The Great Burrito Extortion Case

by Bowling for Soup

Overview

It's hard to dislike Bowling for Soup but it's hard to really be enthusiastic about them, either. They've been cranking out happy, hooky, humorous punk-pop since 1998, slowly crossing over into the mainstream without ever truly registering in the public consciousness the way that blink-182 did before them or Fall Out Boy did later. They've racked up a Grammy nomination and a genuine hit -- the quite clever "1985," a 2004 single that very well captured Gen-X's bewilderment at suddenly hitting their thirties -- but have managed to not quite be recognizable, a situation that their sixth album, The Great Burrito Extortion Case, is unlikely to change. At its core, it's not much different than what came before: it's still proudly goofy, poppy punk, stuff that's fun without quite being memorable. And while it's hardly worse than what they've done before, there is a subtle difference in tone on The Great Burrito Extortion Case: the group is seeming a little long in the tooth. It's not so much that they're reworking the same sound again and again -- they're a punk-pop band, so that kind of repetition is their stock in trade -- but their pop culture references seem a little shelf-worn and out of date, the product of a band that was in high school in the '80s. On "1985" that perspective helped craft the jokes, but here it's starting to wear thin, especially since there are multiple songs with John Cougar Mellencamp jokes that mingle with Joan Jett and Caddyshack references, making it all seem oh so 1985. (It also doesn't help that they have a song called "Val Kilmer" arriving a week after Kevin Federline bragged that he was like "Val Kilmer in how I'm bringing this heat," but you can't count this bad luck against them.) This kind of dated humor mingles with an increased juvenile sense of humor throughout the album, giving the impression that Bowling for Soup are pandering a little bit, trying to deliver what they believe today's teens want, but every once in a while they pull it all together -- the hooks and the humor gel into something like "High School Never Ends," which is catchy and contemporary, thanks to its Jessica Simpson and Tom & Katie jokes. And even when they're coming across like Gen-X cranks, they're still nimble and melodic, so it's easy enough to listen to The Great Burrito Extortion Case and enjoy it -- it sure is hard to get worked up about it, though. [A Japanese version added a bonus track.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/12/2006
Label:	Bmg
UPC:	4988017644553

Tracks

1. Epiphany
2. High School Never Ends
3. Val Kilmer
4. I'm Gay
5. Why Don't I Miss You
6. A Friendly Goodbye
7. Luckiest Loser
8. Love Sick Stomach (A Sugar Coated Accident)
9. Much More Beautiful Person
10. Friends Like You
11. When We Die
12. 99 Biker Friends
13. Don't Let It Be Love
14. If You Come Back to Me
15. Everyday's a Saturday
16. No Opinion

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bowling for Soup   Primary Artist
Vivek Kamath   Orchestra
Jung Sun Yoo   Orchestra
Nikki Messing   Vocals
Neil Tiemann   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
Kira Von Sutra   Vocals
Josh Center   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
Andy Skib   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
Tomas K. Carney   Orchestra
April Farmer   Vocals
Michael Casteel   Orchestra
Alexis Skib "Lyndsay"   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
Bryan Jewett   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
Lesley Roy   Vocals
Maria Kitsopoulos   Orchestra
Brando   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
When We Die Orchestra   Orchestra
Casey Diiorio   Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Shmuel Katz   Orchestra
Laura Seaton   Orchestra
Elizabeth Lim-Dutton   Orchestra
Greg Lobdell   Vocals,Whistle (Human)
Adam Schlesinger   Guitar,Vocals
Russ-T Cobb   Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Sandra Park   Orchestra
Rob Mathes   Piano,Conductor,Orchestra
Butch Walker   Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Suzanne Ornstein   Orchestra
Zac Maloy   Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Joey Huffman   Organ,Piano,Moog Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Karl Egsieker   Engineer
Gary   Group Member
James Arthur Salter   Assistant Engineer
Erik   Group Member
Jaret   Group Member
Pablo Mathiason   A&R
Bobby Wayne   Bass Technician,Guitar Technician
Jaret Reddick   Producer
Alex Venguer   Assistant Engineer
Chris   Group Member
Greg Lobdell   Drum Technician,Monitor Engineer
Edo Levi   DJ,Stage Manager
Casey Diiorio   Engineer
Russ-T Cobb   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Rob Mathes   String Arrangements
Butch Walker   Producer
Sean Loughlin   Assistant Engineer
Adam Schlesinger   Producer
Tom Lord-Alge   Mixing
Howie Weinberg   Mastering
Mark Mandelbaum   Engineer