Bad Religion
"Suffer"
1988, Epitaph Records
"Suffer" is 26 minutes of fast, stripped down, intellectual punk rock, as well as one of the best comeback albums in the history of punk (it was the band's first release in 4 years, and their first as a quintet). Greg Graffin's rants against mainstream society are dangerously accurate and relevant across the globe. You don't have to live in Southern California to understand the messages of "Land Of Competition", "How Much Is Enough?", "1,000 More Fools", etc. footnote: "Suffer" was named "Album (Record?) of the Year" by Flipside and Maximum R&R.
RATING: 9
"No Control"
1989, Epitaph Records
"No Control" follows the winning formula of "Suffer", but packs a bit more melody and heaviness. "Sanity" is a driving, mid-tempo number that allows you to catch your breath. However, the rest of the album sports a streamlined hardcore attack, blasting the listener's ears with a smooth barrage of noise while Greg Graffin delivers his "pissed-off intellectual" manifestos. Bad Religion is the perfect alternative for hardcore fans who want intelligent music (a la Minor Threat) that is actually recorded in clean audio.
RATING: 9
"Against The Grain"
1990, Epitaph Records
"Against The Grain" certainly lives up to its name, as it represents the band's furthest distance from the mainstream (although you could certainly make a case for "How Could Hell Be Any Worse"). Songs are thrown around the album in random fashion; it's probably just a coincidence that some of the best songs on the album happen to be in close proximity to each other ("Faith Alone", title track, "21st Century Digital Boy"). In terms of writing music, Graffin and {Brett} Gurewitz keep getting better although they sure threw in a fair share of tunes that are waaay uncommercial such as "Blenderhead", "God Song", and "The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" (the latter was actually penned by bassist Jay Bentley). "Positive Aspect" is a 55-second rant that could easily send your school's Spelling Bee champion racing for the dictionary (sample: "Gradiloquent in our attitude, impassioned yet inept"). However, with all the bizarre stuff aside, "Against The Grain" is still a damn good record and represents the pinnacle of intellectual punk rock.
RATING: 8
"80-85"
1991, Epitaph Records
Folks who neglected to read the warning label on this CD (explicitly stating that it is NOT a new Bad Religion album) shouldn't be griping too much, because this 28-track collection of early BR material is pretty damn good. The only major problem with this record is the sound quality. Not even CD mastering can significantly enhance a song that was recorded in one take inside someone's reeking garage (which is obviously where most of these tunes were recorded). Now the upside: "80-85" shows that even in their teens, Bad Religion had their shit together and could write scathing punk tunes that weren't without a sick sense of humor (witness Greg Graffin doing his best televangelist impression on "The Voice of God Is Government"). "Fuck Armageddon", "Drastic Actions", "Yesterday", and "Along The Way" rank as some of the best BR songs of all time and I'm sure at least 1 or 2 of those songs are still played in the band's live set. footnote: Bad Religion's ambitious (but commercially disastrous) '83 album, "Into The Unknown", is still out of print, and is the only vintage BR album that is not widely available.
RATING: 8
"Recipe For Hate"
1993, Atlantic
"Recipe For Hate" is one of the few Bad Religion albums that suffers from inconsistency. Standout cuts like "American Jesus" and "Skyscraper" simply walk all over the filler of "Looking In" and "My Poor Friend Me". The mix is also pretty bad, making Bobby Schayer's drums sound like pots and pans being dropped on a kitchen floor (I know, I know...I've used that phrase to describe other bands' music, too. But hey, I wouldn't say it unless it were true.). However, punk rockers need not fear because Bad Religion is just too good to pump out a lemon.
RATING: 7
"Stranger Than Fiction"
1994, Atlantic Records
At last...ah, there IS a god. This was the record that propelled Bad Religion into the diminutive spotlight of MTV's 120 Minutes. While not the band's best record, "Stranger Than Fiction" is probably ONE of the band's best. It sports a killer title track, an awesome (but seemingly pointless) re-recording of "Digital Boy", and a whole slew of guest performers ranging from Wayne Kramer (MC5) to Tim Armstrong (Rancid). Only a handful of filler tracks seem to mar this hallowed recording. And if you mohawked maroons thought a major label would "tame" Bad Religion...sorry, assholes. You were wrong. "Incomplete", "Television", and "Hooray For Me" sound pretty hardcore to me (gotta love the melody, too).
RATING: 8
"All Ages"
1995, Epitaph
This is Epitaph's first stab as a "greatest hits" collection, but the CD is of no use to longtime fans. Even the tracks themselves seemed to have been picked in a random fashion (the 50-second "Change Of Ideas" somehow managed to make the cut!). Contains 2 low-fidelity live versions of "Do What You Want" and "Fuck Armageddon", but most fans have heard the other 20 tracks before.
RATING: 6
"The Gray Race"
1996, Atlantic Records
Although Greg Graffin's lyrics are always a good read, Bad Religion can't help but suffer from the absence of Brett Gurewitz. After leaving in '94, punk veteran, Brian Baker, was brought in to replace him as a full-time guitarist. However, he brought little to the table as a songwriter and Greg Graffin wound up writing 95% of "The Gray Race". While the standout songs ("Walk", "Punk Rock Song", "Pity The Dead", and several others) manage to save the CD from mediocrity, "The Gray Race" isn't quite on par with it's predecessor, "Stranger Than Fiction". Also, Bad Religion's music is gradually becoming slower as time drags on.
RATING: 7
"No Substance"
1998, Atlantic Records
While initially stimulating, "No Substance" is merely a continution of the band's semi-downward spiral. Sure, many tunes have good hooks (at least, when you hear them for the first time), but Bad Religion's lyrics are becoming more recycled and utterly predictable. The laughable "Mediocre Minds" and the sunny power-pop of "In So Many Ways" are clear indications that Bad Religion is in just a little bit of a rut and could benefit either from Gurewitz's return or a stylistic retreat into blazing hardcore. Needless to say, though: The album doesn't suck, because Bad Religion is so good that even their worse efforts are still above average in the grand scheme of things.
RATING: 6.5
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