Against the Grain | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 23, 1990 | |||
Recorded | May 1990 | |||
Studio | Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 34:56 | |||
Label | Epitaph | |||
Producer | Bad Religion | |||
Bad Religion chronology | ||||
|
Against the Grain is the fifth album (and seventh release overall) by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on November 23, 1990. [3] It was the last album recorded with drummer Pete Finestone, who left in 1991 to concentrate with his new project The Fishermen. Following his departure, the band's music would take a different direction on their next album, 1992's Generator . Against the Grain was also the first Bad Religion album not to feature a lineup change from the previous two albums.
Despite no promotion by radio and television, Against the Grain managed to sell over 100,000 copies. A tiny part of the album's title track is played in a segment of the same name on The Dan Patrick Show .
Bad Religion released their fourth studio album No Control in 1989, which went on to sell 60,000 copies. [4]
Writing and demoing for Against the Grain began in 1989, [5] [6] and Bad Religion entered Westbeach Recorders in May 1990 to record the album. Against the Grain is one of the few Bad Religion albums to feature songs not written by Greg Graffin or Brett Gurewitz. One song is written by bass player Jay Bentley alone, whereas another is co-written by Bentley and Greg Hetson. According to Bentley, with the band's building popularity, they received an offer from a member of the E Street Band. Said member wanted the band to re-record Against the Grain with him as the producer, and also proposed re-writing the songs. [4]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Alternative Rock | 7/10 [8] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [11] |
Against the Grain was released shortly after the conclusion of the No Control tour which had lasted until the middle of 1990. The album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's success with their 1988 post-reunion album Suffer and its 1989 follow-up No Control . While Against the Grain still failed to break Bad Religion into mainstream audiences, it was the first 100,000 seller, and showed how quickly they were growing. By 1992, the album had sold approximately 90,000 copies. [12]
The album has received generally favorable reviews in the years since its initial release. AllMusic's Johnny Loftus said that Against the Grain "found the band's edge honed sharper than it had been in years", and claimed that "Bad Religion had always warned against the excesses of the future and the assimilation of individuality. But the gospel cut deeper with Against the Grain. Songs began in an instant, with the single crack of a snare drum signaling the beginning of another screed." [7] Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote: "This album goes anywhere but [against the grain]. The now-trademarked multi-part harmonies emerge full born, and though the songs remain frenetic, the sound is brighter, bigger, verging on anthemic." [8]
The album's 13th track, "21st Century (Digital Boy)", was re-recorded and appeared as a single on their eighth full-length studio album Stranger Than Fiction , released in 1994, four years after the release of Against the Grain. [13]
The album cover of Against the Grain depicts rows of corn that, with the exception of one, bear right-facing, missile-tipped stalks. The lone ear of corn faces left.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Modern Man" | Greg Graffin | 1:57 |
2. | "Turn on the Light" | Brett Gurewitz | 1:24 |
3. | "Get Off" | Graffin | 1:42 |
4. | "Blenderhead" | Gurewitz | 1:12 |
5. | "The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" | Jay Bentley | 0:57 |
6. | "Anesthesia" | Gurewitz | 3:02 |
7. | "Flat Earth Society" | Gurewitz | 2:21 |
8. | "Faith Alone" | Graffin | 3:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
9. | "Entropy" | Graffin | 2:23 |
10. | "Against the Grain" | Graffin | 2:07 |
11. | "Operation Rescue" | Graffin | 2:06 |
12. | "God Song" | Graffin | 1:37 |
13. | "21st Century (Digital Boy)" | Gurewitz | 2:49 |
14. | "Misery and Famine" | Graffin | 2:34 |
15. | "Unacceptable" | Greg Hetson, Bentley | 1:44 |
16. | "Quality or Quantity" | Graffin | 1:33 |
17. | "Walk Away" | Gurewitz | 1:50 |
Total length: | 34:56 |
Adapted from the album liner notes. [14]
Label | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|
Epitaph Records | November 23, 1990 | The tray card features an image of an arrow behind a corn in purple background. The back cover has the same image, but the background is white and the corn is yellow. The lyrics and the credits can be seen in the booklet as well as images of the band members. |
Epitaph Records | April 6, 2004 | Remastered, along with How Could Hell Be Any Worse? , Suffer , No Control and Generator . Same as above, except this version features a different front cover and the track listing, which can be seen inside the tray card. |
Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and extensive use of three-part vocal harmonies. The band has experienced multiple line-up changes, with singer Greg Graffin being the band's only constant member, though fellow founding members Jay Bentley and Brett Gurewitz have also been with the band for most of their history while guitarist Brian Baker has been a member of the group since 1994. Guitarist Mike Dimkich and drummer Jamie Miller have been members of the band since 2013 and 2015 respectively. To date, Bad Religion has released seventeen studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, three EPs, and two live DVDs. They are considered to be one of the best-selling punk rock acts of all time, having sold over five million albums worldwide.
