|
Review Navigator   FeaturesReviews
 | NOFX / RancidBYO Split Series Volume 32002 BYO 
 Review by: Adam See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
BYO Records (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on February 17th 2002 Enthusiastic comic book readers are called “fanboys” by that industry. These aren’t just readers, they’re they type of people who will have discussions about story scenarios that wouldn’t happen within the bounds of the ongoing story lines. They have the most pointless arguments, along the lines of “Spiderman couldn’t beat Batman” and so fourth. When BYO Records announced that the third volume of their scene-documenting split series would feature NOFX and Rancid, the readers of this site had almost the same type of conversation. The arguments came from all angles, Fat Wreck fans backing their champion, Hellcat devotees with equal furor from their side of the ring, jaded punks who had long abandoned both Epitaph bands as “too-mainstream” grumbled their disapproval, and those of us who were fans of both simply held our tongues and waited. Any good comic writer will know that there are two ways to write a crossover. On one hand, since the confines of the normal story have been dropped anyways, there could simply be a poorly set up fight to pander to the fanboy’s speculations. On the other hand, a smart writer will pull off something clever, write a good story, and throw the readers for the loop. In the case of this split, Fat Mike and Tim Armstrong did throw their fans for a loop and decided to cover each other’s songs. That silenced many of the premature critics, since every song features the musicianship of one band combined with the song-writing skills of the other. While I would have loved to see the bands put some original material on here, their covers are pretty fun. Taking the project from that angle also removes a lot of the pressure from the bands. On the downside it makes this disc more of a novelty, but it also means you don’t go into this looking for anything prolific. Here’s how it breaks down, track by track: NOFX - “I’m The One” NOFX “Olympia, WA” NOFX “Tenderloin” NOFX “Antennas” NOFX “Corazon De Oro” NOFX “Radio” Rancid “The Moron Brothers” Rancid “Stickin’ In My Eye” Rancid “Bob” Rancid “Don’t Call Me White” Rancid “The Brews” Rancid “Vanilla Sex”
Too many people expected this to an epic masterpiece that plays out their fanboy fantasies, but and that’s not what the bands set out to make here. This is one of the most fun records I’ve heard in a while and will please fans of both bands. With Fat Mike writing the liner notes and Tim Armstrong putting the art together, this is an amazing document of the current punk scene.
People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
I love this record ... dare I say I almost prefer NOFX's version of "Olympia, WA." Almost. Matt Freeman should never sing any songs, that guys voice is fucking horrible. But at least they had him sing one of my least favorite NOFX songs so it wasnt a huge loss. yeah rancid and NOFX are only "mainstream" beacuse they are so good that people just have to notice them. they arent on a major label. well. rancid ended up being on one. but NOFX is still on an independnt label. and as far as i know, epitaph is still an independent label. and even if it is amjaor label, so fucking wjat. its been around so long, and done somuch hard work, that they deserve a lil money. u cant be broke forever. yeah rancid and NOFX are only "mainstream" beacuse they are so good that people just have to notice them. they arent on a major label. well. rancid ended up being on one. but NOFX is still on an independnt label. and as far as i know, epitaph is still an independent label. and even if it is amjaor label, so fucking wjat. its been around so long, and done somuch hard work, that they deserve a lil money. u cant be broke forever. Rancid is PUNK! ok ok.. who ever the fuck keeps going on about this being pop-punk is a faggot, rancid and nofx has nothing to do with pop... It's pretty cool to hear these guys play each others songs. Some of the renditions aren't that great, but this album is still really good. This album sucks Rancid ruined a lot of good NOFX songs. Dont buy this album unless you get it for free. Oh and for the asshole dissing Sex Pistols, Never Mind The Bollocks is the best album ever. ok for the people who slag this album youre all fuckin cunts this album is no way near the bollocks that u probally listen to the only point is that its not longer what an original idea and i can honestly say that nofx are the nest rancid have started on a downfall nofx pull off every song gr8 but matt freeman trie to show off which i personally think ruins a couple of the somgs I hate all u people who are like rancid sux, sure they may not b the best cover band but all there originals are fuckin kik ass u cant hold a band accountable for messing up covers lets not forget that shitty ramones cover cd. I am not saying that nofx sux they def. Fuckin kik ass. Theese bands are by far one of the greatest punk bands of there time This was a great idea to do this kind of CD, so its great, YEAH! when you combine the two biggest badest punk bands in the history of punk is there is nothing left to the imagination.... it rocks i don't have this album but i'd just like to say that Rancid is gay. This album is mediocre - when I heard of it I was all