Life Won't Wait

Rancid

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 30, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Epitaph / Ada
• ASIN: B000007OED
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,800 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #11 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Ska Punk
  #25 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Ska
  #36 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Punk Revival

Track Listings

1. Intro

2. Bloodclot

3. Hoover Street

4. Black Lung

5. Life Won't Wait

6. New Dress

7. Warsaw

8. Hooligans

9. Crane Fist

10. Leicester Square

11. Backslide

12. Who Would've Thought

13. Cash, Culture and Violence

14. Cocktails

15. Wolf

16. 1998

17. Lady Liberty

18. Wrongful Suspicion

19. Turntable

20. Something in the World Today

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Life Won't Wait bursts with a thrilling ambition. On Rancid's past albums, these Clash-via-Cali punks came on with an invigorating twin guitar attack that sounded like it wanted to take over the world--to set it free!--and their fourth release continues in this radical vein, insisting that "all people must rise and decide your fate." But there's newfound ambition in the music, too, as the band's raging attack is supplemented now by new sounds (rocksteady and rockabilly, even doo-wop and soul), new musical textures (the exhilarating "Crane Fist" features a piano battling a B3 organ), and new sources of inspiration, as the boys shout out for Salvadoran immigrants and brag like rappers in anthem after anthem of urgent, beautiful poetry. --David Cantwell

Spin

Rancid’s familiarity isn’t a sound, it’s an ache. The catch in singer Tim Armstrong’s voice can remind you of friendship, but not the everyday, lunch-having, hang-out kind of low-key camaraderie.

Maybe punks are attracted to reggae because the best reggae leads a double life, superimposing social rage onto the sound of pleasure. Similarly, Rancid’s sentiments are at odds with the music. A song like "Backslide," for example, has the cool guitars and come-together choruses of radio rock even though the words are "Nobody knows me/I’m all alone." Because this band is so resolutely just that--a band--any mention of loneliness by [Tim] Armstrong is overtaken by the moshing of mates around him.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing record by a great band, June 20, 2002

By	sc_demandred (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Rancid is one of those rare bands who can crank out album after album of similar-sounding music without stagnating. Their sound is born of the Clash and the Sex pistols, with a touch of Black Flag political sensibility thrown in. To say Rancid is not derivative would be a lie, but to discount them because of their influences would be a crime.

"Life Won't Wait" was the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to 1995's "...And Out Come The Wolves," and it showed surprising levels of innovation and musical exploration from what had been a band with staid musical style.

"Bloodclot" is the leadoff shot, a typical Rancid-esque song with Lars' raw-throated vocals getting the record off to a super-charged opening. There are a lot of great tracks on this record that are not straight-ahead punk songs, and if people complain about Rancid trying out Ska and Reggae, the lyric "Desmond Dekker was singin" from "Roots Radicals" is obviously lost on them.

"Hoover Street" is one such reggae song, though it mixes rocking choruses in for a great blend of sounds all tied together with Tim Armstrong's drawling vocals. "Who would've thought" and "Corazon De Oro" are also in the reggae/ska vein. Both are beautiful songs that bespeak brash and youthful love, and are a far cry from the hard-edged punkishness that had been Rancid's trademark up to this point. While the departure is uncharacteristic, the songs' strength and sheer enjoyability cannot be denied. "Life Won't Wait" and "Wrongful Suspicion" also have the Jamaican style, though they are more serious and political than the aforementioned selections.

Lars does even more singing on this record, and his voice is an excellent counterpoint to Tim's. There are so many amazing songs on this album, it's hard to pick any favorites, but my favorites are "Coppers," "Something in the World today," "Cash Cutlture and Violence," and the brilliant "Crane Fist."

Listening to this album takes you through almost all ranges of human emotion. From adrenaline-fueled aggression to anthemic exaltation, Rancid has crafted a masterpiece with this album. I've had it for four years and never gotten sick of it once. If you like bands like Green Day, the Clash, the Ramones, and any of the new Pop-punk bands, give this one a try. I think you Blink-182 fans might just be pleasantly surprised.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cool....., September 17, 2005

By	Robert "Insane Music Fanatic/ Musician" (California) - See all my reviews

I just bought this album, and I must say, it is really good. Such songs as Black Lung and Life won;t wait have been rated 5 stars and added to my favorite songs ever list. Really good album. And if you're looking for something like Operation ivy, you've found it. It has ska/ punk tracks as well as almost pure ragae tracks. The Guitar in this band is absalutely incredible, while the bass is from another world. The bass is probably the best I've ever heard, really, this bass beats Rodger Waters, just listen to Black Lung and you'll know what I'm talking about. The drums and vocals are sort of mediocre, but, it's still a great album.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenominal, July 11, 2005

By	Hardcore Jim "hardcorer than you" - See all my reviews

Rancid's album Life Won't Wait really is something totally different and it will take a long time to grow on most people, but it is some of Rancid's best stuff.
I think every song on here is perfect (see Bloodclot), and although there's a lot of weird stuff (see Crane Fist) it all fits together beautifully to make a very deep album that can blow any other band away.
My favorite songs on here (yeah there's a lot) are probably
Bloodclot, Black Lung, Life Won't Wait (not many people like this one at first), Hooligans, Leichester Square, The Wolf, 1998 and..
The last 3 songs on Life Won't Wait are probably, the 3 best songs you can possibly end an album with and they progressively get better.
Something in the World Today is a very catchy punk song that one can't resist to sing along to.
Corazon De Oro is a ballad but it's perfect in every way and one of the most beautiful things to touch my ears.
but if Corazon De Oro is one of the most beautiful things to touch my ears, Coppers is the most beautiful. A 5 minute song to end the album turned me off at first but after one listen I was in love and I simply cannot get enough of this song. A reggae song in which Buju Banton, Lars and Tim all sing, with steel drums just truly beautiful one of the best songs I've heard in my life.

Ok I think I've gone on enough, I don't recommend getting this as your first Rancid album, get and out came the wolves for that. But this is a truly beautiful album and you must have it in your collection whether you think you like Rancid or not, whether you like Punk Rock or not, whether you like Ska/Reggae/Dub or not. Thanks for sitting through my review