Smash Mouth - Get the Picture

Over the course of their first three albums, Smash Mouth built a reputation with a steady stream of commercially reliable, fun-in-the-sun, Top 40 radio nuggets—“Walking on the Sun,” “All Star,” “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby,” and “Pacific Coast Party.” Matching their pop savvy originals with a knack for quirky covers—War’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” Neil Diamond’s Monkees’ vehicle “I’m a Believer,” and their take on Steely Dan’s “Do It Again”—they appeared (overexposure be damned) on seemingly ever movie soundtrack released between 1998 and 2002.

‘Get the Picture’ kicks off with two solid, familiar-sounding songs, “Hang On” “Always Gets Her Way,” before getting to the album’s first single is the Neil Diamond-penned, reggae-derived first single “You Are My Number One,” featuring Ranking Roger. The rest of the album is a bit of a let down in comparison. Clocking in at a slight 36 minutes 35 seconds (12 tracks total, counting the a radio remix of “You Are My Number One”), ‘Get the Picture’ stumbles through mediocre cuts like “Whole Lotta Love,” “Space Man,” “Hot” and “Seventh Grade Dance” before finding its stride again on the Elvis Costello knock off “New Planet.”

If nothing else, with four albums and nearly a decade together under their belts, Smash Mouth has proven that, even sticking tightly to the formula, their successes are repeatable. This isn’t their best album—it’s too hung-up on their shortcomings as a band —but it delivers enough pop hooks to whet your appetite for more.

Matt Parks (September 14, 2003)