Smash Mouth

1	Holiday in My Head 2:40
2	Your Man 3:36
3	Pacific Coast Party 2:58
4	She Turns Me On 3:12
5	Sister Psychic 3:16
6	Out of Sight 2:56
7	Force Field 3:49
8	Shoes 'N' Hats 2:48
9	Hold You High 3:01
10	The In Set 3:41
11	Disenchanted 4:16
12	Keep It Down 5:31
13	I'm a Believer 3:03

Barnes & Noble

Picking up where the Beach Boys left off, these California lads are hellbent on making sure listeners have fun, fun, fun -- even if Daddy does take the T-Bird away. Unfailingly sunny and unafraid to coat themselves in cotton candy, Smash Mouth manage to reconcile old-school new wave, older-school 60’s pop, and oldest-school smooth ballads, all of which are tied together by Steve Harwell's friendly, regular-Joe delivery. Harwell squeezes every drop of flavor from the band's bop-along cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" and even manages to slip into disco smoothie mode on the string-laden "Pacific Coast Party." The entire album is chock-a-block with memorable riffs, some strewn from the guitar of Greg Camp and some pumped from the organ of Michael Klooster. These tunes bring to mind the best AM radio pop of the '60s -- but miraculously, they seldom sound egregiously dated. There's plenty of energy and lights-down ambiance to spare, as borne out by the Sondheim-via-"Silly Love Songs" shuffle of "Disenchanted." For those uninterested in teen pop but put off by heavy rock, Smash Mouth’s lighter fare goes down in the most delightful way. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Smash Mouth is easy to like and easy to hate, depending on your point of view. It's easy to see why some listeners could get irritated at their incandescent, irrepressibly sunny sound, especially if it's pounded out on the radio endlessly; so it seems like every station has adopted "All Star" as their personal signature. But it's easy to love them for the reason they got to that status: their effortless way of updating classic frat rock to sound breezy, hip, and fun, thanks to their healthy love of surf and new wave. They do this best on their singles, of course -- unless they're covering a straight-up oldies like the Monkees' "I'm a Believer," which is simply too predictable; they're much better when they're tackling Let's Active ("Every Word Means No") or the Four Seasons via Fun Boy Three ("Can't Get Enough of You, Babe") -- but they can be just as endearing on their album cuts, as their strong, eponymous third effort shows. There are no new tricks here by any stretch (except the sub-Blur electronic piss-take "Keep It Down"), but it's all done sharply, melodically, and happily. If you've grooved on Smash Mouth's singles and want more of the same, this delivers reliably, which may be an unadorned pleasure for some and a guilty one for others. Stephen Thomas Erlewine