lambchops's Full Review: The Gray Race by Bad Religion
The Gray Race was purchased in haste. Fortunately, it turned out to be one of my better ‘blind’ buys.
Bad Religion is old fashioned punk rock music. The life expectancy of So Cal punk is usually pretty short, but this band has managed to stick around longer than the rest of their peers. Formed in Los Angeles during 1980, Bad Religion released their Epitaph debut about two years later. Ten or so albums followed, each changing how fans looked at the band little by little. Despite the various lineup changes, Bad Religion continued to grind away angrily, with a complex vision and equally complex lyrics. The band’s sound is theirs…no copycats have been able to equal their skills.
My first experience with Bad Religion was around 1990 with the release of their fifth album Against The Grain and the single ”21st Century (Digital Boy)”. Something about the song called out to me…I recall truly enjoying the music. Bad Religion finally made their major label debut in 1994 with the Atlantic release of Stranger than Fiction. The album was of course of higher production quality than earlier releases, and it appealed to rock and rollers so much that it is the band’s biggest album to date.
Two years later, Bad Religion released their major label follow up. The Gray Race marked the loss of talented songwriter and guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The rest of the band was forced to pick up the pieces and continue their musical journey. Led by: Greg Graffin (vocals), Greg Hetson (guitar), Brian Baker (‘the new guy’ and guitar), Jay Bentley (bass), and Bobby Schayer (drums), Bad Religion again proved just how great their sound had become. Graffin wrote each of the fifteen songs and lent his powerful voice to the vocals. There were differences with this album over the past ones…Cars demigod Ric Ocasek produced the album. His pop ear made the songs less abrasive than past offerings. Additionally, the tracks are at times slower than earlier works.
Some fans of Bad Religion believe that with Gurewitz’s departure, the band was left in shambles. They hate this album and believe it to be the worst. Other listeners found that The Gray Race was a good gateway to earlier albums. It’s the album that inspired them to listen to the rest of the catalog. A third camp likes the new, user-friendly sound that this 1996 release showcased. As a novice fan, I don’t feel it appropriate to choose between the three different opinions. What I can say is that I definitely enjoy some of the tracks here more than others. On a musical level, The Gray Race isn’t perfect…sometimes the lyrics border on pretentiousness and feigned self-importance.
The songs from The Gray Race are on the whole close to the best that the band has ever put together. Some don’t meet previous standards, but others like ”A Walk” exceed any standard ever set by Bad Religion and their minions of fans. Energetic and wholly entertaining, the relishes in pop sensibility. Yet, the sound is so much better than anything that pop ever regurgitates. Fast and furious, this is the sound that Green Day often aspires to. Graffin’s voice is rich, not annoying or whiny like some other punk rockers. It’s impossible to deny the infectious groove of ”A Walk”. Don’t miss out!
Formulaic is an apt descriptor of The Gray Race. That tendency is the kiss of death to 95% of albums. In this case, the formula and the music are so good that the fact that many of these songs sound at least similar proves moot. The themes that resonate throughout these fifteen tracks are that of competition, isolation, rebellion, and anger…all common threads in punk music in general. ”Punk Rock Song” speaks intelligently (at a furious speed, of course) to the world’s problems. Graffin writes:
10 million dollars on a losing campaign
20 million starving and writhing in pain
big strong people unwilling to give
small in vision and perspective
I can’t imagine that thought said any more succinctly or intelligently. Yes, this is socially conscious and intelligent punk rock.
The title track, ”The Gray Race,” is an ode to technology. Rather, it’s an anti-ode. Graffin insists that political technology leads to sameness and monotony. Again, these feelings are expressed with some truly superb lyrics:
I'd swear there were times when I was someone else
a person with determination and knowledge of the self
but you flattened me to rubble and now I can see that I'm
just faded negative of the image I used to be
Sometimes, I wish that Bad Religion would just calm down momentarily. It’s not necessary to be that political and socially relevant at all times. But, that’s what the band has built a following based on. Other decent songs revolving around these same themes are ”The Streets of America” and ”Them and Us”. There’s not a bad song on this album. There are pretentious ones for sure, but all are intelligent. This is aesthetic punk that relies on causes and concepts rather than overwrought clichés and unadulterated rebellion.
This isn’t a perfect album…the lyrical, conceptual, and musical repetition can at times get annoying. But, on a whole, The Gray Race is definitely an example of ‘good’ punk rock. Parents: if your kids come how with this album. Don’t be angry, this is socially conscious punk rock. Be happy that they didn’t come home with something much less intelligent or thought-provoking (aka Britney Spears).
Anyway, I give Bad Religion’s 1996 release The Gray Race a strong 4/5 stars. There is room to improve, but not much. Few punk albums come close to equaling the style and substance of this CD. I recommend it to everybody. If you lean even slightly toward liking punk rock, this album is for you. Hey! If you like rock music in general, you may also enjoy this release.
Track listing:
1. Gray Race, The
2. Them And Us
3. Walk, A
4. Parallel
5. Punk Rock Song
6. Empty Causes
7. Nobody Listens
8. Pity The Dead
9. Spirit Shine
10. Streets Of America, The
11. Ten In 2010
12. Victory
13. Drunk Sincerity
14. Come Join Us
15. Cease
* One more thing, don’t ever dismiss Bad Religion as a bunch of aging hooligans. Oh no, that would be a grave mistake. Graffin finished his PhD from Cornell University in Evolutionary Biology in 1998. This academic intelligence crosses over nicely to Bad Religion. Few punk/rock/folk/alternative bands can claim such an accomplishment so convincingly.
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