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GUTTERMOUTH ALBUMS RANKED TIER LIST


 

My ranking scheme: FAV / GREAT / GOOD / DECENT / MEH - I replace the standard "S" tier with my own top level tier of Favorites. This way I can highlight albums that have a bit more personal meaning to me while still celebrating the albums that are deserving of a top level ranking. *Note: Every ranking exists within it's own isolated universe. Meaning the albums are only being compared to other albums from the same band. In this way, it would be unfair to compare one of my tier-lists for band A with a tier-list from band B.

Check out our playlist of Guttermouth favorites on YouTube or Spotify.


*Disclaimer* If you are someone who is easily offended and has the sense of humor of a porcupine, you probably won't like Guttermouth. Their music is quite vulgar, heavily laced with sarcasm, and is generally not meant to be taken seriously. You have been warned.


1. Friendly People (1994) -  FAV

Pro: First release for Offspring front man Dexter Holland's Nitro Records. (Yes, we are still listing this a "pro" even though we're very upset with Mr. Holland for firing drummer Pete Parada who's doctor advised him not to take the vaccine because it could be worse for his particular situation). 

I used to crack my high-school buddies up in class by quoting the intro to "PC." "Maaaaan! Get your dog's ass outta that other dog's nose!" A song that takes us back to a time when people had thicker skin and a person couldn't just go online to complain about being offended by everything.

I enjoy the spoken word lyric style of  "You're Late"

and the ska style guitar strumming on "Veggicide

Difficult to pick just 5 songs for my list of album favorites.

All of Guttermouth's albums are vulgar but with songs like "Asshole" and "Bullshit" this album is definitely not for those who are easily offended.

Con: The last time I saw Guttermouth perform was at Warped Tour in 2009 and they didn't play the crowd favorite "Asshole" despite the fact that everyone was chanting for it.

Fav songs: "End on Nine"



2. The Album Formerly Known As Full Length LP (1991/96) - FAV

Pro: Originally released in 1991, but was re-released in 1996 with the additional tracks from 7-inch releases during the same era. The CD version of this re-release was how I first discovered Guttermouth. 

 If  someone asked me to recommend three albums that define "punk rock" in my book, this would be one of those albums. Fast, aggressive, and drenched with sarcasm.

I still hear the intro to "Bruce Lee vs the KISS Army" in my head whenever I see anything relating to martial arts on TV.

I love songs like "Hypocrite" and "1, 2, 3... Slam!" that change the pace throughout the song. Guttermouth is quite good at this. Awesome ebb-and-flow energy songs to experience in a mosh-pit.

"Mr Barbeque" & Lagwagon's "Mr Coffee" will have to duke it out as contenders for Best "Mr" Songs in punk. (Mr BBQ vs Mr Coffee cartoon?)

Strong nominee for "Punkest Album of All-Time," at least in my book. Whole album belongs in my list of favorites.

Con: "Marco Polo" is perhaps my favorite song under 20 seconds long by any artist ever. It's a shame that it wasn't included on the Short Music For Short People compilation. No disrespect to "Don Camero."

Fav Songs: "Under My Skin"



 3. Teri Yakimoto (1996) - MEH

Pro: I still have my childhood Godzilla toy that I damaged by trying to replicate the instructions on the inside of the album booklet. I got some great footage for our skate video though!

I can also remember the look on my old guitar instructor's face when I came in for my first lesson and he was excited to teach me some classic rock but instead I brought him "Whiskey." The song, not the drink. I was only fifteen after all. Weed would have been much easier to get at the time anyway. 😆 

The bass-line from "Teri Yakimoto" is one of the band's most iconic and memorable riffs.

"1-2-3-4" is Guttermouth's "Jesus of Suburbia," although Mark Adkins would probably hate to hear someone call it that. 

"Under the Sea" is a humorous take on a song from the 90s kid's show Barney. I love the fact that Guttermouth don't take music (or themselves) seriously.

Con: Lacks the sharp lyrical wit of other Guttermouth releases. The sarcasm is still there but the bite is lacking. This may be due to the fact that the band allegedly experimented more with pop and melody.  Is this the band's most "serious" album?

Fav Songs: "God's Kingdom" is no "Viva Las Vegas" but it's still a pretty awesome tribute to Sin City.



4. Musical Monkey (1997) - GREAT

Pro: Two songs essentially "defined" this album upon it's release. That's not taking anything away from the rest of the album because the rest of the album is awesome. But it speaks to just how edgy and memorable they were at the time. These songs had nop music videos on MTV and major radio would never even think of playing the songs even if they edited it. But these songs went viral among the skatepunks and X Games generation in an era just before Jackass was about to bring the skateboarding music scene to the masses.

"Do The Hustle" was a skateboarder's anthem back in the late 90s. For whatever reason skateboarders were super judgemental towards aggressive-inline skaters at the time. I don't know if this was a carry-over from the ski versus snowboard rivalry or if teenagers are just elitist assholes at that age. As in most things in life, its probably a combination of the two. 

Speaking of which... "Lipstick" was another memorable tune with a shock value that brought Guttermouth some notoriety in the skate-punk scene of judgemental spiky-bleached-haired shit-heads of the 90s. 

Perhaps some of the lyrics have not aged well, but in an era that started slapping "Parental Advisory" labels on albums deemed vulgar or profane, Musical Monkey was a huge middle finger towards parental authority and censorship. This was an album with immense shock-value. It was also funny as hell.

I've always enjoyed Guttermouth's spoken word songs; "What If?" is a funny tune about a hypothetical scenario involving Fred Schneider of the B-52's trying out as vocalist for The Doors.

