Takin' A Ride

Some internet commenters like to rip on bands like AC/DC, Slayer, and Motorhead (among others) whenever a new album comes out. They like to say they that they haven’t “progressed” and that they “just keep doing the same thing”. Well if you’ve achieved perfection, why is there a need to change? To make things worse? Anything less than perfection would be worse. These bands achieved perfection very early on. There’s no need for them to do a concept album, light jazz, or anything different than what they already do and have done.

And you can add Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders to that list. They have never changed and never needed to. And this can even go back to his prior band, The Lazy Cowgirls, which was basically all Pat Todd anyways. When you hear a Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders album, you know what you’re in for: pure, heartfelt, catchy rock ‘n roll. 

This is at least their 8th album. One or two of them have been double albums. And let’s not forget at least another 2 or 3 more full length albums that could be compiled from the massive amounts of singles and EPs that have been released. That’s at least 157 songs by my count. And all rock ‘n roll in one way or another. All the songs are different, with their own identity, and all sounding exactly like Pat Todd. 

14 of those songs are on their new album, “Keepin’ Chaos At Bay”. And thankfully they’re no different! All catchy, all with their own character, and each telling a story. Mostly fast and loud and rockin’, with a couple acoustic numbers (one being a rendition of “Another Stupid Guy off their first album) for a change of pace. But there’s no shortage of hard and fast rockers. My favorites being “Lie’n Money & A Bad Disguise”, “Galavantin’”, “Big Talk With Guitars”, “Lies, Lies, And More Lies” and the closer “Tower Of Song” which goes into some ’50s inspired riffs and singalongs. 

Is this their best album? It just may be! There’s at least 5 songs on here that rank as among the best they’ve ever done. It’s hard to tell since it just came out. But one thing that I can definitely say is that it’s certainly a contender for my Album Of The Year list. **** 1/2

Available in all formats. Here’s some links to help you:

Amazon

Bandcamp

And some songs for you to enjoy: