mind to it. Thanks to Epic's sponsorship, the group had more time and money at their disposal for Social Distortion than on their previous albums, and producer Dave Jerden made the most of it; Mike Ness and Dennis Danell's guitars sound lean, sharp, and powerful; Ness's vocals are better controlled than ever before; and Christopher Reece's drums have a tight snap that suits both the thrashier numbers as well as the slower, blusier tunes. Social Distortion isn't a great roots rock album, but it's a pretty good one, and it's better and more affecting than anything this band had cranked out before. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Mommy's Little Monster'
Release Date 1/1/1982
Tracks 9
Label Epitaph
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What The Critics Say
Seminal Orange County punk band Social Distortion's first full-length album Mommy's Little Monster is the epitome of early-'80s suburban California punk and provided inspiration for many future Californians, including the Offspring and Rancid. Mommy's Little Monster finds the band supplying plenty of attitude and aggression as they rip through nine tracks worth of hard, fast, power chord-filled tracks loaded with snarling anti-establishment lyrics and themes. Songs like "The Creeps (I Just Want to Give You") and "Telling Them" show a young punk group that is very angry, and they were going to let society know it whether they wanted to hear it or not. The title track, "Mommy's Little Monster," with its descriptions of the girl with blue hair and the unemployed young punk who loves to drink and fight, gives you a good idea of the characters Social Distortion was surrounded by in the scene of the day. Although the low budget production gives the album a genuine early genre feel, it tends to hinder some of the potential power of most of the tracks presented here. As frontman Mike Ness matured as a songwriter the band went on to record stronger albums later in their career, but Mommy's Little Monster is a fine document of the raw early stages of a great influential American punk band that would go on to influence countless others in the future. ~ Paul Tinelli, All Music Guide