"Baker's Dozen" is a comedic look at different styles in the scene.

Con: A buddy of mine who was getting interested in freestyle rap at the time once sat in the back of the car while we were driving around listening to this album and said "the rhymes on this album are weak." He's not entirely wrong. Mark is a clever lyricist but there are indeed some weak or forced rhymes on a few of the tracks.

Fav Songs: "Perfect World"

 

 

5. Gorgeous (1998) - GOOD

Pro: Songs like "Hit Machine" and "BBB" make this easily the band's most aggressive album. Thanks in large part to the addition of new drummer Ty Smith, who replaced James Nunn when Nunn switched to bass following the departure of Steve Rapp.

"A Nice Place To Visit..." reminds me of a time way back when California used to be pretty amazing. That was before Red Hot Chili Peppers blew things up by writing an entire album's worth of songs glorifying the state. Ok so it was really politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom who ruined California but RHCP didn't help reduce our traffic by telling tourists how awesome it was at the time.

"High Balls" is a working man's tribute to Jack Daniels.

Con: The album cover has always grossed me out.

Fav Songs: "A Date With Destiny"



6. Covered with Ants (2001) - GREAT

Pro: "She's Got The Look" got brief major radio airplay out here in Los Angeles.

A different buddy of mine who was interested in freestyle rapping overheard the song "Secure Horizons" while we were driving around, he thought the rhymes were pretty clever.

"Cram It Up Your Ass" is an absolute delight, complete with piano noodling at the end of the track  

Con: Way too short at only 31 minutes long.

Fav Songs: "That's Life" / "Chug-A-Lug Night"

 

 

 

7. Gusto (2002) - FAV

Pro: Gusto is highly under-appreciated album, in my opinion. As a "punk" album, Gusto is terrible. As a "pop punk" album, Gusto is actually quite enjoyable. 

Underneath the poppy exterior, this is some of the band's most lyrically humorous and musically diverse material. 

How can you not laugh at the concept of the album cover?

Con: I think one of the major criticisms for this album is that Mark Adkins experiment with voice-tuning software while recording Gusto. So I can totally understand why he and others might look back at this album with a bit of shame. But this was a groundbreaking technology at the time, so I don't really blame them for trying it out either. This is also something that has become a standard practice in the industry these days, for better or worse. 

I'm good with the experimentation just for one album.

Fav Songs: "Vacation" / "Pee In The Shower" / "Foot Long" / "My Girlfriend" / "My Town"



 8. Eat Your Face (2004) - DECENT

Pro: Return to Guttermouth's signature energetic punk rock. 

"Party of Two (Your Table is Ready)" is a scathing criticism of the two-party voting system.

"Surf's Up Asshole" is an attack on tourists and "bros" who invade the surf town of Huntington Beach, California where Guttermouth (and Pop Punk Radio) are from. The clip of the guy laughing about the "dog beach" at the end of the song never fails to crack me up. 😆

"Hot Dog to the Head (A Hot Dog is a Food Not a Penis So Get it Right or Pay the Price)" is one of the best song titles over 21 words long of all time. 😆

Con: Second half of album doesn't really sink it's teeth in to me.

Fav Songs: "The Next Faux Mohican"



9. Shave the Planet (2006) - GOOD

Pro: Aside from having a title that mocks a famous emo band, "My Chemical Imbalance" also features a brief homage to "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies.

"Fladicism" is a funny song about erectile dysfunction that pairs well with Home Grown's "Impotency." Check out our Song Combo article: link

Feels like the illegitimate child of Eat Your Face and Gusto. 

Con: Cover art is uninspired.

Similair to Eat Your Face in the sense that part of the album really doesn't do anything for me. However, I bump Shave The Planet up a tier because the songs are a bit more fun to listen to with Mark's rambling on various tracks and the variation in musical styles.

Fav Songs: "Capitalizing from Plump Mistakes" / "Primate Camp" "Upside Down Space Cockroach" / "God, Steve McQueen" /



10. The Whole Enchilada (2017) - DECENT

Pro: Live album combined with two EPs worth of new Guttermouth music. 

I dig the red and green vinyl concept to match the album theme.

Con: Double album concept may have confused some people in to thinking this was supposed to be a "Greatest Hits" album.

Fav Songs: "Spud Like Torso" / "New Car Smell" / "The Point"/ "I've Got It Made"





11. Live At The Pharmacy (1998) - GREAT

Recorded in 1994, this album is an audio glimpse of Guttermouth's live energy back in their early years. 

The set features songs almost exclusively from their first two albums. 

Guttermouth are/were a band that really had to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Their frenetic energy and tempo changes don't always translate well to studio recordings. 

Their studio albums sound great but a lot of the songs really need to be heard live to hear them in their full unrestricted glory.

The mix sounds great and Mark's vocals are loud and clear. Which can be rare for live albums.



12. Live At The House Of Blues (2003) - GOOD

Filmed at The House of Blues in Anaheim, California. Probably in 2001?

Features a solid set-list spanning the better portion of the band's glory days.

Unfortunately, the recording is not as clear and crisp as Live At The Pharmacy and it sounds like Mark blows out his vocal chords within the first two songs.

However, the live footage is a fantastic insight in to what a wild and out-of-control party Guttermouth shows were known for. Apparently the crowd got worked up in to such a frenzy that the final song of their setlist "Perfect World" only appears on the CD portion of the live album because the filming equipment was damaged during the song.


Check out more of our Album Rankings: link

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