1990's death by a Groove ***1/2

Though not a huge fan of the band, I'm impressed with 311's inability to be easily categorized. S.A. has helped us out with that problem through this album's lyrics; "dancehall," "punk guitars," "funk-slap bass," and "the mics in their hands." This is easily my favorite of the band's albums.



"Soundsystem" suffers in the same way as 311's other work, namely a few very strong songs and an equal amount of filler, but the four opening tracks could be the band's legacy. "Freeze Time" is second only to "Down" as the band's best opening song. "Large in the Margin" is equal funk, rap, and pop, and it's infectious as anthrax. And of course "Come Original" and "Flow" are the band's call to arms of originality in rock music.



Unfortunately, despite sparatic bright moments in places like "Life's Not a Race," the album never really recovers after the Big Four, but that's fine considering the rest is an above average party disc. Not a bad way to leave the 90's behind.



Overall: 7 out of 10.

Don't Believe The Nazis

Dont' believe those music Nazis that always claim that once a band has gone big all their work then sucks. Sure, for the most part this may be true. But its not an exact one-to-one ratio. Some bands have the ability to maintain artistic importance after they've made it big.

This album by 311 is a good example of this. Each and every song, barring the last two, ebb and flow together well. They keep up the upbeat message with 'Life's Not A Race'. Tracks, 6-8 will keep ya bumpin' and movin' for a long time. I've had this album for about 5 and a half years now, and I still listen to the album like I picked it up yesterday. I'm not saying this album overshadows their previous work, but it definetly keeps the pace.

great album

311's diversity and musical ability is unsurpassed. This album proves it. My favorite tracks are Evolution, Freeze Time, Can't Fade Me, and Livin' & Rockin'. All the songs are good though.

GREAT CD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

311's newest release is their best to date! I've been a hardcore 311 fan for about 5 years now, and this release was truly a great. The guys used more rock beats than their previous release, Transistor and overall, Soundsystem has a better sound. Don't get me wrong, all 311's releases have been good so far, but Soundsystem is the best!!!

If you're a big 311 fan, this is a must have!!!

Mediocre - 2 and a half for strong musical performance

However, it does have "Eons" and "Flowing," two of my favorite 311 songs. The music is strong dynamically, but it is basically the same as all their other albums. Only not as good; I find rapper SA's vocals to be annoying, not sounding anywhere as good as they did on Transistor, which I believe to have the best perfomances from him. The lyrics are pretty mediocre. Save for 5 or 6 songs, not to great of an album. It all right, but now worth purchasing.



Here is my opinion on their albums, from best to worst:



1) Grassroots

2) From Chaos

3) Transistor

4) 311

5) Evolver

6) Soundsystem - this one



I don't have Music, but I've heard nothing but good things about it.

The best ear-candy available

Soundsystem is the first 311 cd I bought and it was the best investment I have ever made! If you are starting to look into 311, get their music! Even though I only jumped on the 311 "bandwagon" with the song "Come Original" I still consider myself a die-hard 311 fan. This cd is unbeatable and there is absolutely no competition for this band! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing Tim and P-nut are on guitar and bass and the perfect way that Nick and SA's voices blend together. The drummer chad is just as amazing! Every single song on soundsystem is perfectly mastered! The only thing is that I prefer edited cd's (but I don't have the edited soundsytem)so the last song is a little much for me, but other than that, there really is hardly any swearing on it. I would name my favorite song, but I don't really have one because they are all so awesome; although I do prefer come original because that is the song that got me to love 311. If you don't have this cd yet, I am not suggesting, but telling you to go out and buy this cd as soon as you can because you don't know what you're missing--music that is fun to rock to, head-band to, dance to, and just to listen to! Go buy it now!!!!!

This CD is too expensive

Soundsystem is a fantastic CD, like everything 311 has put out. This version is only different in having one extra track, Blizza, and it is over twice the price? Not worth it. My rating of 5 stars reflects the music, not the price. If you want to hear Blizza, you can listen to it for free ... they also have some remixes, and the song We Do It Like This (which is the bonus track on the Import version of From Chaos). It is a song that sounds like it was done all on keyboards, with a part from the song Strangers (off of Transistor) thrown in - "Suckers step up and want to cause friction, but violence is for those who can't handle diction." It's a good song, though not typical of 311. But then again, none of their songs sound the same...

This is ONE OF THEIR BEST

My first 311 cd i listened to was Grassroots. That cd immediately turned into 311 forever. Since then i have converted three die-hard 311 haters into fans. After 'roots, 311 never dissappointed me. Soundsystem is the best follow after grassroots. The different style they have on every cd is amazing, and soundsystem style could be the best. GET THIS CD! Songs 4-9 are best six songs in a row on any 311 cd.