Pennywise pulled together impressively after the suicide of Jason Thirsk, as Full Circle proved. Straight Ahead finds them carrying on, turning out an album that rivals its predecessor. In many ways, it's the same album as its predecessor, and that's a problem with traditionalist punk bands in the late '90s: By adhering to their ideals, they leave themselves little room for artistic growth, which means all their albums pretty much sound the same. In the case of Pennywise, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, since they're a very good, very tight band. Even if their albums are similar, they're all enjoyable, which means Straight Ahead is a solid record that will please fans, even if it does raise the question of where the band should go from here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Representative Songs: "Look Straight Ahead", "Hot House", "Children of the Forest Rain
Biography
An all-female quartet/quintet whose most prominent graduate was violinist Regina Carter, Straight Ahead performed music that ranged from bop to poppish, modern jazz to R&B and fusion. The group came together in Detroit in 1987. Comprised of lead singer Cynthia Dewberry (who also played flute), violinist Carter, keyboardist Eileen Orr, bassist Marion Hayden-Banfield, and drummer Gayelynn McKinney (all of the musicians also sang), Straight Ahead was a finalist in the 1989 Sony Innovators competition. The following year they opened for Nina Simone at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the '90s Straight Ahead recorded three albums for Atlantic; Carter left before the final one and the group had become less active by the late '90s. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Straight Ahead is the fifth Studio album by the Americanpunk rock band Pennywise. It was released on June 1, 1999 and features the radio hit single "Alien". The album was released by Epitaph Records, their long-time record label.
