Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Studio album by the Offspring
Released June 17, 2008 (2008-06-17)
Recorded November 16, 2006[1]-April 9, 2008[2]
Studio
Genre Punk rock, skate punk, pop punk, alternative rock
Length 43:40
Label Columbia
Producer Bob Rock
the Offspring chronology
Greatest Hits
(2005)Greatest Hits2005		 Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
(2008)		 Happy Hour!
(2010)Happy Hour!2010
The Offspring studio album chronology
Splinter
(2003) Splinter2003		 Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
(2008) Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace2008		 Days Go By
(2012) Days Go By2012
Singles from Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
  1. "Hammerhead"
    Released: May 6, 2008
  2. "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"
    Released: September 4, 2008
  3. "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?"
    Released: February 10, 2009
  4. "Half-Truism"
    Released: May 12, 2009

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is the eighth studio album by American punk rock band the Offspring, released on June 17, 2008 in the United States and a week earlier in Japan.[2] It was their first album of new material in nearly five years, following 2003's Splinter, and their first to be produced by Bob Rock. It was also their first album since 1992's Ignition not to feature an intro track or a track lasting less than two minutes.

The span of nearly five years between Splinter and Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace represented the longest gap between studio albums in the Offspring's career at the time. The band had been working on new material since the fall of 2004,[3] but showed no further signs of progress until November 2006, when they announced on their official website that they had begun recording with producer Bob Rock.[1] The album was supposed to be released in 2007, but kept getting pushed back. The writing and recording process, spanning four years and three recording studios, was finally finished in April 2008. It produced four singles: "Hammerhead", "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid", "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" and "Half-Truism". Although a video was made for "Stuff Is Messed Up", it was never officially released as a single, but saw regular radio play on popular stations such as Southern California's KROQ. "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" was certified RIAA Gold for 500,000 sales, while the album has sold over 330,000 copies to date 2012.

Although drummer Atom Willard (who left in July 2007) was still a member of the band during the recording, session musician Josh Freese actually handled the drum tracks, like he did on Splinter. Due to contract issues with Geffen Records, Willard was not permitted to do recording on the album and later decided to leave the band and continue his duties in Angels & Airwaves full-time while former Face to Face drummer Pete Parada joined the band just in time for the tour.[4]

Writing and recording

Work for Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace dates back to September 2004, when frontman Dexter Holland said that he wanted to put out the next Offspring album in 2005 and new songs felt "pretty good".[3] From June to August 2005, the band played the Vans Warped Tour for the first time, and followed that with a tour of Europe and Japan. To coincide with that tour, Sony Music released the first Offspring compilation album, Greatest Hits, which includes their hits from 1994 to 2005. After the Greatest Hits tour ended in the fall of 2005, the band took a break from writing, recording and touring. On February 7, 2006, Holland said in his journal that the band entered a demo studio to work on guitar tracks,[5] and a week later, Holland said in his journal that he went out of town to "meet with a guy who might produce" the album.[6] On June 13, 2006, Holland stated that the band (minus Willard) had been meeting every week and would begin recording shortly.[7] On August 18, he posted another update on the band's journal, saying that they had demoed five songs and were looking to go into the studio soon. He described the new songs as "lots of guitar, energy, lots of energy, and good songs." In September 2006, it was announced that the album would be produced by Bob Rock, who was working with Holland and "helping him sort out songs."[8]

On November 16, 2006, the Offspring announced on their website that they had begun recording the album with Rock, with an intended release date of spring 2007.[1] Recording took place in Hawaii and California with Rock. By May 2007 the music for thirteen songs had been recorded, with a further 10 tracks demoed. At this time Holland announced that all of the songs were completely new with no re-recordings of older songs, jokingly remarking "that would be cheating, wouldn't it?" (in response to rumors that the unreleased song "Pass Me By" and the re-recording of their 1992-song "Dirty Magic" would appear on the album) and commenting that the new tracks "sound like a friggin' freight train."[9] In July 2007, Dexter also confirmed that the band had finished "two more songs" and the album was being recorded in Orange County, California.[10] On the Christmas journal entry, he claimed that he had two more lyrics to write, "a couple more" to sing and "various tweaks" to do before mixing could begin. The band was at that time taking a break to spend Christmas with their families.[11]

In January 2008, the band comically responded to upset fans who wanted news by having a "breaking news" story regarding the band buying plane tickets for their next show. In his journal, Dexter explained that when there were no updates, it's usually because there's nothing to talk about- hence the faux "news."[12] The next month, Dexter said that the Offspring were "just in the studio getting some tracks down for the new record" and claims "it's a lot louder than the last couple".[13] He also said the band wasn't "going to be making another Smash, or another Ixnay" but thought they were still "relevant to punk when they were created, and this one will be no different".[14]

Dexter announced on April 9, 2008, that the new album was finally finished and announced the name and release date, and that "Hammerhead" would be the first single.[2] The album's title is derived from two tracks: "Rise and Fall" is the last track on the album and the song "Fix You" features the line "Rage and Grace".