pumped - once I listened I was dissapointed - It just doesnt do much for and the covers kinda suck dont really do much for me - I say just burn this one ! I like this album... but thats just cause i downloaded it and burnt it. I would not pay full price for it, as much as i support and love Rancid. The problem here, is that Rancid is amazing, and NOFX, in my opinion, is kinda eh. I dont really like NOFX, so why do i wanna hear them ruin a rancid song, and why would i wanna hear rancid cover their songs, which werent that great to begin with. But all in all i was very surprised, in good and bad ways. I thought that the reggae cover of radio was brilliant. (mostly cause i cant stand fat mikes voice). I also thought rancid played stickin in my eye way better than NOFX ever could. On the other hand, NOFX ruined Olympia Wa, and I hated the Vanilla Sex cover (i dont like the original either.) But if you get it for free, hey thats fine. Was this album made to embarass Rancid??? the bnest split record ever! I liked Liberal Animation better than So Long and Thanks For All the Shoes myself Olie the goalie. kudos to F-Mike & BYO. The split/cross-covers is a great concept that I'm sure we'll see more of. nofx (not fatwreck) hasn't released sub-standard crap in over a decade (liberal animation?). this score is for Hellboy. You gotta love nazi-killin' demons. This album is ok for the NOFX parts. But scene points and everything aside, Tim Armstrong's voice makes me want to jam broken sporks into my ears. "was into?" adam says inquisitively as he buries his nose in a Hellboy trade. haven't gotten it but want to. it sounds a lot like the reviewer knows a hell of a lot about comic books, i wonder what he was into before punk. This split is pretty good. I like the NOFX part the best, but Rancid does a pretty good job (especially Freeman's improvement of Fat Mike's bass lines). The ska cover of "Radio" was unexpected, and quite fun to hear. i heard this was goin to be a covers cd before i actually listened to it. i usually like covers, so i was expecting to enjoy this cd...as i did. Rancid is my fave band and that might have helped. Adam's update from a few months later: Hey, both bands did great. It wasn't meant to be a historic and epic album. I think too many people took this album way too seriously. Two great bands covering each other. It was original and it was a the right time seeing as how Rancid hasnt released a new song it seems forever. It's a great album. I like NOFX more on this album than Rancid. But that's because I like the style of NOFX more than Rancid...but if you are a big fan of both bands--> I'm sure you'll like it! ok, i gave this cd a 7 because some of the rancid songs were brutally hideous when sang by nofx. AND THE NEXT MOTHER FUCKER THAT SAYS THIS IS POP-PUNK I WILL BEAT THEIR FUCKING HEAD IN! stupid bastards. They both did good jobs.... Alright, All you people that say nofx is so great and the only reason this cd was good and that rancid sucks dont know what the fuck you are talking about. I agree that nofx did a better job covering rancid than rancid did nofx but come on, nofx is just another one of those bands that sounds like all the rest, they have one sound, making it easy to cover all other bands, Rancid on the other hand is talented, they arent the kind of lame ass band that covers songs by just playing 3 fucking power chords over and over again. I like both these band but theres only so much nofx you can listen to at one time. Now rancid, they have real talent and i can listen to them all day long. If anyone reads this (ill be suprised) and wants to tell me how im wrong and there right: the only reason this album gets a 10 is b/c NOFX is on it they make rancid songs good....Rancid makes NOFX songs sound like shit...RANCID SUX This is just a rad record. All you purists can bitch all you want. Nobody's listenin'. There is just no reason for this to exist. I guess if you are a super huge fan it's cool, but... agh. Words fucking fail me. I did enjoy this cd but nofx did the better job. there just the better band i guess. I would have like this cd better if it was what they were going to do in the first place it was going to be a nofx/lagwagon split and that would have been the shit could you imagian lagwagon falling in love or nofx tackling island of shame or razorburn whoever wrote that spiderman/batman fight story is a genius. it was quite entertaining. well i ordered this cd and vinyl the day it came out, and it arrived yesterday. a lot of you have problems with Rancid's songs, saying that they just sped through them, not putting much effort into them. well i can see how you'd say that, but i think it was just the style they were going for, since it's so different from how NoFX plays their stuff. I didn't love We're The Brews though. that one DID sound like there was no effort put into it. also, they really should have OYed the fuck out of that song. it would have been both funny and cool. I think Bob was my favorite Rancid track. NoFX's stuff i have no complaints with. they did a great job. great song selection, great performance, and the band sounded sooo tight. overall i think the cd is worth it if you like the bands. it's not just a novel disk, i think it's kind of a trailmarker in punk rock history. 7 points for this split. 