Greatest Hits

A pair of Orange County high school buddies formed The Offspring back in 1984 following a show in Irvine by local legends Social Distortion. Almost two decades, six albums and 32 million records later, those two pals, vocalist/guitarist Dexter Holland and bassist Greg K, along with fellow classmate (and school custodian) guitarist Noodles, and drummer Ron Welty are still delivering. Originally signed to the Epitaph label - home to US punk gods NOFX - in 1993, The Offspring sprang from that early Nineties American alt-rock buzz and, adding their own dash of ska-punk to the mix, they pretty much were responsible for flying the flag for mainstream modern punk music in the States. It was certainly years before members of bands like Blink 182 or Busted even thought about picking up a guitar, or getting a tattoo done, that The Offspring were carving out a sizeable niche of the alternative American music scene. They were a great band because they were so much different from the numerous clones of the era. Their musical stylings fused elements of many forms of music. The band survived for well over a decade, and in 2005 a first ever career-spanning hits compilation got released.

To put it simply, this is exactly what it says it is – The Offspring's Greatest Hits. The prime focus is on hit singles, rather than individual album cuts. That said, you get many of the hits that made the group alternative rock legends - Come Out And Play, Gonna Get Away, All I Want, Gone Away, Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), The Kids Aren't Alright, and Why Don't You Get A Job, to name a few. The sing-along choruses and irresistible bassline of Self Esteem succinctly paint an all-too familiar picture of lovelorn guys getting played by manipulative girls. This is a superb compilation from one of the most successful and likeable acts of the mid-'90s punk-pop scene. Most of the band's career is chronicled here, and chronicled well for the most part. You even get some songs that couldn't previously be gotten on the albums, like Defy You from the Orange County soundtrack. Can't Repeat, the first track on the album, is only featured on this Greatest Hits album. It has that edgy sound that we have all come to know as The Offspring.

Plenty of so-called punk diehards decried The Offspring to be "sellouts" when they leapt from cherished indie Epitaph to the major-label stables at Columbia Records. But one listen to this Greatest Hits compilation points to a band that was never destined to stay underground for long. In crafting clever pop-punk that addressed the concerns of teen skate-punks everywhere, this California quartet cranked out radio-friendly cuts. Social observations not only poked fun at suburban kids affecting inner-city mannerisms, but gold diggers and the lost opportunities of a younger generation. If you were going to make your own mixed CD of your favorite Offspring tunes, this is definitely what you would come up with, well except for the new song Can't Repeat since you didn’t know about it yet. The Offspring’s Greatest Hits gives fans one album with all of the pulsing chords, impressive hooks, and youth culture angst for which they have become known.