Brett Reed

Track One: Rancid- Maxwell Murder

There are some albums you never forget hearing for the first time. And when you think of those albums there are certain songs that always come to mind right away. When Rancid announced that their 10th studio album would be coming out soon, I did what I usually do when I get excited about a band I like, I went back through their catalog. Then I got to the band’s third album, …And Out Come The Wolves and all those memories of being 10/11 years old blasting the hell out of this album came back. Yes, we’ve all heard “Time Bomb” and “Ruby Soho” a ton of times but, the one that has always got me the most on the album is the first track, “Maxwell Murder.” This song has all the makings of a great track one. It’s got the great intro, killer riff and bass line, driving rhythm, and not to mention that the vocals are right on the money. Plus I’d like to give a shout out to the one and only Matt Freeman, as his bass solo on this song is absolutely killer. Also “Maxwell Murder” is all killer in only one minute and twenty-five seconds. The ability to make such an impact with barely a minute and a half is astounding. Rancid have been one of the most consistent bands since their debut album came out 30 years ago this year. I’m stoked on new Rancid this year and you should be too!

Rancid- Maxwell Murder:

Cover Songs: Rancid does Operation Ivy

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Operation Ivy is one of those bands that has long played a crucial role in influencing and inspiring countless punk bands. They are also one of those bands that if they were to reunite, it would be beyond welcomed with open arms. After the break up of Operation Ivy, two of the members (Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman) would go on to form Rancid. Sadly though, a full fledged reunion probably won’t ever take place. The group has stated a number of times that Operation Ivy reunion is unlikely to happen. Singer Jesse Michaels addressed reunion issues in a Myspace blog many years ago citing the legal and logistic difficulties in getting the four members together for a reunion, as well as the fact that the band “never belonged in a big rock club in a one to two thousand seat joint.” He concluded the post with the following: “[Will] it happen? The most honest answer is probably not.” Luckily though, during Rancid’s US tour in 2006, Armstrong and Freeman played select tracks from their previous band’s catalog. At a performance at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on December 17, 2006, Michaels reunited with Armstrong and Freeman to perform the tracks “Unity” as well as “Sound System”. It was his first time on stage with the two in over 15 years

 

Unity:

 

 
Knowledge:

 

 
Sound System:

 

 
Green Day and Tim Armstrong- Knowledge: