Customer Reviews

The Chronicles of Life & Death (Life Art Version)

5 star:		(123)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(146)

 

 

This was my first Good Charlotte album and I think they are really talented! Yes, yes, I know, I have read many times on several web sites that GC fans are disappointed that the band didn't put out an album so similar to their previous ones; but they have the right to experiment and try to spread their wings, too.

I don't know; maybe this is better suited for the older guys like myself (I'm in my forties). I know; punk is great and I want to hear Good Charlotte do some of that on their other CDs after being turned onto the band with this CD. Yet give the band a chance to try other types of songs and if they really fall down they'll go back to what they were doing before--there's hope, long time Good Charlotte fans!

The CD opens with an eerie sounding instrumental track and then goes into "The Chronicles Of Life And Death," a very good song about the life cycle we all experience. The songs on the CD have a strong, self-confident feeling to them that isn't cocky, either. The group has a great song about angst in "In This World (Murder)." The ending of the CD actually depends on which version you buy--there are two versions, the "Life Art" version and the "Death Art" version. Be sure to wait a few minutes for the last song on the CD; it doesn't come right away (at least not on the "Life Art" version).

The liner notes include the lyrics--a definite plus! There are drawings by Billy Martin that actually aren't so bad.

If you're a fan who just HAS to have Good Charlotte doing the type of music they have been doing, then you do need to skip this CD. However, if you want to see them try their hand at other types of music, at least for a while, then try this CD! I also recommend it highly for older rock fans--even as old as I am! GRIN

Will this be a call to the band to go back to their original style? Will they keep on trying new things? Whatever, they are obviously really talented and I want them to ROCK ON!

I just scanned through the reviews posted for both versions of this CD. Such passionate opinions of love or hate! These boys MUST be doing something right to evoke such response! I posted a review on the Death Version CD 10/04 (Spread your Wings) but I felt the need to expound on Life Version posts. I believe I can clarify a few things with some absolute statements along with opinion, but first, I would like to say, good grief, educate yourself before reviewing an artist.
1. The first track was written to be recorded in Japanese. A Japanese choir recorded it. GOOD CHARLOTTE DID NOT SING OR PLAY ON THIS TRACK.
2. Everyone has a right to opinion. (If you do not like the music, that is ok. If you do not 'get' the music, that is ok. If you DO like an artists' music, that is ok too. No one has to defend his or her personal taste in music.)
3. With some artists, if you do not understand the people behind the music/lyrics, sometimes you can't understand the music/lyrics. GC is such a band. GC founders and lyric writers Benji and Joel Madden are influenced by family traumas, spirituality, and often make social commentary in lyrics.
4. Sometimes lyrics are spiritual reference, tongue in cheek, allegory, metaphors, or plain out sarcasm, folks. Yes, Good Charlotte is quite well aware they wrote a political commentary called "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," and that they ARE now the rich and famous. The irony is not lost on them. Listen to the lyrics of I Just Wanna Live.
5. Questionable taste and judgment by a band member in dating underage girls (Hilary Duff) has nothing to do with the CD.
6. Fashion choices, piercings, and tattoos have nothing to do with the CD.
7. These young men are smart, business oriented, and ambitious. Of course, they are going to market their merchandise. They have an artistic bend and pursue their muses, but their art is their career. This is their JOB. (Do you not work to make money?)
8. These young men sought fame and fortune. It was a GOAL. Of course, they are going to appear 'on the video, or the radio, in the magazines, on the movie screens.' (What does the latest special appearance have to do with the content of the CD one is supposed to be reviewing?)
9. Punk, Rock, or Pop? (Who cares? The music industry labels bands, and the punk label was an up and coming hot commodity when this band hit the scenes.) GC built its fan base not on MTV, but by blood and sweat touring quite a few years ago. Many bands they toured with were labeled punk. Their fan base got them on MTV. GC is influenced heavily by many facets and genres including punk and hip hop. (Today's modern 'punk' genre is pretty much a joke all around to anyone that actually knows the history of punk music. I find it funny that bands that a few years ago fell under the alternative label are now called 'punk.' Eschew labels, folks.)
10. There are better bands than GC. There are worst bands than GC.
11. A CD review should not be written based on the fact that you think a band member is a hottie.
12. A CD review should not be written based on the fact that you can't understand why the girls in your English class think a band member is hot.
13. Comments such as "Good Charlotte is gay" is not a review.
14. To find a hidden track on a CD: After the last labeled/numbered track plays, let the 'dead air' play. The hidden track will eventually play. You cannot skip to hidden tracks as they are not programmed by a number. You must play through the dead air. The only short cut is to memorize the run time of dead air between the last numbered track and when the hidden track begins. Then you can fast forward to right before the hidden track begins. If you own other GC CD's, employ the same method to find the hidden tracks on those CD's also.

You may ask what right do I have to make such definitive statements and opinions?

1. I am not a moron that bases my opinion of a band's MUSIC and LYRICS on anything other than their MUSIC and LYRICS.
2. I respect others right to taste in music. I can respect the right but not agree with their taste.
3. I take the time to educate myself before offering an opinion on something I do not comprehend.
4. I have eclectic taste in music, and an open mind to sample all varieties. If I do not like it, I do not listen to it again. I do not go online and post ignorant and/or hate filled reviews.
5. I, too, have a right to express my opinion.

Darn ran out of room. OK, so there's two versions of the record and the only difference is one different bonus track on each one? What kind of sick corporate money-grubbing chart-hungry ruse is this?! Your gonna make the kids buy this record twice, so they can have two different bonus tracks? How dare you con the public like that?! If you truly cared about your fans you wouldn't dupe such tender young minds like that. I realize that you have tattoos and piercings and that makes you look "punk" but that's about it. You've done the most un-punk thing ever...insulted your fans' intelligence. Now the music. I guess it's OK for young kids who like guitars and melody. It's not too horrible. The kids are alright and are on the right track and I commend them for it. Eventually Good Charlotte, they will find a better way and the suits will lead you astray into bargain bin depression. So to you guys who bought this record (God forbid you forced your hard-working parents into buying both) because these corporate monkey-puppets brainwashed you into doing it, I say you leave them behind. They don't care about you or your feelings. They don't have any insight into your inner psyche or the human condition. These guys are transparent, have no substance and are the musical equivalent to the chocolate chip pop-tart you ate running out to your school bus. Delicious and sweet but two hours later, you hunger for something with some sustanence. When they sign an autograph for you, they see only dollar signs in your happy eyes. Why else would they release the same record twice? How much was the ticket to the show? Was it a bargain? Did they do anything else but play the songs with some fancy lights on them and say "We love you guys!" "We have the best fans ever!"? Probably not. They were trained to say that to you anyway. You see, Jennifer or Josh, there's this thing called the marketing machine and you are the bulls-eye in their sights. You are buying into the Heart of Darkness and Kurt, he's dead. It's a sad band, founded upon nothing, representing nothing and giving nothing back to you except a piece of plastic with some carefully phrased target-researched emotional lyrics to make you think these guys are the real deal. Now I don't know these guys and maybe they are cool but I get the feeling they are tools and have no real interest in making something of some considerable musical power. There are in it to win it and sister you're the grand prize.

Change can be good. Green Day's "American Idiot" was one of their best, and blink-182 (finally) showed some maturity with their self-titled album. After all, artists have to reinvent themselves every once and a while, right?

This isn't the case, however, with Good Charlotte.

The band would have been a lot better if they had just stayed making the spunky, pop-rock music they'd been producing before. They weren't the greatest band in the world and they knew it, they just did their thing and made music. I respect them for that.

First of all, this CD is not, in any way, PUNK. It's emo, and emo at its worst at that. This album sounds like a ripoff of My Chemical Romance...personally, I'd rather they copy Green Day like they did in their older records than My Chemical Romance, because they are even worse at doing emo than they are at alternative/punk. Just about every track on this album has an "I'm depressed, everybody hates meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" feel to it, and there's even a little falsetto here and there...and trust me, Joel Madden is no Freddie Mercury.

I think this band has been relying more on image than their music. I see pictures of them everywhere, but I hardly ever hear their songs on the radio, and the instrumentals are poorly structured, just barely supporting the even more poorly written lyrics. First of all, tattoos and facial piercings don't make you any more "punk"...in fact, the most successful punk bands of all time (Ramones, Sex Pistols, etc.) had hardly any tattoos/piercings at all. Does it make any difference in how the music sounds? No. Even if Benji Madden was a preppy blonde kid with no tattoos/piercings whatsoever, the music would still sound the same. Besides, you can't see the "artists" while they're singing, so what's the point?

