The Green Album

If you haven't figured it out from the album's title, the song titles, or even the band's name, The Green Album is a pro-weed album from aging cottage industry insiders known as the Kottonmouth Kings. These aging stoners, slackers, plus one freaky guy who looks like a bandanna mummy will take their bongs and skateboards all the way to old age home. While their loyal fan base of suburban rebels never seem to notice, each release -- and there are many -- finds them a bit more out of touch with what's happening in the rest of the music world. Tolerate their 1995 sound and it's clever how "Pack Your Bowls" turns the phrase into a laid-back, country-fried travel song, and the weed friendly ladies will find "Sex Toy" the ultimate love song for that little guy in that drawer by the bed. Unfortunately there are many more examples of when the ideas dry up, and the unfunky rock-rap music, plus the equally cliched flow for the raps, just aren't enough. Even if there's an underlying "climate change" theme that's a subject way out of the band's reach, the rallying of the troops for something positive this time saves the album from being a completely shameful and redundant cash-in. ~ David Jeffries