Promotion and release

According to a Finnish website, "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" was rumored to be the second single.[15] However, this rumor turned out to be false; in June 2008, shortly before the album's release, the influential L.A. station KROQ began playing "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid", making it seem possible that this could be the second single, though the station has played non-singles from the band in the past. Six other stations in the Southwestern United States followed suit.[16] During the Offspring's three May 2008 concerts in California, "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" was the only new song besides "Hammerhead" that was played, also causing fans to believe this would be the second single. "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" was digitally released in Australia in July 2008 as a single and also appeared on the album cover as a sticker promoting the album as "includes the songs "Hammerhead and You're Gonna Go Far, Kid". In November 2008, KROQ briefly played "Stuff Is Messed Up", another song off the album, until the plug was pulled after "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" was confirmed as the third single.

On June 2, 2008, 30 second clips of each song on the new album were accidentally released by Amazon.com. They were removed swiftly but not before fans had ripped the clips and uploaded them to several fileshare and video sharing sites.

The official premiere of the album took place on the band's imeem site on June 9 at 3pm UTC.[17]

Promotional tour

In 2007, the Offspring first premiered "Hammerhead" at the Summersonic Festival, before any details of the new album had been revealed. The song would later be played again on the first night of the Australian Soundwave Festival, before being replaced on the set-list by "Half-Truism". "Hammerhead" was then played again on the last night of Soundwave Festival. In May 2008, during their performances on San Diego X-Fest, KROQ Weenie Roast, and the KJEE Summer Roundup, they also premiered "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" alongside "Hammerhead", and have since played both songs in their sets at the Electric Festival in Spain, Rock in Rio 2008 in Portugal and Rock am Ring and Rock im Park in Germany. The band also played a series of Japanese dates from October 6–21, 2008. After headlining the nineteenth annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas on December 13, 2008, they went on hiatus for a few months. In March 2009, the Offspring announced on their official website that they would be touring North America from May through July with Dropkick Murphys, Alkaline Trio, Street Dogs, Pennywise, Shiny Toy Guns and Sum 41.[18] The Offspring also joined 311 on their summer 2010 Unity Tour. The 19-date tour was held in amphitheaters around the U.S., also featuring Pepper as a special guest. After this, the Offspring played Japan's Summer Sonic Festival that August. Before the 311 and Pepper tour, the Offspring played four East Coast Dates in June, which was supported by Terrible Things.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[20]
Billboard[21]
Consequence of SoundD[22]
IGN7.5/10[23]
Kerrang![24]
Los Angeles Times[25]
Robert Christgau[26]
Rolling Stone[27]
Sputnikmusic[28]
Uncut[29]

The album received mixed reviews from critics. While Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic compared "Fix You" to Coldplay's song by the same name and A Lot Like You to Clocks by Coldplay and criticized the band for not changing their sound or moving forward, giving the album 2 out of 5 stars,[20] Kerrang! gave the album a positive 4 our of 5 review, saying that the album is "an exquisite reminder of what a fabulous band they are".[24]

In an interview with the LA Times,[30] Dexter Holland said: "Who decides what is and what isn't punk? I want to write songs that people hear and feel and I want to be successful and reach a big audience," he says. "I'm not trying to be the coolest guy in the world, I'm trying to write songs that mean something to people. As you get successful, sometimes you lose one set of fans and gain another."

Commercial performance

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200 with 45,700 units sold, significantly higher than Splinter's peak position at 30,[31] but with sales considerably lower than the debuts of its predecessors Splinter (87,000) and Conspiracy of One (125,000).[32] As of May 2013, the album has sold more than 330,000 copies in North America. As of January 2018, the album has sold more than 495,000 and RIAA certificated Gold record status.[33]

Track listing

CD

All tracks written by Dexter Holland, except where noted[34].

No.TitleLength
1."Half-Truism"3:25
2."Trust in You"3:09
3."You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"2:57
4."Hammerhead"4:38
5."A Lot Like Me"4:28
6."Takes Me Nowhere"2:59
7."Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?"3:42
8."Nothingtown"3:29
9."Stuff Is Messed Up"3:32
10."Fix You"4:18
11."Let's Hear It for Rock Bottom"4:04
12."Rise and Fall"2:59
Total length:43:40
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."O.C. Life" (D.I. cover)Rikk Agnew[35]2:53
Total length:46:35

LP

The difference between CD and LP versions is that the song "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" switched place with "A Lot Like Me".

