Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah

Infobox Album |
Name = Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah
Type = Live album
Artist = Me First and the Gimme Gimmes


Released = October 19, 2004
Recorded = October 25, 2003
Genre = Punk rock
Length = 46:36
Label = Fat Wreck Chords
Producer = Ryan Greene
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:rek0ikldbbo9~T1 link] |
Last album = "Take a Break"
(2003)
This album = "Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah"
(2004)
Next album = "Love Their Country"
(2006)

"Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah" is a live album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, released on October 19, 2004 on Fat Wreck Chords.

It was recorded live at an actual bar mitzvah party, and its runtime lasts their entire performance, including a break in which little can be heard other than the sounds of party guests wandering around and chatting amongst each other. Jonny Wixen, the Bar Mitzvah boy, plays drums on one of the hidden tracks that are on the final track. The CD comes with footage of the bar mitzvah.

This album is interesting in that instead of the standard live album which includes live versions of popular songs by the band, the album is almost entirely made up of songs that have not appeared on previous albums. The only exceptions are two hidden tracks: "Seasons in the Sun" from "Have a Ball" (1997) and "Sloop John B" from "Blow in the Wind" (2001).

ong notes

* The beginning of the performance of "The Longest Time" which seems slightly out of character is taken from the Stiff Little Fingers track "Suspect Device" of the album "Inflammable Material" (1979).
* "Hava Nagila (Christmas Arrangement)" is a song which features the music of "Feliz Navidad" with the lyrics changed to include Hava Nagila and Rosh Hashanah.
* The opening of "Superstar" is taken from The Adolescents' song, "Kids of the Black Hole".
* The (non-Christmas) arrangement of "Hava Nagila" interpolates the guitar riff from "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring.
* The opening of "Sloop John B" is a near exact copy of the opening of Teenage Lobotomy by The Ramones

Original performers

The following lists, where applicable, who originally performed each song, or in some cases who performed the most popular version, and on what album it originally appeared on.
* "Stairway to Heaven" – Led Zeppelin on "Led Zeppelin IV" (1971)
* "Heart of Glass" – Blondie on "Parallel Lines" (1978)
* "Delta Dawn" – Helen Reddy on "Long Hard Climb" (1973)
* "Come Sail Away" – Styx on "The Grand Illusion" (1977)
* "Strawberry Fields Forever" – The Beatles on "Magical Mystery Tour" (1967)
* "The Longest Time" – Billy Joel on "An Innocent Man" (1983)
* "Always on My Mind" – popular singles released by Brenda Lee in 1972, Elvis Presley in 1973 and Willie Nelson in 1982
* "Take It On the Run" – REO Speedwagon on "Hi Infidelity" (1980)
* "Superstar" – originally by Delaney, Bonnie & Friends but popularized by The Carpenters on "Carpenters" (1971)
* "Seasons in the Sun" – a single by Terry Jacks in 1974
* "Sloop John B" – The Beach Boys on "Pet Sounds" (1966)

Track listing

# "Jonny's Blessing"
# "Stairway to Heaven" – (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant)
# "Heart of Glass" – (Debbie Harry, Chris Stein)
# "Delta Dawn" – (Larry Collins)
# "Come Sail Away" – (Dennis DeYoung)
# "O Sole Mio" – (Traditional)
# "Strawberry Fields Forever" – (Lennon-McCartney)
# "Auld Lang Syne" – (Traditional)
# "The Longest Time" – (Billy Joel)
# "Always on My Mind" – (Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Carson Thompson)
# "Take It on the Run" – (Gary Richrath)
# "Superstar" – (Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell)
# "Hava Nagila" – (Traditional)
# "Hava Nagila (Christmas Arrangement)" – (Traditional)
#*Includes the hidden tracks "Seasons in the Sun" (Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen) and "Sloop John B" (Traditional, Brian Wilson)