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rancid
rancid

FORMED FROM the ashes of ska-punk legends Operation Ivy and coming to prominence in the same post-grunge punk revival that saw Green Day and The Offspring explode into the public consciousness in the mid-90s, Rancid might not have shifted as many units as those two, but they cornered the market in both credibility and old-school authenticity. Decked out like The Exploited's roadies, they borrowed heavily from The Clash (not an allegation they'd refute) but soon came to stamp their own authority on proceedings. Matt Freeman's lolloping bass runs and Tim Armstrong's vocal delivery - part slurred drunk, part street poet visionary - helped define the band's sound and they spent the next decade-plus creating quality albums that each stood apart yet shared a common ground. Armstrong's public break-up with The Distillers' Brody Dalle added a dash of punk rock soap opera to the story but Rancid were, are and hopefully always will be, all about the music.

..And Out Come the Wolves
Name: ..And Out Come the Wolves Label: EPITAPH Year: 1995
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Review: THIS WAS when it all came right for Rancid. With impeccable timing they penned their finest collection of tunes just as a gobby green snotball of punk revivalism was blowing up in the mainstream's face. Yes, it borrows from both The Clash and Rancid's own Op Ivy roots but there's no denying the sheer quality of tuneage on offer here.

Rancid (2000)
Name: Rancid (2000) Label: HELLCAT Year: 2000
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Review: FOLLOWING THE platinum-rated success of '...And Out Come The Wolves' and the expansive 'Life Won't Wait', Rancid's second eponymous album was a tight, caustic wrecking ball of a set. Featuring 22 tracks in 38 minutes, this is the band at their most venomous, mixing hardcore pace and street punk bite into one spiky bundle of all-out aggro.

Life Won't Wait
Name: Life Won't Wait Label: EPITAPH Year: 1998
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Review: IF '...AND Out Come The Wolves.' was Rancid's 'London Calling' then 'Life Won't Wait' was their 'Sandinista!' - epic, sprawling, ambitious and taking in a plethora of musical styles. There's still plenty of straight-up punk rock on offer but such moments jostle for space with ska, reggae, rockabilly, dub and more, proving the band were far more than two-trick ponies.

BYO Split Series, vol 3
Name: BYO Split Series, vol 3 Label: BYO Year: 2002
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Review: FEATURING RANCID covering six NOFX songs and vice versa, this little gem is well worth an eBay search. Highlights include Rancid's sloppy takes on NOFX classics 'Bob' and 'Brews', while Fat Mike and co apply their unmistakeable nasal buzzsaw approach to 'Radio' and 'Olympia, WA'. It's all done in fun, but it's also an homage between two of modern day punk's most influential acts.

Rancid (1993)
Name: Rancid (1993) Label: EPITAPH Year: 1993
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Review: TO DATE there isn't a single Rancid album that should be avoided but their self-titled debut (following an eponymous EP and pre-dating 2000's eponymous classic) is perhaps their least indispensable. This is a high-energy, if basic stomp, that blasts from the speakers with little notion of subtlety and few indications of just how great their songwriting would become.

    Key rancid Tracks
  • BLACKHAWK DOWN

    A RAGING blast at US foreign policy, this chaotic, feral little beastie races by at 90mph, cheerfully flipping the bird as it does so.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Rancid', 2000
  • BLOODCLOT

    COMPLETE WITH its Ramones-tribute 'hey-ho's and Tim Armstrong's assertion that he is "a bad motherfucker", first single and opening track 'Bloodclot' kicked off Rancid's epic fourth album like a well-aimed pair of size-nine combat boots to the nutsack. But less ow, more wow.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Life Won't Wait', 1998
  • BREWS

    ORIGINALLY BY NOFX, this tongue-in-cheek, heavily Oi!-flavoured tale of Jewish skinheads lends itself perfectly to a stomping Rancidification, complete with typically splendid yob-chant vocals.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'BYO Split Series, Vol. 3', 2002
  • HYENA

    FAST AND belligerent, but still possessed of a raucous singalong element, this - like most of the band's eponymous debut - is a straight up slice of punk rock and the aural equivalent of a headbutt from a dribbling, crusty cider-tramp.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Rancid', 1993
  • I WANNA RIOT

    RECENTLY COVERED by Blighty's own Capdown, there's also a version on the first Epitaph 'Punk-O-Rama' CD, but this horn-filled collaboration with the Stubborn All-Stars for the benefit of everyone's favourite gruesome twosome, Beavis and Butthead, is even more flavoursome.

    Find on iTunes Find It: "'Beavis And Butt-Head Do America' soundtrack, 1996"
  • INDESTRUCTIBLE

    WRITTEN IN the wake of Tim's split with The Distillers vocalist Brody Dalle and the minor media circus that ensued, 'Indestructible' was an energy-drenched statement of positivity and the healing power of music.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Indestructible', 2003
  • JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EAST BAY

    MATT FREEMAN'S bass playing has always been an integral part of Rancid's armoury and the elastic runs he creates on this tribute to his and Tim's time in ska-punk luminaries Operation Ivy are among his most memorable.

    Find on iTunes Find It: '...And Out Come The Wolves', 1995
  • LIFE WON'T WAIT

    DRENCHED IN organs (stop sniggering at the back), and featuring a guest appearance by controversial reggae artist Buju Banton, this deep dubby ska groove added another shade to the band's rapidly expanding pallette. Proof that you really can do an awful lot with three chords.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Life Won't Wait', 1998
  • RADIO

    ONE OF the first of Rancid's major anthems, this hooky little number remains a staple of the band's live set to this day.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Let's Go', 1994
  • RED HOT MOON

    A STYLISH return to the skanking beat, another tale of another departed friend and an appearance from Rob Aston, aka Skinhead Rob, the Rancid roadie-cum-frontman who shares vocal duties with Tim Armstrong in The Transplants.

    Find on iTunes Find It:
  • ROOTS RADICALS

    A SUPERBLY stomping, ska-heavy track which also gave a shout-out to guitarist Lars Frederiksen's departed best buddy Ben Zanotto, who would also have a full song dedicated to him on 2000's Japan-only 'Let Me Go' EP.

    Find on iTunes Find It: '...And Out Come The Wolves', 1995
  • RUBY SOHO

    ALONG WITH 'Time Bomb', the deliciously melodic 'Ruby Soho', with its irresistible holler-along, yob-tastic chorus, was the track that established Rancid in the post-Nirvana rock mainstream, and is still nothing less than an absolute riot live.

    Find on iTunes Find It: '...And Out Come The Wolves', 1995
  • RWANDA

    WHILE MANY of Rancid's songs deal with personal politics only, this spills over into an examination of genocide, dealing with the subject matter with a surprisingly adroit mixture of anger and positivity.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Rancid', 2000
  • SIDE KICK

    IN WHICH 'X-Men' fan Tim gives free reign to his superhero fantasies, replacing Magneto with cops and government agents, and fighting for social justice. See, not all comic book fans are geeky dateless wonders.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Let's Go', 1994
  • TIME BOMB

    ANOTHER FURIOUS skanker, another hugely infectious chorus and another tribute to a friend, this time one who got gunned down at just 21. It's way more upbeat than it sounds, though.

    Find on iTunes Find It: '...And Out Come The Wolves', 1995
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