20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Unwritten Law
Encyclopedia
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection is a compilation album by the San Diego-based rock band Unwritten Law
, released in 2006 by Interscope Records
. It combines tracks from their two Interscope albums Unwritten Law
and Elva
. It was released without the knowledge or consent of the band, who had left the Interscope label in 2003. At the time of its release, the band was preparing their own "greatest hits" album, The Hit List, which was released in January 2007 and included songs spanning their entire career rather than just these two albums.
and skate punk
contemporaries such as Blink-182
, Face to Face
, and MxPx
: "This compilation seems forced and unnecessary," he remarked, "wholly trying to make the band seem much more important than they really are in the grand scheme of rock & roll." He also criticized the release for only including tracks from Unwritten Law's two Interscope albums, Unwritten Law
(1998) and Elva
(2001), when the band had put out five studio albums by the time of the compilation's release, but remarked that those were the band's two best albums and that Interscope being responsible for 20th Century Masters likely explained the selection. He called the compilation "a solid display of Unwritten Law highlights, but it's pretty much the equivalent of putting both of those records on shuffle and skipping past half-a-dozen tracks along the way. Point being, save your money [...] this collection is little more than a label cash-in."
Tracks 8-12
Unwritten Law
Unwritten Law is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California and currently recording for Suburban Noize Records. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour...
, released in 2006 by Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
. It combines tracks from their two Interscope albums Unwritten Law
Unwritten Law (album)
-Band:*Scott Russo - vocals*Steve Morris - guitar*Rob Brewer - guitar*Wade Youman - drums, percussion-Additional musicians:*Micah Albao - bass guitar*Rick Parashar - piano, keyboards, tambura, percussion*Geoff Turner - DJ...
and Elva
Elva (album)
Elva is the fourth album by the San Diego-based rock band Unwritten Law, released in 2002 by Interscope Records. With it the band moved away from their previously established punk rock formula and towards a more accessible hard rock sound...
. It was released without the knowledge or consent of the band, who had left the Interscope label in 2003. At the time of its release, the band was preparing their own "greatest hits" album, The Hit List, which was released in January 2007 and included songs spanning their entire career rather than just these two albums.
Reception
Corey Apar of Allmusic gave the album three stars out of five, questioning why the band was included in the 20th Century Masters series when they were less successful in the 1990s than many of their pop punkPop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
and skate punk
Skate punk
Skate punk is a sub genre of punk rock, originally a derivative of the West Coast hardcore punk scene, that is named after its popularity among skateboarders and association with skateboarding culture. Skate punk most commonly describes the sound of melodic hardcore bands from the 1990s with an...
contemporaries such as Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
, Face to Face
Face to Face (punk band)
Face to Face is an American pop punk band from Victorville, California formed in 1991 by frontman Trever Keith. Originally known as "Zero Tolerance", Keith had been the only constant member of the band during their years of touring and recording albums. The group was initially signed by Dr. Strange...
, and MxPx
MxPx
MxPx is a pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington with connections to the Christian punk scene. The band has recorded eight studio albums, four EPs, four compilation albums, a live album, a VHS tape, a DVD and released 20 singles....
: "This compilation seems forced and unnecessary," he remarked, "wholly trying to make the band seem much more important than they really are in the grand scheme of rock & roll." He also criticized the release for only including tracks from Unwritten Law's two Interscope albums, Unwritten Law
Unwritten Law (album)
-Band:*Scott Russo - vocals*Steve Morris - guitar*Rob Brewer - guitar*Wade Youman - drums, percussion-Additional musicians:*Micah Albao - bass guitar*Rick Parashar - piano, keyboards, tambura, percussion*Geoff Turner - DJ...
(1998) and Elva
Elva (album)
Elva is the fourth album by the San Diego-based rock band Unwritten Law, released in 2002 by Interscope Records. With it the band moved away from their previously established punk rock formula and towards a more accessible hard rock sound...
(2001), when the band had put out five studio albums by the time of the compilation's release, but remarked that those were the band's two best albums and that Interscope being responsible for 20th Century Masters likely explained the selection. He called the compilation "a solid display of Unwritten Law highlights, but it's pretty much the equivalent of putting both of those records on shuffle and skipping past half-a-dozen tracks along the way. Point being, save your money [...] this collection is little more than a label cash-in."
Track listing
- Tracks 1-7 are from Unwritten LawUnwritten Law (album)-Band:*Scott Russo - vocals*Steve Morris - guitar*Rob Brewer - guitar*Wade Youman - drums, percussion-Additional musicians:*Micah Albao - bass guitar*Rick Parashar - piano, keyboards, tambura, percussion*Geoff Turner - DJ...
. - Tracks 8-12 are from ElvaElva (album)Elva is the fourth album by the San Diego-based rock band Unwritten Law, released in 2002 by Interscope Records. With it the band moved away from their previously established punk rock formula and towards a more accessible hard rock sound...
.
Band
- Scott Russo – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Steve Morris – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Rob Brewer – guitar
- Pat "PK" Kim – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(tracks 8-12) - Wade Youman – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Additional musicians
- Micah Albao – bass guitar (tracks 1-7)
- Rick ParasharRick ParasharRick Parashar is a music producer who came to prominence in the early 1990s through his work with grunge bands such as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Blind Melon. Parashar co-founded London Bridge Studio with his brother, Raj...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, tamburaTamburaThe tambura, tanpura, or tambora is a long-necked plucked lute . The body shape of the tambura somewhat resembles that of the sitar, but it has no frets – only the open strings are played to accompany other musicians...
, percussion (tracsk 1-7) - Geoff Turner – DJ (tracks 1-7)
- Erik Aho – additional guitar on "Cailin"
- Craig Yarnold – additional backing vocals on "Holiday"
- Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
– drums on "Up All Night" - MiguelMichael HappoldtMichael 'Miguel' Happoldt is an American musician who worked most notably with the US rock/reggae groups Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, as well as co-founding the Skunk Records record label...
– upbeat guitar on "How You Feel," lead guitar on "Seein' Red" - Marshall Goodman – percussion on "Up All Night"
Production
Tracks 1-7- Rick Parashar – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineer, mix engineerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"... - Jon Plum – assistant producer, engineer, and mixing
- Geoff Ott – second engineer
- Jon Mathias – engineer of "Holiday"
- George Marino – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Tracks 8-12
- John ShanksJohn ShanksJohn Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
– producer of "Mean Girl" and "Geronimo" - MiguelMichael HappoldtMichael 'Miguel' Happoldt is an American musician who worked most notably with the US rock/reggae groups Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, as well as co-founding the Skunk Records record label...
– producer of "Up All Night", "How You Feel", and "Seein' Red" - Mark DeSisto and Tobias Miller – engineers
- Dan Chase, Tal Herzberg, and Baraka – Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
- Eddie Ashworth – additional engineering
- Mike McMullen and Jerry Moss – assistant engineers
- David J. Holman – mix engineer
- Brian Garder – mastering