In The Copa Copa Cabana (Double Plaidinum - Ladwagon)

Name: mambo123

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Product:	Double Plaidinum - Ladwagon
Date:	31/10/01 (436 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They have an excellent vocalist, They have a 'fat wreck chords' sound

Disadvantages: They have a 'fat wreck chords' sound, Might have to be imported, so you'll be ripped off in the high street

I consider this cd to be Lagwagon's 2nd best release to date. Hoss being my favourite. I first 'discovered' Lagwagon when a mate of mine brought in a promo tape of Hoss to school. I wasn't expecting much at the time because I was never a big Punk fan. Well that soon changed. I was totally hooked on this band, I loved Joey Cape's unique singing voice, and their sing along choruses. I loved the way the guitars mimicked the vocals and vice versa, most of all I liked the powerful hooks that they had, that I had yet to experience from any punk band before that. So excluding NOFX and Green Day; Lagwagon were the first American punk band that I was suddenly really interested in.

Now onto the cd, as far as I know this is their fourth full album release to date on Fat Wreck Chords. It was release in 1997 and lasts a meagre 31 minutes and 12 seconds. The cd featured the usual suspects:

Jesse Buglione - Bass Guitar
Joey Cape - Lead Vocals
Chris Flippin - Guitar
Dave Raun - Drums
Ken Stringfellow - Guitar, Vocals, Brass

The front artwork features a tartan background with 'Lagwagon' written in embossed silver. It is very impressive looking. The back artwork is a mock showcase of their album (a platinum record) - 12" of the album with the song titles written in the centre.

So what does it sound like ?

1. Alien 8 - The opener is certainly a cracker. I never realised how good this song was till I heard it live. The intro has great soft lyrics from Joey and then explodes into a fast, beat intensive workout. One of my favourite tracks on the album.

2. Making Friends - This is great for a compilation. It has simple but well thought out lyrics, I like the bridge where everything goes quite, then the drummer does a solo. I thought it was a little weird how so many songs are about friends though, but who cares if it sounds good.

3. Unfurnished - I like this track
, though it is nothing special, it's traditional lagwagon. Fast beats, melodic guitars which really do play a lot of the melody rather than a boring rhythm.

4. One Thing To Live - I love this song, probably because a lot of the lyrics are 'sing-a-long' material. The bass is also great when the song splits.

5. Today - This song perfectly follows the previous, it has a great mix to it. Now this is a song with great bass, it is very textures and has a floaty feel to it. There is also a bit of a ska like guitar part to this song, which is unlike lagwagon's sound.


6. Confession - A good intro, but I kind of get bored with this song. Until of course the lyrics start, and wow, what a song it turns out to be. The only thing I didn't like was some of the disjointed cymbal work, but I loved the way the drums followed everything the guitarist plays.

7. Bad Scene - I usually skip this song because it is so similar to the others, also I always know what is coming next :)

8. Smile - :) I like this song. Easily my favourite on the album, it's great to listen to and shout out the lyrics 'I hate my friends!'. It's fantastic to sing to as it is so simple. The beat is a standard Lagwagon tempo, hard and fast.

9. Twenty-Seven - Another great intro to this song, this was definitely a good idea to position this track after Smile because they mix so well side by side. I like the slower pace and it is good because it does indeed sound different.

10. Choke - Starts off slow, and has an indie feel to it. That soon changes when the heavy guitar rips out a huge lick. This sounds like a very dark track It is lyrically an angry song, and sounds like a personal struggle in a diminished relationship.

11. Failure - Though not a great song, it does have great lyrics. Near the middle of the song the drummer plays a great beat, but it sounds fairly simple with it's lo
w overtones by the occasional use of the floor tom.

12. To All My Friends - The last but certainly not the least. After Smile this is my second favourite song. I don't know why but this track reminds me of Pulley. Keep listening to this song because it changes half way through, this is the longest track on the cd, a massive 6 minutes (massive for this band anyway). A lagwagon classic, but also perfect for the end of a great album.


All in all I think this is a brilliant cd, and a fantastic live band to boot. If you are a big fan of NOFX or enjoy Fat Wreck Chords sound, then do yourself a favour and buy a Lagwagon cd. Although I highly rate this cd, and yes it is worth every penny you spend on it, I think Hoss is better. So for anyone interested in buying a Lagwagon cd, get HOSS first, then buy this :)

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