Sum 41 – Go Chuck Yourself

I have no idea how many times I’ve looked for a CD to find out it’s only available in the US, or else for an outrageously high price since it’s an import. For once, this is reversed as Canada’s pop-punk princes release their first ever live record, Go Chuck Yourself recorded on the London, Ontario stop on the tour of the same name. So Canadian Sum41 fans rejoice, because now you have your own way to bringSum41‘s explosive live show into your living room every night – or so one may think. The sad truth is, while Go Chuck Yourself is a decent effort, it is still a rather dismal CD as the energetic and fun nature of aSum41 show is hard to capture on disc – it is something you can only experience in person.

Go Chuck Yourself is, in actuality, a better “best-of” compilation rather than a live record, because it doesn’t really offer much more than a selection of the band’s more popular songs (with the surprising addition of Moron which originally appeared on the Rock Against Bush compilation). Since it is the Go Chuck Yourself tour, most of the songs come fro Chuck (We’re all To Blame, Welcome To Hell, Pieces, 88, No Reason, etc.) There’s only two songs from their Half Hour Of Power release, Grab The Devil and the single, Makes No Difference. With the rest of the set list being either the very short songs (likeANIC and Never Wake Up) and the band’s singles (The Hell Song, Over My Head, Motivation, etc.) and of course the band’s breakout track Fat Lip and Pain For Pleasure with which they cap of the show with.

Sonically, it is what you’d expect from Sum41. Slightly faster than the recordings, with some off-tuned vocals occasionally. Whimbley’s vocals are a little off, which becomes painfully evident the longer you listen and his in-between song banter is positively painful to listen to. I’ve seen the band a few times now, and never realized how pointless the things are that he says. They are just generic comments and sporadic swears, which are fun to cheer along to there, but on disc just sounds incredibly stupid. Luckily, the mixing and recording of the show was done great, as everything sounds in proportioned – the only thing that would make it better was if the crowd was more evident instead of only at the spoken or softer spots; because sometimes you even forget that it’s a live album from the lack of screams and cheers.

I don’t really know what to say about Go Chuck Yourself for the conclusion. It is exactly what I had expected, but I was hoping for more. For huge, obsessedSum41 fans, this is a nice little bonus. But for the casual fan, it’s nothing more than a best-of with annoying banter.