Ellington

Bay area legends NOFX are back, and they're as humble and soft-spoken as ever. That is to say, "not at all," as THE GREATEST SONGS EVER WRITTEN (BY US) is NOFX at their sneering, snarling best with 26 old fan favorites and one new ode to those old fans and punk rock brethren ("Wore Out The Soles Of My Party Boots").

After close to 20 years on the job – with nearly as many albums and EPs – and more than 4.5 million records sold worldwide without the help of a major label, it might be tempting to stick NOFX with a tag like "clown princes of punk" or even "kings of three-chord comedy." But one spin of THE GREATEST SONGS EVER WRITTEN (BY US) proves such labels to be overly simplistic.

While others may skate by with sophomoric humor, NOFX has always been a bit more clever – and cutting – sparing no one as they sarcastically skewer animal rights activists, politicians, and even themselves on songs like "It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite" and "Bleeding Heart Disease."

If the band's humor, even at its most farcical, is more sophisticated than that of the multitude of major (and not so major) label imitators, NOFX's music follows perfectly in step. Without so much as a foot on the clutch, NOFX shifts gears from the breakneck "The Separation Of Church And Skate" to the churning "The Longest Line" to the horn-filled ska-punk of "All Outta Angst," all the while augmenting their catchy melodies with surprising harmonies that at once seem as disdainful as they are perfectly executed.

The one new offering on THE GREATEST SONGS EVER WRITTEN (BY US), "Wore Out The Soles Of My Party Boots," is a fittingly self-effacing take on aging punks, but as the album's finale it serves ultimately as proof that the best punk rock (or NOFX, anyway) is ageless.

NOFX The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us) Track Listing:

01. dinosaurs will die

02. linoleum

03. bob

04. the separation of church & skate

05. murder the government

06. bleeding heart disease

07. bottles to the ground

08. 180 degrees

09. party enema

10. what's the matter with kids today

11. reeko

12. stickin in my eye

13. all outta angst

14. leave it alone

15. green corn

16. the longest line

17. thank god its monday

18. the idiots are taking over

19. don't call me white

20. day to daze

21. soul doubt

22. philthy phil philanthropist

23. shut up already

24. it's my job to keep punk rock elite

25. franco unamerican

26. kill all the white man

27. wore out the soles of my party boots (previously unreleased)