Take Off Your Pants And Jacket [PA] - Blink 182 > Reviews > Blink Me

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	See op
Disadvantages:	See op

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The band Blink 182 consists of-
Mark Hoppus, Bass guitar, vocals.
Tom DeLonge, Lead guitar, vocals.
Travis Barker, Drums.
The band have been together for a good few years now, but they have only recently become more popular. They have built up quite a bad reputation, for their immature behaviour and love of toilet humour, but despite this, they play some good music! Their style is a mixture of pop,punk and rock.
There are 13 tracks on the album. Depending on which album you buy, there are extra tracks, but I will talk about them in more detail later.
The first track is 'Anthem Part Two'. This track follows on from 'Anthem Part 1' on the end of their last album. It kicks off the album on an uplifting, catchy tone. It's a But does the rest of the album live up to the promising introduction?
The second track is 'Online Songs'. It's a sad 'lost love' ballad, but the tune is still quite upbeat and catchy.
'First Date'. This track was released as a single. As the title suggests, it is about a First Date. Tom deLonge based it on his first date with his wife, to Seaworld! The tune is slightly more poppy than the other tracks, and the lyrics are a bit lacking in originality.
"Do you like my stupid hair? Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?"
Track four is a bit of a lighter subject matter. 'Happy Holidays, You b******'. This song is a lot more explicit than the others, but it only lasts a few minutes. The story is about someone who is really angry with everything! He complains that he has only wrapped a few presents on Christmas Eve, and his Grandfather just ate all the hot-dogs on Labour Day!
Track 5 is 'Story of a Lonely Guy'. This track is a lot slower than the others, and can become a bit repetitive. As the title suggests, it's about a lonely guy!
Track 6 is another single, 'The Rock Show'. It's an upbeat ballad about a boy who falls in love with a girl after meeting her at a concert.
'Stay Together for the Kids'. The tone is more serious in this track. It's written cleverly, as it is taking on the role of a child having to suffer his parents divorcing. I think the words are well written, and powerful in this song.
" I see them every day. We get along so why can't they?"
Track 8 is 'Roller Coaster'. This track has a few really catchy guitar riffs and words! What more can I say?
Track 9 is Reckless abandon. By this point, I was getting a bit tired of Tom deLonge's high pitched, squeaky voice, so I missed out on the lyrics. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing, though, as these lyrics are quite explicit.
You may recognise track 10, as it was part of the soundtrack for the film American Pie 2. This contains some very catchy riffs, and here the style is verging towards rock.
Track 11 is quite different to the other tracks, but the lyrics are a bit of a cliche, and there's nothing that particularly stands out in it.
'Shut Up' is track number 12. There's a skilled guitar part in this one, and it's quite an uplifting, light track to listen to. However, I think that it could have done with a few less swears!
Track 13 is a nice way to end the album. The title suggests the end- 'Please Take me Home'. It's talking about good times being had, but now it is time to go home. As I said before, it's a nice way to end the album.

There are 3 versions of the album you can buy. 'Take off', 'Pants' and 'Jacket'. The first 13 tracks are the same on all three albums, but after that, things start to get a bit complicated! The version I have is 'Pants'. It has 3 extra tracks. 'What went wrong', which is an accustic piece, 'Time to Break Up', and 'F*** a Dog'. The last track is very explicit, so if you are buying this album for someone younger than yourself, it might be a good idea to buy a different version of the album. The 'Pants' version also contains an enhanced CD for a PC or Mac, of 'Man Overboard'.

The cover of this album is quite plain. It's black, with 3 symbols in coloured circles. The simplicity of the design means that it stands out on the shelves. There is a 'parental advice, explicate content' symbol on the cd cover, so bear this in mind when purchasing, if you are buying it for a young person. The only downside with the cover is that it's made of cardboard, so you have to take a bit more care in order to keep it in good condition.

Finally, I would recommend this album to anyone who likes a bit of light rock!