10 points for both bands. this is a good album, but im looking foward to the next BIO split cd.... this album fucking kicks ass. I thought NOFX did an especially good job. I just saw NOFX in Winnipeg (that's in Canada for you dumb fuck Americans) and they opened with Olympia, WA. It was fucking great, they whole place whent nuts. I've been listening to this album constantly for the last 3 weeks now and I can't see getting tired of it soon. i thought the album was alright, nothing really all that special. my favorite track was radio. i expected it to be better, but oh well what can ya do?! what the hell is skinnyhead talking about? This is a great album... really fun to listen to. I've heard people say it gets old fast, but I've been listening it for the past couple weeks and I'm still really enjoying it. No matter what anyone says this is the best album in the history of music. This is not because of the music of the album, but simply because it is the foundation for the greatest tour in history. And thank God they are touring in CA. I can not wait to go to the NOFX/RANCID TOUR. And to all u who do not live in So. Cal or didn't buy tickets. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA It is what it is. I think both bands didn't really take this cd too seriously, especiall Rancid. NOFX sounded like they tried to make the songs a bit different, but Rancid basically played the exact covers except for some minor changes. The only Rancid track I liked was Don't Call Me White and Vanilla Sex. I think they dropped the ball big time with the brews. Sounds like they just when in for a few days, played it a few times and were done. All in all, this is a fun cd to listen too but it gets old fast. Especially the Rancid songs. To the little kid whose comment posted below is something a/b Rancid being a terrible band, and a/b how great NOFX is. How old are you, 11? I bet you've been a "punk" for a really long time; hmmm...like 2 weeks! If you don't like Rancid, then shut-the-hell-up and don't comment! Nobody cares if you like Rancid or Nofx or whatever! You senselessly ramble on for paragraphs, lamely attempting to make Rancid sound like amateurs. Unfortunately, you're wasting your time, b/c the only person that gives a fuck is you! You're argument is so weak, it's not even worth commently on, but thanks for all the laughs I had when I read it... This album was pretty good. I liked both bands and i think that if you hate RANCId or NOFX don't fuckin buy it. and stop the bitchin about one band bein better or who is more punk. Love the music and enjoy. I like NoFX and Rancid equally but i am a big Fat Wreck fan Quite good but felt Rancid didn't really try and hated Matts vocals on DCMW. thought NoFX took full advantage of the opportunity to mess about with the others stuff, realised they couldn't top Radio so just crazied it up. Agree that Rancid should have punked up 'the Brews' a lot more. Vanilla sex rules though. Matt Freeman is not a showoff, just fantastic. really don't understand how anyone could hate ...and out come the Wolves How old is the person before me, 13? I got to say that.. the person who wrote this review is obviously a big rancid fan.. I am big NOFX Fan :)... I only have one RANcid CD To my name.. and out come the wolves.. and I don't like it.. I think this cd clearly shows who the best band is.. NOFX Play teh songs so awesome.. and I love RAdio the reggae tune with HEFE.. singing like a jamaican or something.. ANYway NOFX Make it kick ass..and thats why i give it a 10 but... then I get to the RANCID Part of the cd .. and GEEEEEEe it sux ass I can't believe anyone would sing that shit and put it on a record.. what the hell I've never liked their voices.. but I've never heard anything worse than this.. they sound like they've just had 900 beers.. chucked up in a toilet.. and started singing with their head down the fucking toilet bowl.. AND THE BASSLINES FUCKING SUCK.. yes they are technical and harder to play.. but it's just like that guy is just trying to show off all through the fucking songs.. and it gets soo anoying.. honestly.. You don't hear HEFE trying to crank out solos while fat mike is trying to sing now do u?!?!? I thinnk that guy had got to stop trying to be a show off.. WHo cares if he can put a few extra notes in between the root notes in?!?! And then You get to the Track of Don't call me white " DO NOT CALL ME WHITE" thats right kids.. listen to those vocals.. that is the funniest thing I have ever heard.. HOW COULD ANYONE PUT THAT ON A FUCKING CD>> that is ridiculous .. sure I play it all the time.. to laugh my fucking face off at it.. This disc is so bad, it makes me uncomfortable to listeb to it. I didn't buy, won't waste my time buying it, and won't waste a fifty cent cd to burn a copy. These bands should be ashamed of this. god! you 'punks' never change I haven't actually bought this album yet; I'm sorry! Anyway, I was reading the many mindless comments below, and decided that only one was worth commenting on. So here it is: What the hell's with the width of this page? Just curious, my album starts with Rancid, was it just the promo copies sent that start with NOFX? I must say that the concept behind this album was rather poor. I am a huge fan of both bands featured, and I like the music on this disc, but the fact that it is an album full of covers really takes away from its goodness. This is a very dissapointing 3rd installment of the BYO split series. I hope the 4th installment of the BYO splits (if there is