Tim Armstrong: A Poet's Life

Tim Armstrong
A Poet's Life
Hellcat/Epitaph Records [2007]







Fire Note Says: Let's get Ska Radical!

Album Review:
We all know that Tim Armstrong is punk to the core but we also know that he has dabbled into other genres especially reggae in his long musical past. A Poet’s Life is 10 tracks of straight up ska/reggae tunes backed by fantastic labelmates The Aggrolites. For most fans of Rancid, this album will only be somewhat of a novelty. Where you may kick on some And Out Comes The Wolves [1995] to get all hyped up before going out or flying down the road, A Poet’s Life is a perfect album for the party or driving with the windows down at cruising speed. The whole album is full of old-school two-two beats that make you wish it was sunny and you were sitting on a beach sipping piña coladas. The key is, A Poet’s Life is only 33 minutes long so it gives you a perfect dose and never really gets tiresome. Diehard Rancid fans may have some problems listening to this style of music but I guarantee had Joe Strummer still been alive today he would be singing somewhere on here and lovin’ every minute of it. The album also contains 10 videos matching the tracks, which gives the listener a very unique way to watch an album. So if you are up for some simple reggae beats let Tim be the one to hit the chords.

Key Tracks: "Hold On", "Into Action", "Take This City"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Joe Strummer
Operation Ivy
The Aggrolites

Official Tim Armstrong Website [Rancid]
Tim Armstrong MySpace [Rancid]
Tim Armstrong Info [Allmusic]
Hellcat Records
Epitaph Records

-Reviewed by Reece Michael