Have You Ever is perhaps a signpost that this album is a turning point for The Offspring. The majority of the song is pretty generic early-Offspring. And there's nothing wrong with that! Then the ending gives us a quick sample of the upcoming new-age Offspring sound: catchy Ramones-esque pop-punk. Of which I am also a fan. End Of The Line is a solid execution of this new style.
Unfortunately, Pretty Fly For A White Guy has been played to death. At one stage, it seemed like it was the only song on the radio! I think that once upon a time I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek pop-punk, but that was lasted for the first few thousand times I heard it...
On the other hand, Why Don't You Get A Job never had any appeal in the first place, and only got more and more annoying with each listen. Walla Walla is another example of shallow, trashy pop-punk.
The Kids Aren't Alright manages the musical miracle of delivering fast-paced energy which is also brimming with powerful emotion. It's bouncing around with shivers running down your spine. Incredible. I guess a lot of it is due to the brilliant narrative and perfectly singalong chorus.
It's a similar situation for Feelings. A slight let-down is the chorus, which - despite being fantastic when played live - somehow doesn't stand up as well to the scrutiny of chin-stroking in a armchair.
The song Americana feels heavily inspired by "Bad Habit" from Smash. Which means it's a great song, of course!
Finally, Pay The Man is quite left field, by bringing in an Arabic influence. The integration with punk-rock is a bit awkward, but it's still an interesting experiment.
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