So why is The Mighty Mighty BossTones’ More Noise and Other Disturbances on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are one of my all-time favorite bands to see live. The energy is intense, finely controlled ska-core madness. The horn section is worldclass, and Dicky Barrett is the crazy/genius singer-meets-growling master of ceremonies.
And that’s not even getting to the dancing guy who is part of the band (a.k.a. the “Bosstone”), whom Wikipedia hilariously refers to as “a ubiquitous, dancing non-musician onstage presence, later credited as ‘Bosstone.’”
While More Noise and Other Disturbances doesn’t quite capture that live energy and is just a notch under the wild, raw brilliance of the band’s debut album, Devil’s Night Out (#48 of best 1,000 albums ever), from 1989, this is a classic MMBT album that puts you very close to that feeling of being at a live show.
More Noise also includes a huge array of upper tier songs that the band has produced to date, including “Awfully Quiet,” “Where’d You Go,” “Dr. D,” “Cowboy Coffee,” and “He’s Back.”
Of this group, I’d put “Where’d You Go” at the top of the pack. It’s relatively mellow territory for the Bosstones, and leans into the band’s outstanding ska chops. For an often loud and aggressive band, the Bosstones also display a surprisingly consistent strength in their songwriting.
For example, I love how specific and interesting the songwriting is here.
I opened the fridge, I opened a beer
And played a tape I couldn’t hear
Emptiness began to grow
And I’m wondering where did you go?
But make no mistake: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones in their early years incarnation are here to rock your [REDACTED] off and get you moving. The manic ska punk pace of “Dr. D” does me right every single time on that score.
And if that message isn’t clear, “Awfully Quiet” is here to make it abundantly so.
Sometimes quiet’s okay, sometimes quiet’s all right
Given the choice, I like noise, morning, noon, and night
“Cowboy Coffee” shows off that worldclass horn section that I mentioned. It can’t be emphasized enough how great the horn hooks are with this band, not only making their music super infectious and catchy, but also it helpfully counterbalances both the hardcore punk elements of their sound and, importantly, Dicky Barrett’s rough and growly voice.
If you’ve ever seen the band live, “He’s Back” is the prototypical song to recall the “Bosstone” dancing guy that I mention above doing his unique and patented TMMBT Dance to this one.
Personal stuff that has something to do with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ More Noise and Other Disturbances
Full disclosure: I’m not much of a dancer. Okay, that felt good.
I mention this because when the occasion does come to dance at a wedding or some event where dancing is part of the deal, my wife will caution me not to “bounce around too much.”
This admonition is targeted specifically toward my propensity to want to hop around like a ska-crazed maniac after my youth days spent going to concerts by bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
In ska we trust.
Some stats & info about The Mighty Mighty BossTones’ More Noise and Other Disturbances
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Boston Bands, Rock Music, Ska Punk, Third Wave Ska Revival, Alternative Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was More Noise and Other Disturbances released? 1991
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #283 out of 1,000
The Mighty Mighty BossTones’ More Noise and Other Disturbances on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Mighty Mighty BossTones’ More Noise and Other Disturbances that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
I like noise and it’s gotta be loud.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.