| Good Charlotte Good Morning Revival |
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 | Tracklist:
1. Good Morning Revival
2. Misery
3. The River
4. Dance Floor Anthem
5. Keep Your Hands off my Girl
6. Victims of Love
7. Where Would We Be?
8. Break Her Heart
9. All Black
10. A Beautiful Place
11. Something Else
12. Broken Hearts Parade
13. March On
| Ranking: #174 for 2007 | |
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On 1 Lists
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| Summary: Good Charlotte still isn't too good. |
6 of 10 thought this review was well written
For one of the deadly sins, greed has a surprising number of points in the plus column. It's especially, perhaps exclusively true in the art world. Dostoevsky wrote some of his works to pay off the gambling debts that plagued him all his life. Many of the famousRenaissance artists were paid to paint their masterpieces. And what would popular music be without the ever-present desire for more money? The Rolling Stones and Aerosmiths of the world would have far less trademark swagger and cocky bravado without waves of cash rolling in faster than they can book another greatest hits tour. Without the wealth and excess Jay-Z yearned for on Reasonable Doubt, would he have ever had the motivation to give us the Blueprint? And on the flipside of that, if Fugazi, Gang of Four, and their underground bretheren weren't so repulsed by the world's lust for status through possessions, they'd have nothing to get passionate about. No passion equals no music. Therefore, greed is good. But only sometimes.
Yes, for all the classics that society's big-spending ways have inadvertently helped come to fruition, there's still the 'root of all evil' side to greed, and it manifests itself quite openly in Good Charlotte. Never pretending to be anything more than an opportunity for a quick and substantial cash grab, the band released their first effort of snotty, power-chord Hot Topic punk in 2000, less than one year before fellow eyeliner fans and musical peers Blink-182 released their fifth. At the time, the latter band's star had been rising and was just about to peak, so what better time for Good Charlotte to capitalize with an album full of the exact same music? The chameleon act suited them through their nearly identical sophomore release, The Young and the Hopeless - nothing more needs to be said about the jaw-dropping chutzpah of "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous," a song decrying the excesses of fame and fortune which topped the charts as the band publicly enjoyed their success on any TV channel that would have them.
However, as hindsight taught us, mall punk couldn't rule the world forever, and when it came time for their third album, the band threw in a couple of curveballs (pianos! Strings!), but couldn't replicate the triple-platinum success of Hopeless. Away they went into hibernation, waiting for a new trend to take Billboard by storm. In a fairly unexpected development, new wave of all things came back into fashion. Gone were the baggy jeans and t-shirts favored by Mark Hoppus and company, replaced by the stripes, sweater vests and occasional synths of Franz Ferdinand and their ilk. Good Charlotte seemed a lost cause by now. Were they really calculating and desperate enough to shed their seasoned Warped Tour skins and hop on the dance-pop bandwagon? Of course they were, which brings us to their fourth and latest album, the self-consciously titled Good Morning Revival.
First and foremost, the band is far too late to the party. The aforementioned Franz Ferdinand gave us their debut three years ago, and since then the new-new-wave movement has seen more than its share of hangers-on, from the mediocre Bloc Party to the downright awful, lifeless music of She Wants Revenge and the Bravery. Unfortunately for Good Charlotte, Good Morning Revival plays like a fourth-tier version of the latter bands. It's surface music at its most painful; the winking charm and wit that made stars out of Franz and the Killers is completely absent from the music on Good Morning, which simply skims the keyboards and fashionable posturing from its influences and tries to infuse them into the stale festival rock they can't let go of. It makes for a strange fit, and their generally upbeat music clashes with the blasé zombie-rock they're trying to incorporate. First single "The River" shamelessly lifts the chorus hook from "These Things" by She Wants Revenge for its second verse, and though Good Charlotte makes it catchier, they sound awkward trying to scream lines like "I've done a lot of things wrong/but I swear I'm a believer... I'm trying to find my way back home." It doesn't mesh with the apathetic aesthetic they're grasping for, and the song sounds forced and unconvincing as a result. "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl," with its groan-inducing declaration of "let the record play!" and half-rapped vocals, fares even worse. The falsetto-sung chorus and attempts at menacing guitar work send the song directly into self-parody territory, but what's disturbing is that nobody realized it.
And so the album goes, with few stylistic changes to be found. The band brings out their sensitive sides on the schmaltzy, nearly-unlistenable ballad "March On," and on the surprising "Beautiful Place," a bizarre piece of orchestral pop that channels, of all bands, indie heroes du jour the Shins. It's a nice change of pace, but not enough to save an album that cements Good Charlotte's reputation as one of the most mercenary bands currently operating. As "The River" and the "Dance Floor Anthem" indicate, they're still capable of writing decent hooks, but whether or not their fans will see through the thin veneer of their new sound is a different story.
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Album Rating: 3
For a first review, this is a threesome and a half to read.
But there is way too much intro and back story, and not enough on the music. But you did your best to represent how Good Charlotte tried to mold a sound to fit in.
Digging: Bon Jovi - Crossroad | | |
This is DMD, if I'm not mistaken. Did you get perm banned?
Really good review, the single wasn't bad, but I'm told it's one of the better songs on the CD. I may or not listen to this.
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Nacho, I still don't know why you removed your other reviews (was it for a college portfolio?), but great work all the same.
Digging: Butch Walker - I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart
| | | Album Rating: 2
yeah, I didn't want searches to bring them up and cause unnecessary confusion
and thank you very muchThis Message Edited On 03.23.07
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Excellent review.
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Nice tagline there.
Digging: Shrinebuilder - Shrinebuilder
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good charlote is not punk
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I think everyone here is well aware of that.
Digging: Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill
| | | Album Rating: 2
they still suck but its a definite improvement!
| | | Album Rating: 2
I'm not sure I agree with aspects of your review, like i agree the ablum is a bit bad, I think they are better than they were but still awful, but the FF and Bloc Party comparisons feel fairly umfounded to me. This Message Edited On 08.16.07
| | | Album Rating: 1
These guys are so bad. Why is that dance floor song so f'cking infectious? It's like getting Sean Paul stuck in your head, except Sean Paul can sing.
| | | Album Rating: 1
only decent song is "The River", but its credibility comes from the Avenged Sevenfold colaboration.
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
if someone ate a pile of tacos and cheese, threw it up onto a hot sidewalk left it to fester for a few days then scooped it up and put it in a CD case then it would be slightly less obscenely crappy than this album.
GC SUCKS THE BIG ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
HAHAHA this album just sucks so hard. The only good song on it is "The River".
Digging: In Vain - Mantra | | | Album Rating: 1.5
lol i have actually tried to listen to it multiple times and each time it gets worse and worse!
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