on the New York punk of the 70's and early 80's. At a show in Poughkeepsie, New York on July 27, 2010, Ness revealed that the new Social Distortion album would be called Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes and also promised a November release date. A September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine claimed the album would be released on November 23, 2010. However, Ness later said that its release date had been pushed back to January 2011. In October 2010, Social Distortion announced that Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes would be released on January 18, 2011. They also mentioned that "Machine Gun Blues" would be the album's first single and available for download via iTunes on November 16. Reception 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." The album reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 46'366 copies in its first week, marking Social Distortion's first ever top-10 album and highest ever peak on that chart in their entire 33-year career. Track listing Personnel Mike Ness – lead guitar, vocals Jonny Wickersham – rhythm guitar Brent Harding – bass Josh Freese – drums, percussion (credited for playing on the album, but not as a member of the band) Danny McGough - organ, piano (credited for playing on the album) Female vocals by Kandace Lindsey and Ijeoma Njaka (on "California (Hustle And Flow)" and "Can't Take it with You") Cover art by Russell Lee Charts References Social Distortion albums Epitaph Records albums 2011 albums