Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Love Their Country

  by Daniel Cressey

published: 10 / 12 / 2006

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Review

Punk super group? Record industry vanity project? April Fools joke that’s gone on for too long? Just what the hell are Me First and the Gimme Gimmes? Made up of a members of some of the biggest selling punk bands currently or recently in existence – and a current Foo Fighter to boot – this lot have been peddling punk rock cover versions for nearly ten years now. For this release they’ve gone country. Frankly, how much you enjoy this will entirely depend on whether you find the idea of punk rock covers of the likes of ‘Jolene’, ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ and ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ hilarious. Or something you would rather gouge your own ears out with a sharpened CD than endure. The band certainly approach their task with gusto. And it is quite clear why their other projects have done well – they can pull a tune off when they set their minds to it. Some of this album works wonderfully. People like Willie Nelson and Hank Williams shared a similar "fuck 'em all" ethos with punk and you feel they probably wouldn’t object to the rough treatment their work gets. With other inclusions the fun is seeing such familiar songs twisted so – you know what you’re going to get, but you still want to get it. It’s like going to see whatever number 'Die Hard' movie they are up to now – big, loud, stupid, well produced, and not in the slightest bit challenging to your intellect. If you’re planning to go to the next 'Die Hard' movie (I’ve just checked – they’re up to four) then this may be just right for you. One final point the Eagles are not country. No, no, no – never, never, never.

Track Listing:-

1 Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
2 (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
3 Desperado
4 On the Road Again
5 Annie's Song
6 Jolene
7 I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry
8 Lookin' for Love
9 Goodbye Earl
10 East Bound and Down
11 She Believes in Me
12 Sunday Morning Coming Down