Social Distortion “Social Distortion” 1990. SD is currently on their 25th anniversary tour for this album – one of their most commercially successful releases – and I expect we will hear many, if not all, of the tracks when we see the tomorrow at The Rave in Milwaukee.

“Social Distortion” keeps many of the punk sounds (though often more melodic punk, i.e. “Story of My Life”) of SD’s earlier releases, but adds in rockabilly and blues flavors, especially with tracks like “Ball and Chain” and  Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” And apparently the album cover was considered controversial in 1990, so much so that some chain store outlets refused to sell the record. How early 90′s quaint.

*** a personal commentary from a very special guest to this blog, he writes about this album “I remember I was working a low paying job at Koss at the time. The outlet store always had Mtv on (which actually played music videos at that time). I happen to catch the last half of Ball and Chain and was blown away. That began my (and, I suspect, many others) transformative journey from Punk to Rockabilly and the refined attitude on rebellion that entails – not so in-your-face-against-society and more subversive-within-society.

Funny thing is, that for playing such a vital part in the early days of my journey of self-discovery and making better life choices (if only by hinting at the possible consequences of not doing so), this album is so tied to that turbulent time that I find it hard to listen to. But when I do, I am thankful that Mr. Ness and Co. put out something that so perfectly served as the inspiration to do so – change can be hard… and messy, but, in the end, is worth the discomfort and pain to arrive in a better place.”