The Offspring Gone Away: 2021 EP Review

The Offspring released a song called “Gone Away” originally in 1997, and much like other songs on the album, it became a sure hit that the band has continued to play to this day. In the recent decade or so, artists have been recreating previous songs from their catalog in new ways in order to freshen up songs that are crucial to their fame or important to the band for other reasons. Recently, for The Offspring, in 2021, the band released an EP that circulated around the song from 1997, along with updated versions as well. Below, we’ve gone into detail on the four variations of the hit song from The Offspring and not only what separated them from each other but also what makes each one so unique in our review of The Offspring’s “Gone Away: 2021 EP”.

Gone Away 2021

We were first introduced to this unique EP, at least for The Offspring, with the newly redone version of their 1997 hit song “Gone Away” which has an immediately different feel and atmosphere compared to the original. The original “Gone Away” was from the highlight of the band’s interesting and one-of-a-kind punk/alternative sound at the time but this version was much slower and less aggressive. “Gone Away 2021” was certainly created in the reminder of darker times and that we are currently in a dark situation that may be, or at least feel, relevant to the feeling surrounding the original feels when creating the track. Outside of “Gone Away: 2021 EP”, The Offspring also released a full-length album, “Let The Bad Times Roll” in 2021 as well, making it a busier year than usual for the band. Ultimately, I decided to review “Gone Away: 2021 EP” over the new full-length due to the higher impactfulness of this EP, compared to a brand new album.

Gone Away 2021 (Live)

“Gone Away 2021 (Live)”, as clearly stated in the title is the live version of the new variation of the track that originally debuted in 1997 on The Offspring’s album, “Ixnay On The Hombre” with a few other noticeable hits such as, “All I Want”. The live version that we’re discussed specifically here is simply the live version of the new version. However, the atmosphere was so much different on this version of “Gone Away” that you could feel the presence of a packed arena hearing this version of the song for the first time and hearing it live made all the difference I’m sure. While the song in its original form may have covered the same topic of death as “Gone Away 2021 (Live)” but it could be judged by how the singer addressed the crowd that losses due to COVID caused the song to resonate with the artist differently. The Offspring recorded the live rendition of “Gone Away” at a venue called The Brooklyn Bowl in Tennessee, which can be witnessed from the official live music video below.

Gone Away Alternative 2021

Possibly the most interesting track out of the entire “Gone Away 2021” EP from The Offspring would be the “Gone Away Alternative 2021″ version as it featured a great combination of the band’s newer sound to their older sound that gained them their fame. Overall, the alternative version out of the new renditions of the track noticeably featured more strings than its also newly-released counterpart showing an ever more slowed-down version of ‘Gone Away” for The Offspring’s “Gone Away 2021 EP. For our “Gone Away 2021 EP” review I’d have to say that while this version stuck out the least at first, upon recognizing the differences, this version specifically feels like the rawest. To most, especially at first, the two versions may sound almost identical but as they are technically the same rendition of the same song, just composed differently, it’s entirely justified to feel such a way about either of the two renditions. Spotify stats show that this rendition has gotten the least attention, and total plays, so it appears that the general listener of The Offspring may feel that way.

Gone Away 1997 Original

Interestingly enough, the Gone Away 2021 EP featured the original Gone Away track as well which was great and instantly made this a companion EP to itself. While surely most fans that listen to the EP would already be fans of the band and aware of the original track, there’s also the possibility of people discovering the “Gone Away 2021 EP” as a whole. Anyone that would be discovering the EP as a whole will also be discovering the track for the first time or they will be reminded of the track more effectively after hearing the original accompanied by the new versions of the hit track from The Offspring. Overall, the original version of “Gone Away” will always carry a heavy, possibly heavier weight compared to the other renditions, but the newer renditions of the hit 90s track from The Offspring also hold a certain amount of emotion within them.