Good Morning Revival [CD]

I have been a massive fan since their debut which is over 10 years ago and having been very dissapointed with 2004's The Chronicles Of Life And Death, I had pretty much given up on them producing anything decent.

However, I was really surprised to hear a brilliant mix of traditional GC with some newer influences on this album. To me, they have explored new ground in every song, with a no-filler effect.

There are many stand out tracks to choose from, with their releases obviously being up there (Keep Your Hands Off My Girl, which has only grown on me since first hearing it, and The River, which is pure class). But songs such as Break Apart Her Heart, Victims Of Love and Dance Floor Anthem have captivated a much wider audience with their redesigned melodies. This is without mentioning crowd pleaser, All Black or the softer sound of March On (Benji's solo writing debut).

They've finally mastered the art of slower songs- instead of droning for 5 minutes (Mountain, anyone?) songs like March On or Where Would We Be Now have a much more appealing sound.

Furthermore, Joel has pushed his vocal capacity to his full potential on this record which enhances each and every song.

Somehow, Good Morning Revival, for all it's diversity, manages to make each song meld into the next in a complementary sort of way.

New sounds, more instrumental skill, a better vocal range and a wealth of song writing experience has made Good Morning Revival a masterpiece. Anyone listening would never guess it was by GC, but at the same time they have returned to their roots.

Good Charlotte have excelled themselves, and Good Morning Revival shows them at the pinnacle of their career so far.

This is my first Good Charlotte CD, which I bought on the strength of the first single and a T4 show where they played a few tracks live. I liked what I had heard but was expecting to be disappointed by an album that was probably a bit one dimensional content wise. How wrong I was. This is a great album, make no mistake, from first to last. It has everything, from punk rock songs to pure pop songs (although Coldplay should consider suing over a couple of the tunes :-). They're obviously growing as songwriters, performers and people and that shows in the diversity of music, ideas and emotions on offer here. Angry, moody and miserable are also joined by loving, reflective and, dare I say it...happy (?) on this record and they all sit nicely together thank you very much.

Another reviewer said that only 14 year old girls would like this, but I'm 42 and proud that I still listen to all kinds of music, good and bad, and then decide. I suggest that you do the same because, for my money, this is good....very good. Buy it and do yourself a favour.

:-)

In my opinion, the overall GC sound has improved; it is more uplifting. I really didn't like that emo aura, and the last album was quite depressing, except for the fantastic Mountain. This album was produced by Don Gilmore and mixed by Andy Wallace, which is the same combination as Linkin Park's Meteora, which is a much better album. It goes to show how good these guys are together. One main replacement in the band for this album was the drummer Dean Butterworth stepping in for Chris Wilson. He has to be the 2nd best drummer the band has ever had on an album, behind the very talented Josh Freese. As a result the drumming is far better and far more live sounding, rather than technical, like on the last album. They have almost changed to a dance beat as a result, although Benji is embarrassed to admit it. The guitars are also better and more live sounding, rather than the low droning chords on most of the last album. This album is supposed to be about hope, but every song has at least some negativity in it. Compared to TCOLAD I guess this is a `revival', with a more upbeat and hopeful sound for the band.

Good morning revival opens the album with loads of computerised noises and piano. Joel opens with 'You're tired of running...' and ends with 'keep your sadness alive', which is a good build up for the negative Misery. A song about keeping sadness alive. It doesn't really make sense, but gives a cynical view of the world.
The river is supposed to be a Christian revival song. I have nothing against that but it has turned out to sound really annoying. Every GC fan raves about this song, but personally I don't like it. The fact that they mixed their thoughts on LA in the verses with being baptised and a believer in the chorus, is a terrible combination. If you want a song about LA then listen to Yellowcard - Lights and sounds or City of devils. The first verse and the chorus is pretty good, but as soon as M Shadows comes into the song it's ruined. He is the worst vocalist ever! I thought Chad Kreuger from Nickelback needed lozenges but this guy takes the cake. The bridge is horrible and with Both Shadows and Joel trying to scream it is awful. The screeching guitar is also irritating. Personally I don't like it but I think the Chipmunk re-mix is fantastic!
Dance floor anthem is a dance song. It sounds pretty good musically, unlike The river. The song is about a broken relationship and how love is bringing them back together. The chorus is silly, about not wanting to be in love. It's probably one of the nicest sounding on the album.
Keep your hands off my girl sounds like some underground club track. For me, this song is better than The river. Joel is cheating with this guy's girl in the lyrics.
Victims of love is good. The verses are drum and bass.
Where would we be now is really soppy. The fact that it's about Hilary Duff is pretty useless. Joel is like the beach boys; he gets around!
Break apart her heart is one of the best sounding songs on the album. It's about the only way to keep a girl is by breaking her heart.
All black is a song with lyrics that could've been on a less upbeat track on The chronicles of life and death. It has quite a good sound, if not a little dark with the opening droning organ.
Beautiful place is very different to the other songs on the album. There's something about this song that makes it sound like a country song. Both this song and Where would we be now have Coldplay type piano and beats.
Something else has a nice sound. A very different concept to Eddie Cochran's Somethin' else. It is about how we are never satisfied no matter what we have in life. It is not very hopeful in my view. The bass is standoout. If you listen closely the bass line sounds really jazzy and clever.
Broken hearts parade is the most uplifting song on the album. It is a dark but fun song which is a fine contrast. The trumpets are very unlike Good Charlotte, and a standout song.
March on is supposedly a song for the fans. It represents tough times and marching on through them for the better. It depicts Benji and Joel singing about how they never had their daddy there in the cold night where they were starving. I think it has to be exaggerated, even if they did go through some hard times. Makes it sound more `gangsta' than it really is! Movin' on was a song with the same concept and that sounds twice as good. I think this song is actually quite depressing whereas Movin' on was an uplifting and motivating song.

I think that Good Charlotte reached their potential with The young and the hopeless, and then with a few songs on TCOLAD. I think that their songs are definitely not better than the second album, and if they could just mature and become ambitious then they would be twice the band they are. If they could just take the ambition of Ryan Key then they would be so much better. I can't see how a band near 30 years old can be satisfied making dance rock. Whatever makes them happy, and if the fans are happy then good luck to them. I am not happy though. Although this is a better album than TCOLAD, it is less effective. The band do have a nicer sound, but they are not there to change the way people are thinking and that's what they should do. Thanks for reading.