Me First And The Gimme Gimmes: Have A Ball

The concept of Have A Ball, the debut full-length by the punk-rock sort-of-all-stars in Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, is about as simple as they come: It's got 12 punk covers of cheesy '70s and early-'80s hits. That's it, except that group members include well-known players like Fat Mike from NOFX. It's not like this hasn't been done before: The kitschy cover has been a staple of punk since punk began, and there are few surprises in selections like "Leaving On A Jet Plane," "Rocket Man," "Mandy" and "Uptown Girl." Did we really need another wacky rendition of "Seasons In The Sun" The upside of all this is that Have A Ball is actually quite a bit of fun, though it's admittedly as slight and inessential as records come. Its 29-minute running time might seem like a detriment, but frankly, it's an ideal dose for this sort of silly, disposable, thoroughly inoffensive punk-pop fun.