Album Review: Me First & the Gimme Gimmes- Have Another Ball

It's been ten years since Me First and the Gimme Gimmes hit the musical scene with their album Have A Ball. Since then, the punk rock super group has churned out seven albums of punk rock cover songs. In that span they've tackled 60's and 70's hits, country songs, R&B favorites, and even showtunes.

Now they are back to their roots with Have Another Ball, a collection of 12 punked-up easy listening hits.

The concept is sound, they've been doing it for years. However, maybe the novelty is wearing off, or maybe they picked songs that weren't that memorable to begin with, but Have Another Ball isn't up to the entertainment standard we've come to expect.

Everything on the album is a little less. The songs are a little less entertaining. A little less catchy. Even the liner notes, usually hilarious, are a little less funny.

Don't get me wrong, there are still some delightful moments like their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" or Neil Diamond's "Coming To America", however, those moments are fewer and farther between than usual. They even retread Billy Joel's "Only The Good Die Young" which we first heard on their live album Me First & the Gimme Gimmes Ruin Johnny's Bar Mitzvah.

I would say you can definitely skip this one, which pains me to say.

Track listing for Have Another Ball:

• Rich Girl (Hall & Oates cover)
• The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
• Country Roads (John Denver cover)
• I Write the Songs (Barry Manilow cover)
• Sodomy (from the musical Hair)
• You've Got a Friend (Carole King cover)
• Mahogany (Gerry Goffin cover)
• Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon cover)
• Only the Good Die Young (Billy Joel cover)
• Coming To America (Neil Diamond cover)
• The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff cover)
• Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me (Elton John cover)

5.5

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