Overall, not a good CD...but hey, that's just me. If you like the whole emo trend, I'd go for My Chemical Romance's "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" or even Taking Back Sunday or Hawthorne Heights, they at least have SOME talent. If you liked Good Charlotte's older stuff, and are into pop-punk, try The Ramones or Green Day. Anything but this garbage.

P.S. By the way, I have actually HEARD the CD, so I guess I am "giving it a chance." I had asked for rock CD's for my birthday, and I made a long list of albums by The Clash, Green Day, The Ramones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, etc...and my grandma bought me THIS. Turns out the clerk at the store she was in had reccomended it. Way to go. I listened to it once and something about it bugged me, so I listened to it a couple more times and, deciding it was horrible, gave it to my sister.

Albums are meant as a total experience. Good Charlotte's album is merely a collection of songs. Not very good songs too, I may add.

My main grouse with this is 'Where's the heart?' The album just doesn't have a soul to it at all, it's just mass produced garbage. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to mainstream music. It's the fact that soulless and pointless works like these hog the limelight away from music that truly touches lives.

Let's see. If you concur with me, click yes. If not, click no.

If you like what MTV has done to modern music, then you will like Good charlotte's recent addition. You will also probably like Avril, Britney, Eminem, Nelly, Beyonce, because your music revolves around pre-conceived scripting specifically designed to meet a wide audience. No wonder, you will find Good Charlotte at your nearest Target store.

But thats cool. Im ok with that.
But what does irritate me, is that Good Charlotte has tried for something ridiculous. Its trying to be something more than a teen pop album, and it fails miserably. Its now fallen in the middle. The teen boppers dont like the new lyrics, and those who appreciate music, well they appreciate music
and this is just a half-hearted crappy try at being anything meaningful. And the general response here on Amazon is reflective of this.

And then there is the originality issue. They have been critisized for being "green day". So now, they are taking concepts from other musicians. Thats ok, its always happening, that is how music evolves, but when the band your taking ideas from is currently at their peak and truly kicking, that is simply dirty and cheap. One example besides Green day, is MUSE.
Muse is futuristic space rock at its best... grandiose end of the world experience. Matt bellamy, lead singer, expert guitartist, genious pianist, razzle dazzles his fans interchanging between instruments in unbelievable fashion. Regarded as best Live Act in Britain! So recently, prior to the release of Good Charlotte's new album, they announce their love for Muse. Their manager probably told them to say so. And to no ones surprise (even though up until now they had shared little similarity) good charlotte releases an album with similar vocals, piano, and grandiose orchestra feel. Including a song titled "falling away", which happens to be the name of a song on Muse's last album, heck they cant even come up with their own title. But I still laugh, Good charlotte is scared, they know they have stepped into a territory far superior. This isnt Green Day, you can steal peoples ideas, but Matt bellamies technical skills are borlerline master-genious and that can not be imitated. So if you truly want to step outside the MTV box, do yourself a favour, watch Muse - Hullabaloo live DVD and thank me when you have finished picking up your jaw from the ground.

I think Good Charlotte has done their best work into this cd. This cd is clearly their most mature artwork so far. On this cd it includes 15 songs (one hidden track!), lyrics (yay!), and interesting pictures drawn by Billy Martin. There is also the interesting choice of either the life version or death version. The only difference is the last song, each unique and different. If you are a number one fan of Good Charlotte, you'll probably love this cd! It's a bit different from the first two, but definitely worth buying. It's way more mature than the other two, and you won't believe your ears! Buy this cd, you'll love it!

I think that everyone can have their own opinion on this cd, but I don't think that people should be putting the group down because they don't like what they hear. I don't appreciate people making comments saying stuff like "this group is just trying to fit in and are really sad and hopeless" or "this group sucks and should be illegal to produce this kind of music". Sure, you don't have to like Good Charlotte, but you don't need to put them down or dislike them for what they do. I think Good Charlotte works hard at their career and does an outstanding job of it. It really gets to me when people insult someone just because they don't like them, and I am sorry that people are that way. Please don't insult Good Charlotte or anyone else, they work hard for what they have and you should appreciate what they are doing for you.

After seeing most reviews state Good Charlotte are "posers", or that they are "OMG SOOOO AWESOME I LUV PUNK!!11!shift!!one!!1!", I figured I'd write a review in the defense of music that I believe is NOT like all the other mainstream crap out there.

