Social Distortion - Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes  mp3  320k What we got...Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Social Distortion, released on January 18, 2011. It is the band's first album recorded with bassist Brent Harding, their first album of new material since 2004's Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, and their first release on Epitaph Records. Work on the album began in 2006 and it was originally forecast for a 2007 release, but was pushed back several times while the band continued touring and writing new material. After four years of writing, Social Distortion recorded the album from February to July 2010 at Ocean Studios in Burbank, California. Drummer Atom Willard left the group during the recording sessions in favor of his other band, Angels & Airwaves. He was temporarily replaced by Scott Reeder before David Hidalgo, Jr. joined as the band's new permanent drummer. Despite being listed as a band member on the album, Hidalgo did not actually play on it; instead, the band hired session musician Josh Freese to record the drum tracks.Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source 	Rating

Rock Sound 	7/10 stars[26]
Artistdirect 	4/5 stars[27]
Slant Magazine 	2/5 stars[28]
Rolling Stone 	3/5 stars[29]

Critical reviews of Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes were mostly positive. AllMusic's Mark Deming gave the album a rating of three-and-a-half stars out of five and states that it "is clearly the work of a band that still gives a damn about their rock & roll, no matter how familiar the surroundings. While 2004's Sex, Love and Rock 'N' Roll saw Ness digging deeper into personal concerns, Hard Times finds him stepping back a few paces; while 'Can't Take It with You,' 'Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown,' and 'Still Alive' find Ness waxing philosophical, most of these songs exist in the world of cool cars, tough dames, and bad-luck guys who've been part of his regular cast of characters since the album Prison Bound in 1988."

By January 26, 2011, the album had reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking Social Distortion's first ever top-10 album and highest ever peak on that chart in their entire 33 year career.
Track listing

All lyrics written by Mike Ness, except "Alone and Forsaken" by Hank Williams, all music composed by Ness, except where noted.
No. 	Title 	Length 	
1. 	"Road Zombie" (Instrumental) 	2:21
2. 	"California (Hustle and Flow)"   	5:00
3. 	"Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown"   	3:23
4. 	"Diamond in the Rough"   	4:35
5. 	"Machine Gun Blues" (Ness, Jonny Wickersham) 	3:33
6. 	"Bakersfield"   	6:25
7. 	"Far Side of Nowhere" (Ness, Wickersham) 	3:29
8. 	"Alone and Forsaken" (Williams) 	4:02
9. 	"Writing on the Wall"   	5:01
10. 	"Can't Take It With You"   	5:02
11. 	"Still Alive"   	4:05
My first album from these guys was Prison Bound and I became a regular listener. Mike Ness Is the man.