NOFX recorded their first live
album in 1995, during the course of three drunken, drug-filled shows at a small
Hollywood club called the Roxy. The album, “I
Heard They Suck Live,” went on to become
a punk rock classic, sealing the band’s reputation as one of the best bands
ever to emerge from the so-called SoCal punk scene.
 Twelve years and thirteen albums
later, the band has decided to pay homage to that classic album by releasing a
new live disc with an equally misleading name, “They’ve Actually Gotten Worse
Live.”
Like their first live album,
“They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live” was recorded during three sold-out shows
at a small California club (this time it was
Slim’s in San Francisco).
From the album’s first track, “Glass War,” it’s obvious that
NOFX has definitely not gotten worse; if anything they are drunker, faster and
funnier than ever.
They are also more
politically-oriented, as is evident from the album’s second track, a
super-fast, electrified version of “Yer Wrong.” This trend continues, to the
crowd’s loud and curse-riddled approval, on a version of “Franco Un-American”
that includes some great new lyrics about U.S. President George W. Bush.
Lead singer Fat Mike makes some
more vocal changes on “The Longest Line” with a not-so-subtle reference to
Green Day’s “Basket Case,” which sounds eerily like this NOFX classic. The
improvisation continues later when someone announces a birthday in the crowd,
and the band quickly comes up with
the song “Amy’s a Crackwhore” to give her a day she will always cherish.
The album slows things down a bit
with the reggae track “Beat the Meek,” featuring ex-Bad News Bear El Hefe on
trumpet, before unleashing an ultra-fast medley of “Murder the Government,”
“Monosyllabic Girl,” “I’m Telling Tim,” See Her Pee,” “Get the Stink Out,” “I
Wanna Be an Alcoholic,” “F___ the Kids” and “Juicehead.”
“They’ve Actually Gotten Worse
Live” features some unexpected guest appearances, as well, including a version
of “Lori Meyers” with drummer Smelly’s wife taking on the part originally sung
by the Muffs’ Kim Shattuck. Flogging Molly’s Matt Hensley shows up shortly
afterwards to play accordion on the track “I, Melvin.”
“Indifferent Dub” is another
highlight; featuring the multi-talented El Hefe on trombone and vocals, this
reggae tune is one of the album’s best tracks, although the band claims they
only practiced it for two weeks.
The disc ends with a fairly routine
version of “Sticking in My Eye,” followed by a strangely abbreviated encore version
of “The Decline.” The song, which fades out after only a few minutes on
“They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live,” is actually more than twenty minutes long,
and was originally released as an entire EP in 1999.
Nitpicking aside, “They’ve Actually
Gotten Worse Live” is a must-have for NOFX fans, and any one who enjoys good
old-fashioned drunken punk rock. Sophisticated lyrics and surprisingly complex songwriting have always set the band apart
from other punk rock acts, and this album proves that NOFX still plays louder,
faster and more wasted than any one else.
Fans will appreciate the album’s
clean recording and extensive liner notes, and with a total of 25 songs the
disc is well worth the reasonable Fat Wreck Chords price of $10. The album is
already available in stores, and can be ordered online at www.nofx.org.
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