Gray Race

Rating

Album: Gray Race
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	The Gray Race	More Info...
2)	Them And Us	More Info...
3)	A Walk	More Info...
4)	Parallel	More Info...
5)	Punk Rock Song	More Info...
6)	Empty Causes	More Info...
7)	Nobody Listens	More Info...
8)	Pity The Dead	More Info...
	Disc 2
1)	Spirit Shine	More Info...
2)	The Streets Of America	More Info...
3)	Ten In 2010	More Info...
4)	Victory	More Info...
5)	Drunk Sincerity	More Info...
6)	Come Join Us	More Info...
7)	Cease	More Info...

Album: Gray Race
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	The Gray Race	More Info...
2)	Them And Us	More Info...
3)	A Walk	More Info...
4)	Parallel	More Info...
5)	Punk Rock Song	More Info...
6)	Empty Causes	More Info...
7)	Nobody Listens	More Info...
8)	Pity The Dead	More Info...
	Disc 2
1)	Spirit Shine	More Info...
2)	The Streets Of America	More Info...
3)	Ten In 2010	More Info...
4)	Victory	More Info...
5)	Drunk Sincerity	More Info...
6)	Come Join Us	More Info...
7)	Cease	More Info...

Performer Notes

Bad Religion: Greg Graffin (vocals); Greg Hetson, Brian Baker (guitar); Jay Bentley (bass); Bobby Schayer (drums).
Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York in October and November 1995.
With their ninth album, this Los Angeles-based hardcore band continue their distinctive recipe of slashing, frenetic guitar, inviting vocal harmonies and socially-conscious lyrics. THE GRAY RACE showcases Bad Religion's chaotic, two-guitar punk, which is driven by an intense, high-strung urgency; each track provides just the right amount of unapologetic melodicism along with Greg Graffin's rough-voiced yet lucid vocals.
The band's sound is loud, fast, and basically simple, in contrast to the broad, complex themes they tackle. Many songs are a variation on the "think for yourself" motif, including "A Walk," a defiant rant against the system ("Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?/You can't even tie your own haggard shoes/Your closet is a mess, and your backyard's falling down"). There are also brilliant feats of multisyllabic rhyming here, betraying Graffin's striking intellect as a lyricist, as on "Them And Us": "Despite that he saw blatant similarity/He struggled to find a distinctive moiety/All he found was vulgar superficiality."

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (3/7/96, p.48) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Bad Religion are working to bring a deeper sense of purpose to a music they can honestly call their own."

Spin (3/96, p.107) - 7 - Flawed Yet Worthy - "...a hell of a record for a band that just lost 52 percent of its songwriting, proof that Graffin's voice and vision define the band..."

Q (4/96, p.105) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...at one bound THE GRAY RACE pushes American punk forward....a level of sophistication that calls for endless, depth-creating harmonies and the technical ability to carry off more adventurous concepts like `Ten in 2010'..."

New York Times (Publisher) (2/25/96, Sec.2, p.34) - "...The messages can be didactic, but the songs--burly rockers, full of minor chords--wrap desperation in choruses that aim to be anthems despite their own alienation..."