The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Pay Attention : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

To tell the truth, ska has always been the least interesting thing about the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Their real forte is punky pop tunes like "Someday I Suppose" or "The Impression That I Get," hard-rocking radio hits for hockey players with sensitive streaks. Pay Attention marks the first time the Bosstones have put their rock & roll front and center, and so it's their finest album, peaking high with "So Sad to Say," "I Know More" and "The Skeleton Song." Dicky Barrett wails the Red Line blues like a mannish boy with a larynx full of broken glass, and for all the testosterone in the music, Barrett is the increasingly rare type of male rock star who can sing about women without sounding like a pushy idiot. The horn section doesn't do the music any favors, and neither do the ska clichés that still intrude, but with Pay Attention, the Bosstones loosen up enough to rock out. (RS 840)

ROB SHEFFIELD