Side One
No.TitleLength
1."Half-Truism"3:26
2."Trust in You"3:09
3."You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"2:58
4."Hammerhead"4:38
5."Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?"3:42
6."Takes Me Nowhere"2:59
Side Two
No.TitleLength
1."A Lot Like Me"4:28
2."Nothingtown"3:29
3."Stuff Is Messed Up"3:32
4."Fix You"4:19
5."Let's Hear It for Rock Bottom"4:05
6."Rise and Fall"2:59

Release history

Release dates from The Offspring's official website.[74]

Personnel

The Offspring

Additional personnel

Production

  • Bob Rock – producer, engineer
  • Steve Masi – guitar technician
  • Eric Helmkamp – engineer
  • George Marino – mastering

Artwork

  • Jason Goad – illustrations

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Recording Begins". Archived from the original on November 18, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-17. , Offspring.com, 11-16-2006
  2. 1 2 3 "Maui, HI (Dexter)". Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved 2014-04-01. , Offspring.com, 04-09-2008
  3. 1 2 Offspring Bring The Hits, Ultimate-Guitar.com, September 24, 2004
  4. ↑ "The Offspring have a new drummer". Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-27. , Offspring.com, 07-27-2007
  5. ↑ "Huntington Beach, CA (Dexter)". Archived from the original on March 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-02. , Offspring.com, 02-07-2006
  6. ↑ "Huntington Beach, CA (Dexter)". Archived from the original on March 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-02. , Offspring.com, 02-15-2006
  7. ↑ "In Between (Dexter)". Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-22. , The Offspring's Official Website, June 13, 2006
  8. ↑ Bob Rock devoting energies to other artists following split from Metallica Archived October 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine., Monstersandcritics.com, September 20, 2006
  9. ↑ "Huntington Beach, CA (Dexter)". Archived from the original on June 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-15. , Offspring.com, 06-12-2007
  10. ↑ "Huntington Beach, CA (Dexter)". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2014-04-01. , Offspring.com, 07-18-2007
  11. ↑ "Journal: The Offspring". Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  12. ↑ "Journal: The Offspring". Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110708082730/http://www.bombshellzine.com/newspage/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2954
  14. ↑ The Offspring's Dexter Holland talks new record, upcoming tour and new drummer, Punknews.org, February 21, 2008
  15. ↑ Radio Rock (Finnish website) Archived May 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ MMR 24-7 Song Airplay Detail Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine., Mediabase 24-7, June 23, 2008
  17. ↑ "'New album and music video to premiere online'". Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-09. Offspring news item 06-06-08
  18. ↑ "The Shit Is Fucked Up Tour". Noise Press. Retrieved on 2009-03-29
  19. ↑ "Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". metacritic.com. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  20. 1 2 Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace at AllMusic
  21. ↑ Jeff Vrabel. "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  22. ↑ Roffman, Michael (10 June 2008). "The Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  23. ↑ Ed Thompson (2008-06-18). "The Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace - Music Review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  24. 1 2 Winwood, Ian. Kerrang! #1215, June 21, 2008. Albums. p. 60
  25. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (June 17, 2008). "New CDs: The Offspring and 2 Pistols". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  26. ↑ "CG: offspring". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  27. ↑ Hoard, Christian (July 10, 2008). "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace : The Offspring : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  28. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. June 24, 2008. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  29. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". Uncut: 99. September 2008.
  30. ↑ Boucher, Geoff (2008-05-05). "New Album Release Information". The Offspring. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  31. ↑ Coldplay Score Second Consecutive #1 Debut - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
  32. ↑ Ruben's #1 Debut Falls Short Of Clay's - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
  33. ↑
  34. ↑ BMI Entry
  35. ↑ Sony Music
  36. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  37. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  38. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  39. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  40. ↑ "The Offspring – Chart history: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Oficiální česká hitparáda IFPI ČR - 28. týden 2008" (in Czech). Marketing & Media. July 10, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  42. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  43. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  44. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  45. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  46. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 19 June 2008". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  48. ↑ "ライズ・アンド・フォール,レイジ・アンド・グレイス - オフスプリング" [Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace - Offspring] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  49. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  50. ↑ "OLiS: sales for the period 16.06.2008 - 22.06.2008" (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  51. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". http://portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  52. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  53. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  54. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  55. ↑ "The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  56. ↑ "Offspring" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  57. ↑ "The Offspring – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  58. ↑ "The Offspring Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  59. ↑ "The Offspring Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  60. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  61. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Offspring in the field Interpret. Enter Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen. 
  62. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  63. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Offspring – Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace". Music Canada.
  64. ↑ "French album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  65. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Offspring; 'Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  66. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2008年6月 on the drop-down menu
  67. ↑ "Portuguese album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa.
  68. ↑ "Russian album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF).
  69. ↑ "Spanish album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select album under "Chart", enter 2008 in the field "Year". Select the certification month in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts".
  70. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  71. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Offspring; 'Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  72. ↑ "British album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  73. ↑ "American album certifications – Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  74. ↑ "Dexter's Interview". Archived from the original on 2008-05-08.
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