Reviewed on Oct 8, 2005 by Tom

Aah Mustard Plug, one of the very first ska bands I got to see live way back in the day. A lot has passed since then, the ska came, the ska went while bands like The RX Bandits re-defined the genre and now the whole genre seems to be somewhat in the lift again, with bands like The Toasters, Big D And The Kids Table, Streetlight Manifesto, Bomb The Music Industry and more recently the Suicide Machines surging new life into a genre that had gone stale, uninspired and quite frankly, a bit bland. Reel Big Fish’s recent releases are testimony enough of that don’t you think?

So when this collection of songs hits, it’s like I follow Scott Bakula on a Quantum Leap through time itself. It’s not only that I remember what music made my clock tick back then, but I’m reminded as well just how easily Mustard Plug’s tracks get under your skin. I can’t say much about the tracks pulled from the bands 2002 effort “Yellow5”, as I haven’t listened to that album ever, showing that I had long since moved on, but when I hear songs like “Beer”, it all comes crashing back. Mustard Plug’s uncanny ability to create catchy melodies just beg for you to sing along, and any horn line is just as infectious as the next. If this doesn’t lift your spirits odds are you’re already dead. There is honestly not one bad song amongst the 19 on offer, even though it all sounds a bit samey in the end. But with upbeat, sing-along-inducing anthems like “Beer”, and a variety of other crowd-pleasers in “Everything Girl”, “Box”, “You”, “Lolita”, “Mendoza”, “Mr. Smiley” to early Mustard Plug favorites “Thigh High Nylons” and “Skank By Numbers” from their Big Daddy Multitude album, released well before ska even became a household name, you can't really go wrong. If you like Ska and have never heard anything of or from Mustard Plug, then this is quite simply essential stuff! All the rest probably have all these songs already in one form or another anyways.

Outdated as it may be, Masterpieces still is a lot of fun! Skank by the numbers (all 19 of them) is exactly what this CD aspires too so dig out your dancing shoes already! For the video freaks amongst us there’s “You” and “Everything Girl” as a little bonus! Now Mr. lead vocalist Dave Kirchgessner needs to find some time between organizing the “Ska Is Dead” tour and whatever else he is doing and start rounding his lads up for a new frickin’ album. Even to a jaded old fuck like myself, Masterpieces shows that Mustard Plug still have all the gusto to be one of those bands that will lead the way and surge new life into the whole Ska happening. This is very much the soundtrack to good times.

Related Links:

• www.mustardplug.com
• www.hopelessrecords.com

1. Beer (Song)
2. Not Enough
3. Someday, Right Now
4. Mr. Smiley
5. Lolita
6. Go
7. Just A Minute
8. Throw A Bomb
9. You
10. Brain On Ska
11. In Your Face
12. Everything Girl
13. Box
14. Yesterday
15. Skank By Numbers
16. Safe
17. Mendoza
18. We're Gunna Take On The World
19. Thigh High Nylons

Album Reviews

	In Black And White Sep 11, 2007
	Masterpieces: 1991-2002 Sep 6, 2005

Interviews

Dec 8, 2007