Albums by this artist

Cheating At Solitaire (1999)

Mike Ness

Cheating At Solitaire

---

» JEFF VRABEL | STAFF WRITER

Mike Ness Cheating At Solitaire Time Bomb, 1999 RiYL: Social Distortion, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits

Southern Cal's Social Distortion has always been something of a punk anomaly. The group can churn out rhythm-driven rockers and blistering guitar licks with the best of them, but buried within its assault of energy and anger was the melancholy, melodic sense of frontman Mike Ness. Social Distortion's best work -- while never sacrificing any valuable street cred -- somehow managed to blend hardcore rockabilly and raw heartbreak.

So it isn't surprising that after 20 years with the band, the 37-year-old Ness' first solo outing, Cheating At Solitaire pushes harder in the second direction. Hell, the album is summed up right there on the cover, in the "Love" and "Pain" tattoos on Ness' hands. Beneath the howl of this ex-punk poster boy beats the heart of a lonely man.

What is surprising is how effortlessly Ness fits into his new role, merging his darkly ferocious lyrics with a wide range of styles, from punk to rockabilly to country. Ness has done the aging-punk-icon thing gracefully, and made a terrifically accessible album that's equal parts Hank Rollins and Hank Williams.

The album's first single, a scorching cover of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)," fits nicely into one of Ness' trademark locomotive grooves, but by the time he's singing about wasting his precious time, he sounds more broken than bitter. "Rest of Our Lives" begins as a hard-luck road tale -- "Eighteen years in a travelin' band/seen a lot of one night stands/and I still found myself so very much alone" -- but by its chorus, has become -- gasp! -- a love song.

Dylan is just one of the numerous influences and guests name-checked on Solitaire. "Long Black Veil" represents the second Johnny Cash cover Ness has laid down (Social D's version of "Ring Of Fire" appeared on their self-titled 1990 release), and the results here are appropriately creepy. Brian Setzer pops in on "Dope Fiend Blues," and his swing horns lock right into the song's churning rhythm. Ness even brings in Bruce Springsteen -- the king of hard-luck heroes and lonely riders -- to trade verses on "Misery Loves Company." In addition to being the hardest rocker the Boss has done in years, the song's lyrics and themes fit perfectly amid both singers' catalogues: "I used to think that I was the king / Fancy cars, fancy clothes and diamond rings / But happiness is a funny thing."

Lyrically (as lines like that will attest), Ness is as straightforward as a line drive past second base, sticking mainly to simplistic pearls of wisdom like "Some say it's the strong who survive." But Ness isn't out to be Michael Stipe, and has no use for overlapping themes and buried symbolism.

That simplicity ultimately proves to be one of his record's strong points. An album like this has no use for excess imagery, and Ness' whiskey-soaked voice wouldn't lend itself to that anyway. In the end, Cheating At Solitaire is a basic record of hard rock, hard country, hard alcohol, cigarettes, tattoos and blues. It also feels like the album that Ness has been hinting at making for years.

JEFF VRABEL | Jeff Vrabel may look like your average, strapping Midwestern-type, but lurking inside him is a passion for all things Springsteen, "Weird" Al, and regrettably, the Chicago Cubs. He's touched Britney Spears. He knows Slash's phone number. Obey him at all costs.