Review: The Mr. T Experience – “Mtx Forever”

Sounds Rad – March 13, 2020

Mtx Forever. Seems about right.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know how I can review this with any level of fairness.  The Mr. T Experience are one of my favorite bands, Dr. Frank is one of my favorite songwriters, and their songs have bounced around my brain for twenty-five or so years.  So there’s that.

The Mr. T Experience has been around the block a time or two, releasing records, EP’s, and singles dating back to 1985.  Each record seems to have their own character: sometimes buzzing guitars, sometimes something a bit more jangly; sometimes super simple structures and nothing but rhythm, and sometimes something more complex with some lead guitar and solos thrown in.  But the markings of MTX are never far:  Real genuine vocals, simple clever lyrics (mostly about girls), and a sometimes disarming level of honesty, and even a sort of innocence.  And this all gets tied to an eccentric hodgepodge of influences that brings together bands like the Ramones and Television Personalities with varied ‘60’s bubblegum bands like the Hardy Boys and the Osmonds.  It’s a bit of punk and a lot of pop.  Forget the labels, it’s just good.

Mtx Forever is pretty much a best-of collection.  To the best of my understanding, many of the songs have been picked by fans and curated and mastered by Dr. Frank.  And the collection is pretty spectacular.  Personal favorites abound.  Songs like “More Than Toast”, “Dumb Little Band”, “Swallow Everything”, and “Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba” snap with a pop punk energy and simplicity that’s addicting.  Early songs like “End Of The Ramones” and “Danny Partridge” buzz with a punk rawness that does nothing to dilute the catchiness of each.  Late flashes of brilliance including “I Wrote a Book About Rock and Roll” and “Naomi” demonstrate slight stylistic shifts without losing the spark.  Even complete stylistic detours, namely the self-deprecatingly clever “Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend”, show the power of a great songwriter, no matter the delivery.  It’s all good.  Not a song that I find myself skipping past.

Sure, I’ve got a few selections I’d maybe change up.  Personally, I’d maybe love to see “The Dustbin of History” instead of “London” or “Sackcloth and Ashes” replacing “I Don’t Need You Now”.  But that’s just me trying to nitpick.  With so many great songs scattered across decades of work, it’s not quite easy to narrow stuff like this down.  In any case, Mtx Forever is a great collection.  Makes me feel the great uncertainties of high school existence all over again, and in a weird good way.  Take that as you will.         

Pros

• It’s MTX.  Isn’t that enough?
• Mtx Forever is a well-curated and nicely remastered collection of favorites
• Mtx Forever has no duds

Cons

• As with pretty much all collections, there’s a bit of room to nitpick song selections, if that’s what you want to do