Against the Grain
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Against the Grain
- Artist: Bad Religion
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1990
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rock
Review
The third in a flurry of releases that followed Bad Religion's 1988 reunion, Against the Grain found the band's edge honed sharper than it had been in years. Epitaph's 2004 remaster respects this. Increased clarity between mouthpiece Greg Graffin, guitarists Brett Gurewitz and Greg Hetson, and the rhythm section of Jay Bentley and Pete Finestone increases the inherent melodic tension and amplifies Graffin's righteous lyrical anger. "My path renewed/Against the grain/That's where I'll stay" -- for many, Graffin's resolve over Grain's martial pace was a restatement of purpose, a refueling of belief in the punk and hardcore ethos as a new decade dawned. "21st Century (Digital Boy)" was a throaty, gritty, gang-vocal anthem that name-checked No Control and bitterly dismantled middle-class complacency in the technology era. One of Graffin/Gurewitz's pet themes, it also guided cuts like the rapid-fire opener, "Modern Man" ("I'm a cyborg just like you"), and the acerbic anti-greed rant "Quality or Quantity." 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. The guitars came in, twining between fiery leads and urgent, sometimes hyper chording -- the album seemed like a signal fire to the lost tribes of hardcore. Its best moment might be "Turn On the Light." As a thick, trademark Bad Religion melody rips in the background, Graffin spits out lyrics that define ideology with literate pacing, even as they ignite the genre's base emotions. "I'll construct a rack of tempered beams and trusses and equip it with a million tiny suns," Graffin sings. "...and I'll burn like a Roman f*cking candle." ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi| Against the Grain (1975 Album by Rory Gallagher) | |
| Against the Grain (1993 Album by Vinny Golia) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Against the Grain (Bad Religion album)
| Against the Grain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Bad Religion | ||||
| Released | November 23, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | May 1990 at Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Punk rock | |||
| Length | 34:27 | |||
| Label | Epitaph | |||
| Producer | Bad Religion | |||
| Bad Religion chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Against the Grain is the fifth album (and seventh release overall) by punk rock band Bad Religion released on November 23, 1990.[2] This 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.
Like Bad Religion's previous two albums, Suffer and No Control, Against the Grain is considered by many to be the band's greatest album, and it contains many songs that are constantly cited as the band's best, including "Faith Alone", "21st Century (Digital Boy)", "Anesthesia", "Walk Away", "Against the Grain", "God Song" and "Modern Man".[citation needed] 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.
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Contents
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Writing and recording
Writing and demoing for Against the Grain began in 1989,[3][4] and Bad Religion entered Westbeach Recorders in May 1990 to record the album.
Release and reception
 |
This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
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.
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."[5]
The album's 13th track, "21st Century (Digital Boy)", was re-recorded and appeared on their eighth full-length studio album Stranger Than Fiction, released in 1994; four years after the release of Against the Grain, and became a single.
Album cover
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.
Track listing
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Modern Man" | Graffin | 1:58 | ||||||
| 2. | "Turn on the Light" | Gurewitz | 1:24 | ||||||
| 3. | "Get Off" | Graffin | 1:43 | ||||||
| 4. | "Blenderhead" | Gurewitz | 1:12 | ||||||
| 5. | "The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking" | Bentley | 0:57 | ||||||
| 6. | "Anesthesia" | Gurewitz | 3:04 | ||||||
| 7. | "Flat Earth Society" | Gurewitz | 2:23 | ||||||
| 8. | "Faith Alone" | Graffin | 3:40 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 9. | "Entropy" | Graffin | 2:24 | ||||||
| 10. | "Against the Grain" | Graffin | 2:09 | ||||||
| 11. | "Operation Rescue" | Graffin | 2:08 | ||||||
| 12. | "God Song" | Graffin | 1:38 | ||||||
| 13. | "21st Century (Digital Boy)" | Gurewitz | 2:50 | ||||||
| 14. | "Misery and Famine" | Graffin | 2:35 | ||||||
| 15. | "Unacceptable" | Hetson, Bentley | 1:44 | ||||||
| 16. | "Quality or Quantity" | Graffin | 1:34 | ||||||
| 17. | "Walk Away" | Gurewitz | 1:52 | ||||||
Release history
| 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 feaures a different front cover and the track listing, which can be seen inside the tray card. |
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ http://www.thebrpage.net/theanswer/?article=against%5Fthe%5Fgrain%5F%28album%29
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/unauth/bad_religion/against_the_grain_demos/
- ^ http://db.etree.org/db/shows/browse/artist_key/387/year/1989
- ^ Johnny Loftus. "Review for Against the Grain". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/against-the-grain-r1159/review. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
Personnel
- Greg Graffin – vocals
- Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
- Greg Hetson – guitar
- Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Pete Finestone – drums
- The Legendary Starbolt – mixing
- Karat Faye;- Engineer
- Eddie Schreyer – mastering
- Joy Aoki – art direction
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