Review:

on 2007-01-22 green_clash Said:

In 2001, the second vocalist for Catch 22, Jeff Davidson (the first being Tomas Kalnoky now of Streelight Manifesto fame), left the band leaving the remaining memeber of the band in a rutt. They went on to search for another vocalist but decided to just have the band's saxaphonist, Ryan Eldred and trumpet player, Kevin Gunther, to take control of the vocal duties. While in this hectic transition, the band released an expanded version of their 1999 EP, "Washed Up". The results the 'New and Improved' "Washed Up and Through the Ringer!". The album is a collection of the original "Washed Up" EP, rare tracks from the limited edition version of the bands second album "Alone in a Crowd", two originals after Davidson's departure, and a handful of live tracks. What you get is a simple record that chronicles the journey of Jersey ska/punk rockers Catch 22 from their "Keasbey Nights" up to their immenent "Dinosaur Sounds" future. The album opens with the band's new original tracks, one being the best on the album (and one of the best in C22's career up to this point). "Straight Forward" is a fast and catchy that takes different parts from Catch 22's past to make a great song. The second track, "To Be Continued" would later be found on the band's third LP "Dinosaur Sounds". It's a very quick, but sort of dull song. The next few songs go back to the Davidson days. Hard hitters like "Sincerely Yours" and "Hard to Impress" are, for the most part, alright songs. They get the job done and that's about it. "Leaving is also an alright song, but nothing really special or interesting about this one. The other two before the live tracks are two drab covers of "One Love/People Get Ready" and "American Pie" that are easy to skip. The live tracks aren't so impressive since they are poorly recorded, mistakes are made, and the song selection isn't that pleasing. The guitar is usually way to loud and overpowers the horns and the vocals. The last to listed tracks are jokes (no, they really are). "No Love For the Roadie" is a seven minute long rap, and though it'll make you laugh in the first few minutes, it wears off after the second member of the band starts spittin'. "The Death of My Blood is Your Indulgence" is a less-than-a-minute take on super-duper death metal. Davidson growls while the over-distorted guitar owns on the metal riffs. I can't help but laugh when I hear this song. Much more enjoyable than that freaky rap. The last three tracks on the CD are very rough live tracks, both recording wise and how they played them. These tracks are Kalnoky songs (and a Dylan one, but that doesn't count). The first is "On and On and On" and it's the dirtiest tracks on here. They performed the song with energy but that takes away from the quality of the song. The second is "Kristena (She Don't Know I Exist)" and instead of being a heart-felt and beautiful song, they make it have a more punk feel... or metal. They blast through the song in half the time it'd take the original version. The last song is "9mm and a Three Piece Suit" and this is the most well done... until the end gets cut off. And that's all she wrote, it's a simple compliation CD and the band doesn't deny it. It has some things that are worth a purchase (mainly the first song) but everything else on the album can be found somewhere else and it will be done better. Unless you're a hardcore fan of Catch 22, there's no need for the purchase. It's a fun album that's good to listen to once in a while, but other than that, it's nothing special.
Rating: 5/10