Ever since breaking out into the mainstream in 1994 on the strength of the huge hit Come Out and Play (Keep Em Separated), the Offspring have made a pretty good career out of imitating some of the biggest punk bands ever, be it the snotty attitude of the Sex Pistols, or the good natured humor that bands like Fugazi would throw out there. Conspiracy of One, released late last year, is the follow up to the quadruple platinum selling Americana, a wannabe pop album that was by far the worst of the band's career. That is, until Conspiracy of One was released. After all, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) was pretty funny the first couple of times you heard it, and songs like The Kids Aren't Alright and She's Got Issues nearly singlehandedly saved Americana from it's own overproduction.
The Offspring gave away a million bucks to a lucky fan to promote this album; unfortunately, as is the case with this album, promotional stunts like this are usually a way of covering up just how bad the album is.

In truth, Conspiracy of One probably is a better album than Americana, but at least Americana had something original to it; the band had tweaked their sound (sometimes for better, but for mostly worse), and while it was a commercial success, fans hoping for a build up from 1997's Ixnay on the Hombre were disappointed for the most part.

Conspiracy of One is a recycled effort, melding together all the Offspring's previous albums into one gigantic steaming pile of...um...well dung.

Album Highlights:

Want You Bad: Yes, it's pretty sad when a song as derivative as this is an "album highlight," but this, the album's second single, is the best pure pop/punk song the Offspring have done in no less than five years. Simple, catchy, and very effective. 3 minutes of pop bliss.

Denial Revisited: The only real experimentation on the album is found on this song, a number about being in denial over the ending of a relationship. A fabulous song that hopefully the band will learn from. This song could mark a turning point in the band's career, or it could just be a fluke.

Living in Chaos: Best overall song on the record, recalling previous punk heroes like Bad Religion and the Misfits. Again, the band keeps it simple, with a bit of a variance in their usual sound, which is refreshing.

One Fine Day: On first glance, you may be thinking what I like about this obviously generic Southern Cal pop/punk number. I can't blame you, but quite frankly, I find this song to be irresistible. I can't explain it, I just do.

Album Lowlights:

Original Prankster: By far the worst attempt a band has ever made at covering one of their own songs. The band tries to resurrect Pretty Fly, with awful results. I don't know what's worse: The annoying "You can do it" lines from the Waterboy movie, or Redman's annoying voice on the chorus. There are not enough evil adjectives in the world to describe this song.

Come Out Swinging: Another song you've heard no less than 10 times on previous Offspring records. And um, you know it's time for a new drummer when he can't even use the bass drum on a STUDIO version of a song!

Vultures: "Come...as you..." Wait a minute, this isn't Come as You Are by Nirvana, it's just a cheap rip off! Honestly, the surviving members of Nirvana should sue over this one, this is a blatant rip off.

Conspiracy of One/Million Miles Away:2 more songs you've heard before from the Offspring.

Conclusion

If you are a punk fan, and are desperate for something new to listen to, I suggest you give a new band a whirl rather than picking up this recycled garbage. There are way too many struggling (and very good!) punk bands out there to rationalize buying this.



Recommended: No

Great Music to Play While: Going to Sleep