The Mighty Mighty BossToneS – When God Was Great

When a band’s been around for 35 years and released ten albums, you tend to have a fair amount of certainty as to what they bring to the table. It’s unlikely they’ll convince any haters to change their mind and the loyal fans will still be there with, waiting patiently to hear each new release. The question that needs answering when a long running band releases a new album is: does the album live up to the band’s pedigree or does it fall flat?

That’s the main question the listener is faced with when they turn on The Mighty Mighty BossToneS’ eleventh full length album, When God Was Great. But luckily for us, the answer is easy to come by. After less than one listen through the album, it’s plain to see that their Hellcat Records debut not only continues their legacy but brings it to new heights.

Produced by Ted Hutt and Tim Armstrong, When God Was Great is a sonic masterpiece. It’s a loud, full body experience with a thick sonic backstop that feels almost thunderous. The recording has an umph to it that seems to be lacking in so many newer releases. Hutt’s touch on the album is evident and it brings a forcefulness to the songs.

Not that the songs need much help standing out. The BossToneS have been around for over thirty years, they know how to write some of the best ska songs there are. When God Was Great is no exception. It’s fifteen songs ebbing through ska, reggae and two-tone – tackling subjects both historical and modern, love and hatred, friends and family.

Starting with blistering drumbeats that jump into a bouncy upstroke, Decide brings back visions of A Jacknife To A Swan with a fast paced ska-punk tune. It sets the tone for the album. Energetic, boisterous, and a loud horn section.

Decide immediately pulls the listener in as the BossTones say they’re here to stay with a confidence thatnever waivers. They’re able to slow it down with the reggae influenced love song Lonely Boy. After that, they move right into the powerful The Killing Of Georgie (Part III). The track is a blistering condemnation of the current state of the United States that was written after the murder of George Floyd. Featuring lyrics pulled from famous speeches (John F Kennedy’s inauguration speech, Martin Luther King JR’s I Have A Dream speech, and the speech Bobby Kennedy gave the night MLK was assassinated) alongside lyrics copied directly from Rod Stewart’s Killing Of Georgie Parts I & II along with two classic The Mïghty Mïghty BossToneS songs (Let’s Face It and The Holy Bible). It’s a song that begs to played at full volume and should definitely become a staple in the band’s live show in the future.

The title song, When God Was Great, starts off with twinkling pianos as they segue into a nostalgia driven song about growing up in Boston. Despite the specific locations mentioned in the song, the lyrics and cadence in Dicky Barret’s voice evoke a hopeful nostalgia about growing up that can be placed upon any town. Yes, it’s specifically made for Boston, but it transcends more than just that one city.

The album ends with what may very well be one of the most ambitious songs ever written: The Final Parade. What started as a 15 minute opus has been cut down to a “mere” eight minutes and features the who’s who of ska-punk royalty. Let’s just look at this list:

Tim Armstrong (RANCID),  Aimee Interrupter & the Interrupters, Stranger Cole, Angelo Moore (Fishbone), Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Jay Navarro (Suicide Machines) Chris DeMakes and Pete Wesilewski (Less Than Jake) ,Jimmy G (Murphy’s Law) Toby Morse and Rusty Pistachio (H2O) John Feldman (Goldfinger), Laila Khan (Sonic Boom Six), Robert Hingley and Dan Vitale (Bim Skala Bim), Dave McWane (Big D and The Kids Table), Sirae Richardson, Erin Mackenzie, Brie McWane  (The Doped Up Dollys), Jesse Wagner, Karina Denike (The Dance Hall Crashers) ,Christian Jaccobs (The Aquabats), Jon Pebsworth (Buck O Nine), Peter Porker (The Porkers), Steve Jackson (The Pietasters) and Roddy Radiation (The Specials)

They’re all on one song. And that one song? Well, it’s all about ska music, the ups and downs of the style and the importance of dancing and skanking. It’s a perfect cumulation of 30 years of ska-history distilled into a magnum opus. It’s a glorious endeavor that only The Mighty Mighty BossToneS could pull off.

After 35 years, you know what you’re getting with this band. If you’ve never liked ska or The BossToneS, When God Was Great won’t change your mind. And that’s just fine. This is an album for ska enthusiasts. It shows that the genre is far from dead. It’s energetic, powerful, emotional and fun.

An album about friends and family that features friends and family (seriously, Dicky Barrett’s daughters sing on the CCR cover of As Long As I Can See The Light), When God Was Great is a must-listen for anyone craving to do a little dancing.