Bowling For Soup - 'Stoked On Trent (Live)' Album Review

Tracklist:

Trucker Hat
Ohio (Come back to Texas)
I Wanna be Brad Pitt
The Bitch Song
Turbulence
Vodka Talk
Stacy’s Mom
Taking the Piss
Almost
Should I stay or Should I go?
Adam’s Birthday
Freebird (Rob’s Version)
Today is Gonna be a Great Day (Theme Song to Phineas and Ferb)
Emily
Royal Family
Friends O’Mine
Phone Calls are Stupid
Punk Rock 101
Girl all the Bad Guys Want
1985

Acoustic live albums are often an acquired taste, and even so when they are from a band that are traditionally fast, loud and raucous, which pretty much sums up Bowling for Soup. Because of that, even though I’m a big BFS fan, I was a little reticent about what this album would serve up – would it just be slower, lesser versions of songs I know very well indeed, or would it become something else that transcends the sum of it’s parts?

The good news is that it is most definitely the second. This album features just a two-man version of Bowling for Soup (lead guitarist and singer Jaret Reddick, accompanied by Bassist / acoustic guitarist Rob Felicetti) and the record gives you a window into a laid back evening of fun, stupidity and songs that have clearly been picked because they work well with a pair of acoustic guitars.

If you are a big Bowling for Soup fan, you might look at the tracklisting and think that there are some titles that you don’t recognise – but there’s no new music here, just a line up of great BFS songs, a handful of covers (none of which are played seriously – just listen to 'Freebird' if you don’t believe me) and one of Jaret Reddick’s country songs (that he releases under Jaret Ray Reddick – “Royal Family” is that track).

Obviously, some of the slower songs in the Bowling for Soup catalogue ('Turbulence', 'Friends O’Mine', even 'Ohio (Come back to Texas)') are obvious contenders for songs that translate well to an acoustic setting, but what is a surprise is how many of the other songs translate – you can tell that this isn’t Bowling for Soup’s first acoustic rodeo.

For me, the surprises are 'The Bitch Song' and 'Punk Rock 101', both classic Bowling for Soup tracks that I always think of as being fast, distorted and powered by drums, but neither suffers from being turned into an acoustic jam here.

Is this album going to replace your other Bowling for Soup albums? No. Is it even the best Bowling for Soup live album? No. (For me, that will be “Older, Fatter, Still the Greatest Ever”). But it’s not trying to replace anything, this is a different Bowling for Soup experience. It’s chilled out, it’s funny and it’s a perfect album to put on if you are in the mood for a casual drink and some good, relaxed music.

This album is a great time – it knows exactly what it is, what you want, and it gives you that in spades. And can you really ask for anything more from your live albums?