So why is Rancid’s …And Out Come The Wolves on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
When …And Out Come The Wolves came out in 1995, it was one of those “big deal” album releases for me that I rarely if ever experience these days.
I was getting into punk and ska in a big-time way, and it perfectly bridged my desire for both musical genres in one album, and it also just happens to be unbelievably catchy, aggressive-yet-melodic, and scarily good across all of its 19 tracks and a hair under 50 minutes of playing time.
I mean, I defy anyone to call out a single song on …And Out Come The Wolves that isn’t at least “really good.” I certainly can’t.
The first four tracks are perfectly and expertly sequenced.
“Maxwell Murder” opens with a full blast of fast-paced punk rock, Rancid-style, “The 11th Hour” is melodic punk channeled through a band that clearly worships The Clash,” “Roots Radical” is one of the catchiest punk rock anthems of all time, and that’s all before “Time Bomb” drops an iconic and sublime ska punk number on your eardrums.
Many songs on this album are iconic punk rock anthems really, so it’s challenging to sort through which to call out in this kind of piece without going on for a few thousand words. I’ll go with “As Wicked” as another one, as its chorus is an all-timer.
And… well, you can easily say the same about “She’s Automatic.”
“Old Friend” rivals “Time Bomb” as one of the very best ska punk tracks from the 1990s. Needless to say maybe but the fact that both songs are on the same album is just Crazy Town.
“Journey to the End of the East Bay,” on top of being yet another catchy melodic punk rock cut, reminds me that I had my own journey to San Francisco’s East Bay, having moved from New York to Berkeley, California with my man Adam and a couple of bucks to my name at the time. The line, “This place ain’t Mecca, man, this place is fucked,” is an impressive one for this Oakland-based band.
Some stats & info about Rancid – …And Out Come The Wolves
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Punk Rock, Rock Music, SF Bay Area Bands, Punk Revival, Ska Punk
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was …And Out Come The Wolves released? 1995
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #107 out of 1,000
Rancid’s …And Out Come The Wolves on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Rancid’s …And Out Come The Wolves that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Good morning heartache, you’re like an old friend, come and see me again.
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.