Generator is the sixth studio album by the punk rock band Bad Religion. Although the album was completed in the spring of 1991, it was not released until 1992; the band was not happy with the artwork and packaging, and went through several ideas that were eventually scrapped. Generator was the band's first release with drummer Bobby Schayer, who replaced Pete Finestone during the Against the Grain tour.
Suffer is the third album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on the Californian independent record label Epitaph Records on September 8, 1988. It was the first album that was both released and distributed by the label. Following the release of the EP Back to the Known (1985), Bad Religion went on a temporary hiatus, then reunited with its original members and went to work on their first full-length studio album in five years.
Gregory Walter Graffin is an American singer and evolutionary biologist. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and only constant member of punk rock band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980. He embarked on a solo career in 1997, when he released the album American Lesion. His follow-up album, Cold as the Clay, was released nine years later. His newest solo work is Millport, released in 2017.
Brett W. Gurewitz, nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums for Bad Religion as well as Epitaph Records labelmates NOFX, Rancid, and Pennywise, among others. Gurewitz also had a project called Error, which also featured Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Greg Puciato. He is also the co-founder of comic book and graphic novel publisher, Black Mask Studios.
Stranger than Fiction is the eighth full-length studio album and major label debut by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released in 1994. It was a major breakthrough for Bad Religion, being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and becoming the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at 87.
The New America is the eleventh studio album by punk band Bad Religion. It was released in 2000 and is their last album on Atlantic Records.
No Control is the fourth album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on November 2, 1989, through Epitaph Records. Bad Religion began work on the album while touring in support of their previous album, Suffer (1988). No Control is stylistically faster than its predecessor, owing more to hardcore punk. Additionally, it was the first Bad Religion album not to feature a lineup change from the previous album.
Recipe for Hate is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on June 4, 1993. It was their last album on Epitaph Records for nine years and the band had switched to Atlantic Records, who re-released the album several months after its release.
The Gray Race is the ninth full-length album of the punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released in 1996. It was the follow-up to the band's highly successful 1994 album Stranger Than Fiction.
No Substance is the tenth full-length album by the punk rock band Bad Religion. It was the band's third release on Atlantic Records, and their second studio album since guitarist Brett Gurewitz's departure.
Into the Unknown is the second studio album by Bad Religion, which was released on November 30, 1983. The album marks a distinct departure from the band's previous album; instead of featuring hardcore punk, the album is characterized by slower tempos, use of electronic organ and pianos, and a prog-influenced hard rock sound. Into the Unknown is the only Bad Religion album to feature Paul Dedona on bass and Davy Goldman on drums. Dedona was ejected from the band before their next recording and replaced by Tim Gallegos, while former drummer Pete Finestone returned to the band in 1986. The album also features Bad Religion's longest track to date, "Time and Disregard", which is seven minutes long.
Greg Hetson is an American guitarist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has lived in the Los Angeles area since he was 2 years old. He is Jewish. Active since 1979, Hetson is best known as the guitarist for the influential hardcore punk bands Redd Kross, Circle Jerks and Bad Religion. He is known for his high energy stage antics which people have coined the term "The Hetson Leap". Hetson was a founding member of and also plays guitar in another supergroup, Punk Rock Karaoke, and the hardcore punk band G.F.P.
How Could Hell Be Any Worse? is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on January 19, 1982 by Epitaph Records. Released almost a year after their self-titled EP, it was financed from the sales of the self titled EP and partly by a $1,000 loan by guitarist Brett Gurewitz's father. Its success surprised the band when it sold 10,000 copies in under a year.
Back to the Known is the second EP released by American punk rock band Bad Religion. The name of the EP is a reference to the band abandoning the progressive rock influences of its previous album, 1983's Into the Unknown, and returning to its punk roots.
Tested is a live album by punk rock band Bad Religion. It was recorded in the USA, Canada, Germany, Estonia, Denmark, Italy and Austria, in 1996, and released in 1997. It is Bad Religion's second live album. Instead of using crowd microphones and mobile studios like most live albums, the band tapped the inputs, for a result that portrays Bad Religion's live sound without crowd noise. It also includes three new songs; "Dream of Unity," "It's Reciprocal," and the title track.
Live at the Palladium is a live concert DVD by the punk band Bad Religion, released in March 2006. It features footage from two nights at the Palladium in Hollywood, California on November 21 and 22, 2004.
80–85 is the first compilation album by Bad Religion, released in 1991. It is a collection of their early recordings, predating their third studio album Suffer (1988), excluding their controversial 1983 album Into the Unknown.
Christmas Songs is the third EP album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released October 29, 2013 on Epitaph Records. It is their first full-length Christmas album, featuring eight covers of seasonal songs and an "Andy Wallace mix" version of "American Jesus". This is also the first Bad Religion album not to feature Greg Hetson on guitar since 1983's Into the Unknown, although he appears on "American Jesus", and the first time they recorded as a five-piece since 2000's The New America. Christmas Songs is also Bad Religion's final release with Brooks Wackerman on drums.
Citations
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Sources