I used to be a die-hard fan of GC. I've branched out incredibly, and I must say I barely listen to them anymore. (I listen to such a wide array, I can't say single group gets more playtime than another.) But that doesn't mean that I still don't think that Good Charlotte is an extremely talented and devoted music group. I still think that they are worth listening to. Here's why.

Let's examine the CD that I'm currently reviewing, The Chronicles of Life and Death. Hmmm, all cover art is designed by guitarist Billy Martin, and all songs are written by the band. In the catagory of authentism, that's pretty good.

Are the subjects of the songs real? Let's see.

1) Once Upon A Time: The Battle Of Life And Death- An instrumental with Japenese vocals; very different and pretty cool I might add.

2) The Chronicles of Life and Death - We live and we die; this is a song that tells it like it is. Very real.

3) Walk Away - A song stating that we can walk away from our problems but shouldn't. I can relate.

4) S.O.S. - I've read that Good Charlotte wrote this in response to letters they've received about people stating that can't take it and don't think they can go on. I think a whole lot of teens can relate to this.

5) I Just Wanna Live - Either you love it or hate it right? A little strange, but shows that the guys in GC are only out there to LIVE and to give others with the same idea an anthem.

6) Ghost of You - The first song that actually might have something to do with a girl. Beautifully written and sad. When I listen, I think of losing someone and finally coming to terms with the fact that they're never coming back.

7) Predictable - Poppy and angsty. Turns out Benji and Joel wrote this about their father that left them. Could also have something to do with a romantic relationship. Listen to this one to let your feelings out.

8) Secrets - Everybody has secrets. And that's fine right? But maybe we shouldn't, we COULD stand up to them.

9) The Truth - Okay, this one is slow and depressing. But it grows on you, because, like the title says, it's true. No lies, just the truth.

10) The World Is Black - One of my favorites because it really describes the situation the world is in with all the war and hurt, and really gets to your heart.

11) Mountain - Give up anything for love. Nice, and also, beautifully written. It's just about Love.

12) We Believe - The world is falling apart but love can save us. Some may say "cheesy", but I say "Wow, you're right."

13) It Wasn't Enough - The faith in God is unsteady with all the horrible things happening. Powerful.

14) In This World (Murder) - GC likes to write about real things that matter, and whether this is about the wrongness of abortion, or just that money isn't everything, I like it.

15) Falling Away - Someone is gradually getting farther away. A good relationship song.

And Here ends the description of songs. Let's review. Good Charlotte doesn't seem like whiny rockers to me, they seem like musicians who would like to voice their opinion of the world, and to let other people use their music as a way to let their feelings out since it's so easy to relate to.

I think GC is unlike any other band. The music is beautiful and so are the lyrics. I'd reccommend this CD to anyone, even though most bands GC are related to aren't my taste. This may be why some people who've never heard their stuff think they just whine and sing about death. No, it's just too unique.

I'm sick of people calling Good Charlotte posers or only talking about how the guys look. I'm here for the music, and the music gets an A+ with me.

Do yourself a favor, and just LISTEN to it, not all the people just trying to credit themselves by putting this band down.

I am so pissed off at hearing people say that Good Charlotte is punk rock! THEY ARE POP! Good Charlotte are 4 posers who think they're cool just because they're in a band! And all of Good Charlottes fans are nothing but posers if they think this is true punk. If you want REAL punk, then I highly highly highly recommend: The Ramones, Rancid, Less than Jake, and The Clash. I know this review is gonna get a bad rating because, I know that there are a lot of freakin idiots who like this crap. If you agree with me on all of this than support this review, and let everyone know that this is not true punk, and people should not buy this!

I am a Good Charlotte fan and have been even before they released "Little Things" on the radio. I still love their first album the best. When I bought Young and the Hopeless it took me a few days to really start liking it, but I ended up loving it. I was hoping the same thing would happen with the new one, but I just can't seem to get into it. It feels like I am trying to force myself to like a few songs so I can justify owning this CD. I don't think they did anything wrong, they grew and they're playing music they like, but I just can't seem to get into it. I know bands need to grow, but it sounds way to different than any of their other albums. Some people like when bands do that, but I like when a band keeps that same sound. The only thing that sounds the same on this album as the previous ones is Joel's voice. It's a good album if you like harder music without as much catchyness or pop, but if I would've listened to the album first I would have never bought it.