one!) is a disc of original songs. I just got the album and i would just like to say that it is one of the best things i have ever heard nofx does a great covers of some of rancids classics and rancid well words cant describe how great they are on the album. I would just advise all of you who dont have it to buy it now!!!! What a lot of you don't realize is that these bands are doing "their" version of the songs. For example, Rancid wouldn't normally sing "shoobity-boo" in "Bob". NOFX covers Rancid's track with their trademark brand of musical comedy. The begining of "Corazon de Oro" is fucking hilarious. Rancid seems like they didnt really try on this CD. Musically, they delivered. Especially Matt (Sticken' in my Eye is friggin' excellent). But they forget the essence of songs like "Bob" (the "shoobitty boo" part at the end is what makes the song so cool, and Rancid cut that part out) and they cut the end out of Sticken in My Eye as well. On the other hand, Tenderloin doesn't sound as good with bass chords instead of how Matt plays it. This record is completely unoriginal. It is almost worthless. Don't get me wrong, I am a very big fan of both NOFX and Rancid; this record just lacks energy, enthusiasm, originality, and all the other attributes typically associated with good "punk rock." A cover needs to be DRASTICALLY differentf from the original in order to be worthy of putting on a record. While all the songs were changed to a degree, none of them (with the exception of "Radio") is differnt enough from the original to qaulify as a worthy cover. I will acknowledge that all the songs were changed. Nofx definitely put a "nofx" twist on Rancid's songs, and the converse is also true. However this does not suffice. The standard for re-recording a piece of music should be set higher than it would be otherwise. This is particularly true when there is no inconsistency of genre between the origanal and the cover (yes, nofx and rancid are part of the same genre of music).IT is my opinion that this record falls short. I'd rather, for the most part, just listen to the original songs. I have one good question for everybody!! Radio radio radio when I got the Nofx/rancid split cd i got a place to go!! whee! Well, to the person 2 comments below me. First, the site is called "punknews.org", not "punkreviews.org". Reviews are supplementary to the news, it isn't a reviews site. Secondly, you are telling people to bite their opinions whilst calling it a reviews site? Hmm... reviews without opinions--an interesting idea. Now, "what ever happened to not caring about anything?". Well, "punk" was never a-political. Most every band cares about something, whether it is themselves, the whales, or their broken hearts. "Or keeping what you care about to yourself?". Telling people to keep to themselves under the banner of punk, I'm not touching that one with Dave Thomas's dick. who ever said that rancid where crap was a fucking ass bandit coz rancid is the way punk should be every single one of you are the reason i'm no longer in the scene. liberals, right wingers, black pride, white pride, holier than thou pc-ers. all of you losers with an opinion thinking that you are the first to ever think of it. racisim is bad, wow what a concept.what ever happened to not caring about anything, or keeping what you care about to yourself. for the love of god, this is a review site! You guys are just a bunch of whining little bitchs. Stop trying to pick out every little things thats wrong and just fuckin enjoy the music Firstly, I don't even wanna comment on your lame ass discussion below.Just terrible.(Well I guess I've just commented on it). I dont understand a frikin word goose said. lol. nicely written wyzo. couldn't have said it better. Ok, i think reviewers on this site are too friendly when it comes to rating albums. The idea of having nofx and rancid do each others songs on the same album is ill so i was looking forward to it. Then i heard the album, and i must say, it kinda sucks. Fat mike's voice is annoying as hell when he tries to do the tim impression. Its cool that they picked some of the rancid songs people really don't care about, such as corazon de oro and i am the one. Best nofx rancid cover: corozon de oro. Now on to rancid. Yo, it sounds like they rushed this shit. Moron brothers with tim singin it is funny. Bob kinda sucks, stickin in my eye: could've been the best song but where the hell is the end of the song that was in the original?? Thats the best part. Don't call me white: no comment. The brews: holy shit! they definitely droped the ball on this one! they could've made this the best fuckin cover on the album with all the oi's, gang vox, etc. But they didn't. It sounded half assed and rushed. Now onto the last rancid nofx cover: vanilla sex. Rancid did this one really good. Lars singin it is good and throwing in some dope sick girl solos in there for good measure is ill. Definitely the best one. Anyway, don't be afraid to say if something sucks shit when you feel it sucks shit. Don't go along with the crowd and say its good when you know it blows just in order to be accepted. - goose I have only one thing to say to that white power moron.....your race don't matter when you're a freakin moron. the only reson nofx does better then rancid on this c.d is cause rancid dont no how to play complete and just horible crap Is Mexican pride okay? Ah man, wizo i had exactly