Value Pack CD - reviews

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Now Wave (Rutledge)
I suppose it may be possible to NOT like Ruth’s Hat.
If you don’t like rock-n-roll.
If you have questionable taste in water sports.
If you sleep with midgets.
If you’re a masochist.
If you smoke too much crack on Sundays.
If you’re dating Pamela Anderson.
If you’ve got dead bodies in your trunk.
Ruth’s Hat, the AmeriCanadian rock-n-roll sensation best known for its astounding sexual potency and terrific command of rock classicism, has teamed up with melodicore goofballs Sewing with Nancie to take a stab at a dozen spirited cover tunes on “VALUE PACK!”, a wacky little limited-edition split CD released by Mutant Pop Records.  As always, the mad Hatters’ amalgamation of pop-rock influences past and present can do no wrong! And the band’s ace treatment of the late 80’s Men Without Hats hit “Pop Goes the World” and the late-period Replacements gem “When It Began” are especially tasty. RH’s deal is crossing harmony-drenched roots rock-n-roll pep with contemporary punk rock wallop----and the formula rarely fails! The band’s choice of cover selections (ranging from the legendary Link Wray’s “Rawhide” to Weezer’s “No One Else”, a modern pop classic) demonstrates exactly WHY these guys are such a cool act. The Ruth’s Hat experience is all about assimilating 40 years worth of good taste and spitting out a fresh concoction full of sweet, juicy hooks. This is ROCK AND ROLL, pal!  Sewing with Nancie handles the latter six tracks with zany irreverence, giving the new-school-pop-punk treatment to the likes of Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”, and the “Growing Pains” theme song. If ever there were a forum ideal for milking maximum rockage out of the Fat Wreck Chords signature sound, a silly all-covers disc would be IT. At the very least, SWN hangs in there with the mighty Ruth’s Hat and doesn’t get outclassed, making “Value Pack!” an exemplary blast of lightweight merriment.

Now Wave (Welch)
(REVIEW BY MIKE WELCH)
Here's what you get. You get both bands doing an amazing job at cover songs.  The problem I see with bands doing covers is they either: a) do it really really bad. They butcher the song and don't make it fun.
OR b) they forget to do it THEIR way and completely re-do the original, once again not making it fun. That's why you cover songs, kids! For fun.  Ruth's Hat covers everyone from Link Wray to Men Without Hats to Weezer to Green Day. They do every cover SO incredibly well. But what else do you expect from Ruth's Hat? They are one of the best pop bands going today. Sewing With Nancie may have outdone themselves. Everything they contributed is EXQUISITE! They do Coolio, kids. COOLIO! "Gangsta's Paradise", to be exact. And it's done extremely well, complete with drum machine. They do Journey, Madonna, Beach Boys, and more. You should check this out for SWN's take on the GROWING PAINS theme song alone. This is released on Mutant Pop as a limited edition short run CD, so get it while you can. --Mike Welch

Shredding Paper #16
Done in 2001 for a tour by the two bands, these were done in limited quantities by Mutant Pop.   Each band does six songs and they're all covers.   Some of the songs are safe and predictable, but there are some interesting choices too.  Ruth's Hat does a Replacements tune, but picks "When It Began", speeding up the song a bit from the original and giving it a nice turn.  They also pick "Dominated Love Slave" by Green Day and a Link Wray cover.  Sewing with Nancie gets a little more imaginative with their choices, doing the Beach Boys "In My Room", Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", and the Yaz tune "Bad Connection".  They do however tend to do most of the songs at the same pace and beat, not bringing enough original to the plate, but they're all decent covers.  I've always liked both bands, and a disc like this - particularly done as a tour-only effort - is a great idea and way to give their fans something extra.  (Steve)

Maximum Rock N' Roll #241
This came out on Mutant Pop a couple of years ago with the packaging of the CDR series.  One of the bands resubmitted this, pointing out that this was a pressed CD.   So here's a review.  Two pop punk bands covering the likes of Weezer, The Replacements, Madonna (my first mention of Madonna in countless years of reviewing), Yaz, and Men Without Hats, to name a few.   All covers, all fun, enough said.  (RL)

Puck Nation
Sure, it's a CD full of covers, but when covers are preformed this well, you need to give it a good score dispite originality.  Hell, some of these choices could still be original.  Since it's a split, we'll break it down by side.  Ruth's Hat is a talented act, however, I wasn't real keen on their choices. Green Day's Dominated Love Slave is a fun joke song, but it's a one time joke really. Hearing it from another band just isn't as much fun. Their cover of Weezer's No One Else, is real close to the original, which is a great song, so why change it? Now, the Men Without Hats cover of Pop Goes The World is dead on fun, and When It Began, a Replacements cover, sparks the same feel. I've never really been into Wally Pleasant, but this version of Small Town Drug Dealer is passable. Stealing the show for them however, is their cover of Rawhide. Yeah, it's not Link Wray's guitar, but who expected that, really?  A great opening half. I will admit though, Sewing With Nancie is quickly becoming a favorite band of mine, and the second half of this disc will show you why...We've got the Beach Boys song In My Room with well laid harmonies and killer melodies, we've got Madonna representation, as you should expect from SWN, in the form of La Isla Bonita, always a treat, and we've got a Journey cover. Yeah, they cover Don't Stop Believing, and do it very well. Also, they tear through Yaz's Bad Connection like no one else. Just to compare I downloaded the original, and yeah, they do it justice, totally. Closing the disc is two tracks I never thought I'd hear done punk. The theme from Growing Pains with some beautiful guest vocalwork by Steph Sarifianos. Made me think of Ben, Stinky, Mike, Boner, and Alan Thicke all over again. Ah, the eighties...Sorry, got distracted. How's Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise sound? Bad ass. Ripping through the verse as if they were rap-metal, they bring closure with a fast, aggressive NOFX styled chorus, Fat Mike would be impressed with.  So yeah, the CD is good, Ruth's Hat's good, and the song selections pretty good, but Sewing With Nancie totally stole the show. However, good luck finding this CD. It's not available in stores. Only through the bands while they're on tour. Good luck, it's worth it.

Headdip Zine
Yummy! A split cd of two TOP NOTCH pop-punk bands, who both have some really killer stuff out. A first glance on the tracklist: RUTH'S HAT with 6 covers of some pop-punky bands, including Weezer and Green Day, plus a cool Link Wray surf instro, and SEWING WITH NANCIE with a batch of very unconventional stuff: Coolio?? What the fuck? Madonna? Aargh! Listening to this cd, I get the feeling that RUTH'S HAT took it a wee bit more serious.  Everything is well done, from the ace "Small Town Drug Dealer" to the hicko-country Green Day tune "Dominated Love Slave". Only the Men Without Hats tune is not exactly my cup of coffee...it's a bit slick, too indie-rock sounding for my punky ears. Altogether, RUTH'S HAT are heading away from the Mutant Pop style a bit, at least that's what I think to hear. But you will mightily enjoy their six tracks on this record.  Let's get to the SWN side. In my eyes, their self released debut longplayer is very hard to beat. Plus, they seem to be better in doing their own songs. The two covers on their "Same Three Chords" release were tuff but not as good as the SWN originals so they HAVE TO lose a bit of face on this split cd. They are prime punky wail where they try not necessarily to be funny by selecting crappy covers (á la Coolio or Madonna), but do really BALLSY shit. Whoa, check out this super cool tune, that's where the action is. So, to put it in a nutshell, hurry up and get yourself a copy of this spliffy value-pack, it's not a 100% killer, but it's mucho fun.