So, Godsmack put out a greatest hits comp, Good Times, Bad Times…Ten Years of Godsmack, today, one more in a line of bands (Creed, Blink 182, Korn) that I feel have done this prematurely. Richie had an advanced copy on his desk and, because I occasionally feel the need to revisit my metal years, I listened to it yesterday. I can proudly say that I only recognized the singles from the first album, but I am also ashamed that i recognized Godsmack singles at all. They were one of the bands that came along right before I stopped paying attention to that particular genre because the new bands were no longer interesting to me, but I really liked “Voodoo” and thought it was funny how anti-social that first album was (the chorus of “Whatever” instructing the listener to go away, “Keep Away” being similarly themed). After that first album, though, it seems like Godsmack just stopped trying to be interesting, seeing how other uninteresting mainstream rock bands (Creed, Fuel, 3 Doors Down) were increasingly popular. Listening to the collection, my views haven’t changed, really. The last half of the album (from “Awake” to “The Enemy”) just kind of blurs together, except for “Running Blind” from their acoustic The Other Side EP. Even that one sounds a little cliche because Staind made acoustic numbers the mainstream hard rock standard. They’re cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times” is pretty decent, if a little middle of the road, but if you just want something loud to listen to, you could do a lot worse.
One final note: The title of the disc indicates “Ten Years of Godsmack,” which didn’t sit quite right with me initially because I distinctly remember Godsmack coming relatively late in the game for me, which would place the first album around ‘99. Sure enough, the back of the case says when each single was release and “Whatever” hit the airwaves in February of 1999. The newest single, “The Enemy,” was released February of ‘07, which smells a lot more like eight years to me. If you’re going to be slightly misleading like that, you could at least do a better job of it by not discrediting your album’s title on its packaging. Judging by the writing style in the liner notes, though, somebody doesn’t quite expect the average Godsmack fan to notice.
posted by D. | 12.05.07 | 11:56 am | 0 Comments
Filed under: Album Spotlight, Compilation, Hard Rock, Metal, Rock, U.S. 
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