Good Charlotte is the self-titled debut studio album by American pop punk band Good Charlotte. The group formed in 1996 by twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden with the former on vocals and the latter on guitar. They were joined by guitarist Billy Martin on guitar, Paul Thomas on bass and Aaron Escolopio on drums. A demo of "Little Things" was receiving airplay from two radio stations, and by early 2000, the group had signed to major label Epic Records. Recording sessions for their debut album took place in four studios across California and New York with producer Don Gilmore. Released on September 26 through Epic and Daylight Records, the album undersold expectations. Despite receiving favourable reviews, the album charted number 185 on the Billboard 200. "Little Things" reached the top 30 on both the Mainstream Top 40 and Alternative Songs charts.
A music video for "Little Things" started getting airplay in November. After this, Escolopio left the group and was replaced by Nate Foutz of Vroom. Foutz remained with the group for six months before being replaced by Dusty Bill. In March 2001, "Little Things" was released as a single, which was followed by a music video for "The Motivation Proclamation". In April and May, the group went on tour with MxPx and appeared at HFStival. While at the festival, a music video was shot for "Festival Song". The group participated in Warped Tour between June and August. Also in August, "The Motivation Proclamation" was released as a single, followed by "Festival Song" in 2002. The album was subsequently certified silver in the UK and gold in the US.
Video Good Charlotte (album)
Background
After watching a Beastie Boys show in 1995, twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden formed Good Charlotte in Waldorf, Maryland in 1996 with the former on vocals and the latter on guitar. Following the Madden brothers graduation in 1997, they passed on going to college, preferring to take the band full-time. They then focused on getting signed, reading books and magazines that would aid them in that goal. They made promotional packages that would be sent to record labels. The pair moved to Annapolis, Maryland where they met guitarist Billy Martin. They then recruited two high-school colleagues: bassist Paul Thomas and drummer Aaron Escolopio. The band began building a buzz by performing at the WHFS-hosted HFStival in 1998.
In early 1999, a Sony Music employee passed along the band's demo tape to regional promotion manager Mike Martinovich. He was impressed by the group's writing ability and the autobiographical nature of the songs. Also in 1999, the group opened for Save Ferris in Philadelphia. After the performance, they left a demo of "Little Things" that soon began getting airplay on local radio station Y100. Around the same time, WHFS also began playing the demo. Benji Madden was adamant on the song's potential hit status with its high school-centric theme and the reality of its lyrics. It became a hit in the area and record labels began showing interest in the group. Following a showcase in New York in early 2000, David Massey, executive vice president of A&R at major label Epic Records, signed the band to the label.
Maps Good Charlotte (album)
Recording and composition
Recording for Good Charlotte took place at Encore Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Don Gilmore. Gilmore, who also acted as engineer, was assisted by engineer Bob Jackson and Mauricio Iragorri. Additional engineering was done by John Ewing Jr. Drums and bass were recorded at NRG Studios in Los Angeles, California with assistance from Matt Griffen in May 2000. Guitar and vocals were recorded at Battery Studios in New York City with assistance from Paul Oliveira in June. Martin, Thomas and Escolopio sung additional vocals on "Little Things", while Jimi HaHa of Jimmie's Chicken Shack contributed additional vocals on "The Motivation Proclamation".
These vocals were recorded at Larrabee West, Los Angeles, California with assistance from Pete Novack. Gilmore mixed almost of the songs, bar "Little Things", "Change" and "Seasons", at Encore Studios. He mixed "Little Things" at Battery Studios. "Change", "Seasons" and "Thank You Mom" were mixed by Tom Lord-Alge at South Beach Studios in Miami, Flordia. Vlado Meller mastered all of the tracks, except for "Little Things", at Sony Music Studios in New York City. "Little Things" was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City.
All of the songs were written by the Madden brothers. Josh Ian wrote additional lyrics for "Seasons" and "Let Me Go". Musically, the album has been classified as pop punk. "Little Things" makes reference to the Madden brothers' upbringing with their parents. One of lines mentioned their dad abandoning them, which made Joel Madden uncomfortable. Benji reason that it worked within the context of the song. "Waldorf Worldwide" is about the brothers' ambition and frustration. According to Joel Madden, it was written during a period they were broke. According to guitarist Billy Martin, "The Motivation Proclamation" talks about "breaking out of a cycle if you're depressed on something... getting over it and going on." Joel Madden wrote "Festival Song" about attending HFStival, a festival he grew up with.
