HANGOVER YOU DON'T DESERVE [DUALDISC]

By Bowling for Soup
Released April 2005

REVIEW

Hot off their little bit left-field Grammy nomination for 2002's "Girl All the Bad Boys Want," Texan pap-rock veterans Bowling for Soup return with A Hangover You Don't Deserve. Big news: nothing's changed. "I almost got drunk at school at 14/Where I almost made out with the homecoming queen/Who almost went on to be Miss Texas/But lost to a slut with much bigger breast-esez." That's Jaret Reddick's line at the outset of "Almost," the record's Simple Plan-ish opener. Reddick next contrasts his everlasting love with the fickleness of fashion ("Trucker Hat"), and then, in the single "1985," tells the story of a mom lamenting the loss of her Julie "Tawny" Kitaen and Coverdale salad days ("When did Mötley Crüe become classic rock?"). All three songs are catchy, and they're matched in both hoke and hook by latter-album entries like "Last Call Casualty" and "A-Hole." And yet, Hangover just doesn't resonate. This is the fault of production and brand positioning. The album is packed with what's become the generically slick norm -- stuff like piano breaks, compressed vocals, and steppe farm chorus guitars. Midway through the pogo goof "Shut-Up and Smile," it's nearly impossible to tell whether this is Bowling for Soup, or Goldfinger, or Lit, or even Fountains of Wayne. (The latter's "Stacy's Mom" is even a thematic/sonic cousin to Bowling's "1985.") There's no doubting Reddick's talent as a songwriter; his stuff is witty, engagingly self-deprecating, and catchy as hell. "Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" proves this -- its plea to a restless girlfriend to come back home "before you lose your accent" is both plaintive and snarky. And the intro to "My Hometown" is just great, where Reddick thanks all the friends he had before the Grammy nominations. But most of the time it's very hard to hear Bowling for Soup around Hangover's radio and video-ready sheen. This is doubly aggravating because such marketing will advertise Bowling's pop culture references and downplay the fact that, underneath the slickness, A Hangover You Don't Deserve is 17 tracks strong. (Where you at now, Good Charlotte?) In his review for 2002's Drunk Enough to Dance, a wise man wondered whether Bowling for Soup might one day match the mature noise pop genius of Too Much Joy. The only disappointing thing about this Hangover is that we're still wondering. [The DVD side of this DualDisc edition includes enhanced audio, three music videos and one live performance.] ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

 

TRACKS

1	Almost	Reddick/Walker	3:26
2	Trucker Hat	Reddick/Walker	3:00
3	1985	Reddick/Allan/Allen	3:13
4	Get Happy	Reddick/Maloy	2:56
5	Ohio (Come Back to Texas)	Reddick/Maloy/Brune	3:50
6	Ridiculous	Reddick/Diiorio	3:58
7	Shut-Up and Smile	Reddick/Maloy	4:02
8	Last Call Casualty	Reddick/Walker	3:31
9	Next Ex-Girlfriend	Reddick/Coplan	3:25
10	A-Hole	Reddick/Zuniga	3:56
11	My Hometown	Reddick	3:02
12	Smoothie King	Reddick/Maloy	4:01
13	Sad Sad Situation	Reddick/Zuniga/Scal	2:25
14	Really Might Be Gone	Reddick	3:43
15	Down for the Count	Reddick	3:36
16	Two-Seater	Reddick/Maloy	3:55
17	Friends O' Mine	Reddick/Zuniga/Scal	2:17
18	Almost [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Walker
19	Trucker Hat [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Walker
20	1985 [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Allan/Allen
21	Get Happy [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Maloy
22	Ohio (Come Back to Texas) [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Maloy/Brune
23	Ridiculous [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Diiorio
24	Shut-Up and Smile [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Maloy
25	Last Call Casualty [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Walker
26	Next Ex-Girlfriend [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Coplan
27	A-Hole [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Zuniga
28	My Hometown [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick
29	Smoothie King [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Maloy
30	Sad Sad Situation [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Zuniga/Scal
31	Really Might Be Gone [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick
32	Down for the Count [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick
33	Two-Seater [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Maloy
34	Friends O' Mine [5.1 Surround Sound & Stereo]	Reddick/Zuniga/Scal
35	1985 [DVD]	Reddick/Allan/Allen
36	Almost [DVD]	Reddick/Walker
37	Ridiculous [DVD]	Reddick/Diiorio
38	Two-Seater [Acoustic][Multimedia Track]	Reddick/Maloy

PERFORMERS

Drums	Gary Wiseman
Guitar	Jaret Reddick
Vocals	Jaret Reddick
Vocals (Background)	Butch Walker Candice Leigh Andrews Ffroe Howie J. Quinton Hall Joey Huffman Sim Klugerman Steve Truesdell Sybil Summers