the same arguement on alt.white_pride or something last summer. I lost the arguement because i couldn't articulate my point (which was exactly the same point) as well as you. Kudos sir. amen wyzo. fuck the white pride guy. that was sweet wyzo...nice job While one likes to thumb ones nose with an air of exclusivity and matter of fact paternality like a grandfather talking down to children, there is a certain amount of insecurity exhibited in every stubborn willed sucking thumb in mouth whiny retort of a quasi-intillectual. I smell a strong presence of Wesley Willis around here. I hate to break it to all of you convenient liberals, but the white man created the world you live in; virtually everything you are afforded and take for granted was/is created by the 'white devils'. The white race essentially created cilvilazation--both good and bad aspects. I'm sure now a half-wit will interject with "the first open-heart surgery was done by a black man; the air conditioner was invented by the black man..." That's fine. But the fact is that the white race provided the potentialities of old and contemporary. My race--your race--is something to be proud of (like every race exudes their pride). Black pride is hopeful and expressive, whereas white pride is demonic and horrid, right? Spare me you illinformed, punk rock conjecture and learn the facts. Whomsoever responds to this trying to contradict what I've declared has obviously been bludgeoned over the head one too many times with 'slavery guilt' (by the way, how many of you are privy to the current slave trade in Africa underway as we speak; blacks enslaving blacks, might I add) via the media and all of its wonderful facets. Uh-oh...I guess I broke a punk rock taboo: I like punk rock and I'm proud to be white. How fucking stupid is it to blame the world's problems on white people. That is like blaming crime on black people. The world's problems are caused by corrupt and greedy people. Crime is caused by criminals. Get it right. Not all white people are bad, not all white people are good. The same goes for all races, and blaming a race for something or generalizing a race is retarded. kill da white man! (lol i am white) dont mind st. potpourri, he listens to rush limbaugh (really). im white, and i have no problem saying fuck the white man. our people are responsible for the majority of the problems in the world past and present. Where the hell did that comment come from Sr Potpouri?-pat41 Just for the record, Spiderman could definitely kick Batman's ass. Why is it only okay to hate white people? EQUALITY does NOT mean to hate the majority and love the minority. It means EVERYONE being EQUAL. My eyes don't blink because I just sit around and watch TV all day. DeRrrR it would be great if every one just left their "punk egos" @ the door when coming in here. Are we here to give praise / criticism or here to argue about shit you wouldn't usually blink an eye at??? Like --AtomicGarden-- I believe (to the surprise of absolutely no one) that NOFX did the Rancid songs better than Rancid and Rancid didn't to the NOFX tracks as well as NOFX. IT's still a semi-solid album. At least it deserves to be downloaded. www.audiogalaxy.com Normal ones... not genital warts... right? My penis has all these bumps on them, but I am sure they are just warts... right? Hey I like this. Surely i'm not the only person who heard FM taking the piss out of Matt Freeman's bass playing on the end of tenderloin? Funny. I actually wasn't referring in any way to your post oldpunker. I was merely commenting on those elitists in this scene that feel the need to express a "punker than thou" persona. If someone truly hates Rancid and NOFX, then fine. But if someone chooses to dislike them to add to their punk credibility, then they're nothing but a fucking poser and discredit to the music. I am not talking to you sickboi,the penis below you-oldpunker-sorry As you can see below me,there is always Shindo, I'm hurt that I wasn't mentioned. Let me think of something to say, ummm.... Spawn could kick Batman's ass? (Actually, the DC version of the crossover Batman wins, but the Image version Batman has to use toys, Spawn whips ass with devil magic, anyone else notice how much they have Batman calling people "punks" in the image version?) Hmmmm....I just don't feel quite punk enough today. I know! I'll trash two punk bands that I deem to be way too mainstream for my tastes. Then, I'll throw out a list of obscure punk bands that people should be listening to. But not too many, cause then I'd have to stop listening to them as well. Damn, I feel much better! Hey mom, have you seen my bondage pants from Hot Topic? Actually, I was sticking up for wyzo, not that he needed it. Some idiot criticized wyzo's use of an analogy to skrewdriver, and then said how he (the idiot) was improving all of our writing skills, while making several fundamental writing errors. Ooh Ohh! I wanna argue too! This album is great. Most fun CD I've heard in a long time. - bigjerk Hmm... that was to the anonymous shithead who wrote: "Why not just say written for the fans and leave the rest off it would have made alot more sense. Now it looks like your are trying to save face and be pc by distancing yourself from racists. So you want to help out all our "writting skills" around here? Well, you can start by polishing up yours. For example, you may want to say "you are" or "you're" |