Release
Good Charlotte was released on September 26, 2000 through Epic and Daylight Records. The Japanese edition included "The Click", "If You Leave" and a live acoustic version of "The Motivation Proclamation" as bonus tracks. Sales did not meet the label's expectations, and the group were nearly dropped from the label. The band soon begin earning support slots for Blink-182, Lit and Bad Religion. A music video for "Little Things" was receiving airplay from MTV in November. The video was directed by Nigel Dick and filmed in Canada. It featured the band as a group of troublemakers in high school. It starts with Joel Madden breaking into the principle's office and talks into a microphone addressing "Waldorf High School", a stand-in for high school the members attended, La Plata High. The principle soon finds out and is angry with the band. He follows the microphone cable into the gym in order to learn who is causing trouble. The group are then seen walking down a halfway and performing on a golf cart. Singer Mandy Moore acts as Madden's girlfriend in the video.
In December, the group appeared at HFSmas, the winter version of HFStival. Sometime afterwards, drummer Aaron Escolopio left the group to join his brother's band, Wakefield. He was replaced by Nate Foutz of Vroom. However, Foutz left the group after six weeks due to Vroom getting a major label deal. Dusty Bill was then enlisted to play drums. On March 1, 2001, "Little Things" was released as a single in Australia. The CD version included "The Click" and "Thank You Mom" as B-sides. Despite the lack of success for "Little Things", the group's label allowed them to make another video, which was for "The Motivation Proclamation". It was directed by Webb. The video features the band members on the ground, waking up one-by-one and starting to performing. Scenes from Undergrads were incorporated into the video by being played on a TV. In April, the video was receiving airplay from video outlets.
Later that month, the group went on a US tour with MxPx, which lasted until late May. While on tour during this time, the album was consistently selling 3,000 copies per week. As a result, the group wanted to make a live music video. At the end of May, the group performed at HFStival. During their set, a music video was filmed for "Festival Song", directed by Marc Webb. The video ended being a mini-documentary on the day. Members of Mest, New Found Glory and Linkin Park appear in the video. Between June and August, the group appeared on the Warped Tour. In between dates, the group performed at Y100 FEZtival. On August 7, "The Motivation Proclamation" was released as a single. In 2002, "Festival Song" was released as a single. In September 2004, the album was reissued as a two-CD package with The Young and the Hopeless (2002). It was reissued again in January 2010 in a box set alongside The Young and the Hopeless, The Chronicles of Life and Death (2004) and Good Morning Revival (2007).
Reception
AllMusic reviewer William Ruhlmann said the drum "beats come fast and furious, the simple guitar chords noisily" occupy the mid-range, and the vocals "are sung with snotty belligerence". He said the lyrics touch upon "standard-issue stuff" with the only exception "an occasionally expressed religious interest." Chart Attack wrote that the group sounds "so much" like a cross between Eve 6 and Lit that it was "frightening." They said the album was "energized" and called the lyrics "cynical". David Hiltbrand of Entertainment Weekly said that "crosscurrents of anger and optimism" appear throughout the group's debut. He said the band has an "astringent punk style" combined with "crafty pop underpinnings."
Melodic writer Johan Wippsson praised Gilmore's "very nice" production and called the record a "very nice punk-pop album with no really bad song". His only complaint was the lyrics, which he found to be a "little bit to teenaged" at times. The Morning Call reviewer Joe Warminsky said the group "spares nothing in its effort" to join its contemporaries "of lame pop-rock bands that populate non-hip-hop radio." He said the album "wears thin quickly", saying the majority of the songs were "just plain shameless".
Good Charlotte charted at number one on the Catalog Albums chart, number 13 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and number 185 on the Billboard 200. It also reached number 12 in New Zealand and number 194 in the UK. It was later certified silver in the UK and gold in the US. "Little Things" charted in the US at number 23 on both the Mainstream Top 40 and Alternative Songs charts. It charted in Australia at number 61. "The Motivation Proclamation" charted in Australia at number 78.
Track listing
All songs written by Benji and Joel Madden. Additional lyrics on "Let Me Go" and "Seasons" by Josh Ian.
Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
Charts and certifications
References
Citations
Sources
External links
- Good Charlotte at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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