June 8, 1999 - Smash Mouth and All Star

Nine days after my last release a new band briefly joins my library when Smash Mouth released their second album "Astro Lounge" on June 8, 1999. This was actually the first CD I ever owned, and it was all for the mega hit single that would make Smash Mouth super famous. But who is Smash Mouth? They are a four-piece pop rock band from San Jose, California consisting of drummer Kevin Coleman, bassist Paul de Lisle, guitarist Greg Camp and lead singer Steve Harwell. I'm not actually a big Smash Mouth fan at all, but the nostalgia comes roaring back whenever I hear their uber famous single "All Star". Harwell has a pretty typical catchy pop voice and he starts the song off by diving right into the first verse as the music slowly comes in. Once they all finally come in they up the tempo as Harwell nicely leads the way as they move into the super catchy chorus. Honestly, it's pretty cheesy and not really that good, but damn is it ever catchy! The turntables are on full display in an interesting and also pretty catchy bit and then they nicely return to the main riff for another catchy verse and proceed to jam out the chorus a few times until the finish. This is not a great song, but I cannot deny that I do like it, and that's why it's here! It's my only Smash Mouth song though so adios to my first CD!

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