Social Distortion : Social Distortion 1990

Social Distortion is the eponymous third studio album by the American punk rock band Social Distortion, released on March 27, 1990 through Epic Records, their first recording on that label. The album furthered the rockabilly, blues and country music experimentation of their previous album with songs like "Drug Train" and the radio hit "Ball and Chain".

The focus on the alternative rock scene helped bring attention to Social Distortion. The singles "Story of My Life" and "Ball and Chain" were able to find an audience on alternative rock radio and on MTV. Social Distortion was one of the band's most successful albums to date, and their first to enter the Billboard 200; the release peaked at number 128.

The album has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States. By 1996, Social Distortion had sold at least 250,000 copies, becoming the band's second best-selling album in the United States (their next album Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell sold 296,000 copies).

With Prison Bound, Social Distortion began to metamorphasize from a rather ordinary L.A. hardcore band into a roots rock band willing to make with more than their share of the attitude, and this process continued on their self-titled third album (which was also their major-label debut).

Musically, Mike Ness and company had learned to split the difference between rockabilly and Ramones-style punk, not unlike fellow L.A. vets X, and if Ness couldn't sing or write with the skill or the resonance of John Doe, "Story of My Life" and "It Coulda Been Me" sound a lot more personal and deeply felt than anything on Mommy's Little Monster, and "Ball and Chain" and "So Far Away" prove he could crank out a respectable honky tonk number if he put his mind to it.
Thanks to Epic's sponsorship, the group had more time and money at their disposal for Social Distortion than on their previous albums, and producer Dave Jerden made the most of it; Mike Ness and Dennis Danell's guitars sound lean, sharp, and powerful;

Ness's vocals are better controlled than ever before; and Christopher Reece's drums have a tight snap that suits both the thrashier numbers as well as the slower, blusier tunes.

TRAXS

01. So Far Away (Maurer/Ness) – 3:37
02. Let It Be Me – 4:16
03. Story of My Life – 5:48
04. Sick Boys – 3:19
05. Ring of Fire (June Carter Cash, Merle Kilgore) – 3:51
06. Ball and Chain – 5:44
07. It Coulda Been Me – 3:52
08. She's a Knockout – 3:52
09. A Place in My Heart – 3:15
10. Drug Train – 3:42

BALL  AND  CHAIN   Lyrics

Well it's been ten years and a thousand tears
And look at the mess I'm in
A broken nose and a broken heart,
An empty bottle of gin
Well I sit and I pray
In my broken down Chevrolet
While I'm singin' to myself
There's got to be another way

(Chorus:)
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain
Well I'm lonely and I'm tired
And I can't take any more pain
Take away, take away
Never to return again
Take away, take away
Take away
Take away this ball and chain

Well I've searched and I've searched
To find the perfect life
A brand new car and a brand new suit
I even got me a little wife
But wherever I have gone
I was sure to find myself there
You can run all your life
But not go anywhere

(Chorus:)
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain

Well I'll pass the bar on the way
To my dingy hotel room
I spent all my money
I've been drinkin' since half past noon
Well I'll wake there in the mornin'
Or maybe in the county jail
Times are hard getting harder
I'm born to lose and destined to fail

(Chorus:)
Take away, take away
Take away this ball and chain

DRUG  TRAIN  Lyrics

It'll take you as high as the heavens
It'll take you to the depths of hell
It'll make you friends, it'll take your friends
Who will never live to tell

(Chorus:)
Drug train, drug train

The train's first stop is pleasure,
The scond stop is fun
But in a jail cell baby or a hospital bed
You'll need hope 'cuz you ain't got none

(Chorus:)
Drug train, drug train

The train passes through the graveyard
May the loved ones rest in peace
For the last stop baby is a violent crash
And hard times they never cease

(Chorus:)
Drug train, drug train

FLAC : Size :  288 MB