AMG Review of 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records

Jo-Ann Greene
All Music Guide

45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records has to be one of the longest, and greatest, album titles of all time. However, for you pedants out there, it's also far from accurate. These songs may not have been up to NOFX album standards, but all, bar one, were considered worthy for release on 7" singles, EPs, or compilations. And that one exception is a new song. All told, this comes close to bringing together much of the group's vinyl-only releases and tough to find numbers from indie compilations. Close, but obviously not all, as Fat Mike chose to deliberately omit songs so as not to wreck the "coolness" value of owning the originals. Of course, all 47 (to be precise) of these songs could have fit onto a single CD, but again, Mike wisely decided that was a bit much to handle in one sitting, and tossed them onto two discs. So what do you get? The Europe-only single "Drugs Are Good," "Thalidomide Child," the bonus track from their 1984 demo tape, most of the Fuck the Kids and Suffer EPs, the Fat Club-only "Zyclone B Bathhouse," their offerings to Epitaph's Punk-O-Rama compilation series, 1994's "We Ain't Shitty," and a very cool dub mix of "Eat the Meek." There's also a clutch of whacked covers, from the Germs' "Forming" and the Misfits' "Last Caress," both from tribute comps, to Don McLean's "Vincent" and the hilarious take on OMD's "Electricity." And so on, and on. Of course, NOFX's hardcore fans have all of these already, but it's a boon for the rest of the group's followers, even if, as Fat Mike insists, some of these are true throwaways. As usual, the singing bassist also plays compere and, across the copious CD booklet, gives the songs' histories, background, and lyrics. Oh yeah, the new song rocks as well.