Social Distortion
finally achieves the perfect balance between their two major influences, the
country
anguish of
Johnny Cash
and the furious
punk rock
sound of early
Clash
, on their 1992 album
Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
, making it the band's finest hour. The band tears through a fair share of rollicking, straight-ahead
hard rock
with songs like
"Cold Feelings"
and
"When She Begins,"
but they also show a reflective, heartfelt,
-inspired side with songs like
"This Time Darlin'"
and the
tribute to
"Folsom Prison Blues,"
the cold blooded, murderous tale
"99 to Life."
At times the band slows down the pace a bit more than on earlier albums, but the band hasn't lost any of the edge or attitude they had as the brash young
punks
who recorded
Mommy's Little Monster
.
classics
"Bad Luck"
"Born to Lose"
find a more mature
Mike Ness
still continuing to play the familiar role of the steadfast underdog with better results than in previous efforts. This album had all the earmarks of a major commercial success with some radio friendly tunes and strong production, but it never found the large audience
Epic
records expected. Regardless of the sales totals,
finds Orange County's most enduring
punk
band,
, at their creative peak, and this album is the crown jewel of their entire catalog. ~ Paul Tinelli