Down by Law: Last of the Sharpshooters
1997
Epitaph Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. USA Today 2. No Equalizer 3. Call To Arms 4. Guns Of '96 5. Get Out 6. Burning Heart 7. Question Marks & Periods 8. Urban Napalm 9. D.J.G 10. Concrete Times 11. No One Gets Away 12. The Last Goodbye 13. Factory Day 14. The Cool Crowd 15. Self-Destruction
I scanned in a couple of old cartoons I drew a long time ago...I did this one in a spiral notepad back in 2005...You might have to zoom in to read it properly (and even then my poor handwriting might be an additional obstacle)...
And here is an old D.B. & Slice cartoon I did with Tony Jansen back in the 90's...I have about a thousand of these cartoons in old bins...I'll keep posting them as I scan them in...
Alright...Let's get to the "Last of the Sharpshooters" album (cracks knuckles loudly, indicating I'm getting down to business)...
I like this album..It's s a bit less fun than the last two, since they cut all the jokes and little song snippets, making the album feel a bit more serious and political...If you're one of those people that was turned off by the goofiness that sometimes cluttered up their albums, this might seem like an improvement, although I kind of miss all the variety...
The album starts out very strong with "USA Today" and "No Equalizer" which are both the type of straight-forward punk rock mini-anthems that seem to be the band's most reliable style...Tightly-packed pop-hooks played in an energetic style that utilizes a relatively laid-back and relaxed vocal approach...I also enjoy "Urban Napalm," a return to ska, a genre the band tackled on "Radio Raga" from their previous album, although this attempt delves even deeper into that style...I can't say it's better, though, since Dave seemed to connect with "Radio's" subject matter a little more, but it's still very catchy...It kinda sounds like Down by Law is trying to channel Stiff Little Fingers trying to channel the Specials, if that makes sense (Hey, wait! This came out in '97! Why isn't every song a ska song? They could of taken a big slice of that Sublime/Reel Big Fish ska-punk pie)...
"Guns of '96" is interesting since a.) it's song about 1996 released in 1997, and b.) it seems like Dave might be insinuating that guns aren't the greatest thing ever invented:
"Hey brother can you spare a dime,
has been replaced with a gleaming shine with a .44 and a .45,
Tough kids walk the street tonight,
shadows beneath a neon light,
if you got a six-shooter will you feel alright ?"
I thought this guy was supposed to be a Republican or something...Or is this the whole "Guns are necessary because criminals have them" thing? Damn, these ambiguous politics! I want to be told what to think...Why can't they sum up their deeply held political beliefs in a 2 minute pop song? Wait...I take it back..."Get Out" does exactly that and it's sorta dumb and boring, although "Hey you! You leave them alone!" is an admirable stance..Uh oh...Did I just make a stance? Am I involved in the "troubles" now? Am I going to get a letter bomb or something?
Oooo...Stalking tips...I can always use more of those...
I know the band put out a few albums after this one, but I've never gotten around to checking them out...I had this weird feeling they had peaked and it was going to head downhill or something...I can't even recall seeing copies of the subsequent albums at the stores at the time, so whatever label they switched to must have had a lower profile than Epitaph...I don't know...I probably would have checked them out if I had seen them...Does anyone out there know if the Down by Law albums after "Sharphooter" were any good? I'm always open to recommendations...
To sum things up..."No Equalizer" good...Ninja Master Magazine good..."Last of the Sharpshooters" good if you're into 90's punk and Down by Law in particular..I guess it comes down to how you feel about sacrificing excitement and energy for consistency...I'm alright with it, so...
Here's "No Equalizer"...Enjoy...
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