Cheeky Monkeys No More
drew m | maryland United States | 09/29/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Somewhere between the fantastic "Good Time" single and Teen Dance Ordinance, someone hijacked A and surgically removed their sense of humor. This is not a good development, because it was always the band's wink-wink personality that set them apart from every lame screamo band now plaguing our side of the Atlantic.
Make no mistake, TDO is a grown-up effort from a band that never should have grown up to begin with. Gone is the cheeky self-reverance, and with it, those huge A melodies that made them sound like a fusion of Van Halen and The Police (and what a glorious sound that was). TDO has its moments, but they're few and far in between. Even "Black Hole", one of the better songs on here, borrows it's main verse melody from "Starbucks". It's that startling lack of ideas that makes Teen Dance Ordinance the most disappointing album of A's career. In their effort to become a bigger band, they've decided to sound like every other band.
And that's a shame. Because there are a few of us Stateside who have heard this band in full throttle (check out Monkey Kong immediately) and know how fantastic they are when they aren't trying so hard to be mature."
Sounds like a Terry Date album - not sure that's good
Neil A. Smith | San Francisco, CA | 08/01/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Well, this album is not as good as either Hi-Fi Serious of Monkey Kong, and I think the blame for that lies at the door of Terry Date. In his efforts to make A sound like a polished hard rock band he forgot to tell them to continue writing strong melodies and memorable hooks. If A wanted a big-name American producer, they could have done much better. Jerry Finn comes to mind, with his great power punk credentials.
If you don't own an A album, buy Monkey Kong. If you want a terrific melodic hard-rock album, buy Hi-Fi Serious. If you have them, you may like this, but don't bank on it."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1