White Light Rock & Roll Review
Encyclopedia
White Light Rock & Roll Review is Matthew Good
's second album as a solo artist, and was released on June 15, 2004. Though it was not as well-received as his previous solo effort, Avalanche, it quickly achieved Gold certification in Canada.
Recording sessions for White Light Rock & Roll Review began less than a year after the release of Avalanche, making it the shortest time spent between records for Good. Having become disenchanted with the state of recorded music, Good became enamored with the techniques employed by classic artists like Led Zeppelin
and The Who
, who spent much of their careers perfecting their live shows and recording albums live off the floor. To this end, Good sought to write songs that could best be conveyed to live audiences. In fact, many of the record's tracks (including "Little Terror", "North American for Life", "Blue Skies Over Bad Lands", "It's Been A While Since I Was Your Man", and "Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra") were written and performed live, well in advance of the album's release.
* "Hopeless" is a bonus track that follows the end of "Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra"
The video for this single was released on June 1, 2004, on Matthew Good's website. Matthew Good did not direct this video, and after complaints, he took it down, because in addition to footage shot at Centennial School in Coquitlam, British Columbia
, it also contained brief flashes of footage from the Columbine High School massacre
.
After thinking on the matter for a while, Good put the video back on his website, with these comments:
Matthew Good
Matthew Frederick Robert Good is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer for the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002...
's second album as a solo artist, and was released on June 15, 2004. Though it was not as well-received as his previous solo effort, Avalanche, it quickly achieved Gold certification in Canada.
Recording sessions for White Light Rock & Roll Review began less than a year after the release of Avalanche, making it the shortest time spent between records for Good. Having become disenchanted with the state of recorded music, Good became enamored with the techniques employed by classic artists like Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, who spent much of their careers perfecting their live shows and recording albums live off the floor. To this end, Good sought to write songs that could best be conveyed to live audiences. In fact, many of the record's tracks (including "Little Terror", "North American for Life", "Blue Skies Over Bad Lands", "It's Been A While Since I Was Your Man", and "Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra") were written and performed live, well in advance of the album's release.
Track listing
All tracks written by Matthew Good, except where noted.- "Put Out Your Lights" – 2:03
- "Poor Man's Grey" – 2:22
- "We're So Heavy" – 4:36
- "Empty Road" – 3:29
- "Alert Status Red" – 4:25
- "Little Terror" – 3:07
- "In Love With a Bad Idea" – 3:30
- "North American for Life" – 2:07 (Good, Thor Valdsen, Priske, Steward)
- "Blue Skies Over Bad Lands" – 8:14
- "It's Been A While Since I Was Your Man" – 3:40
- "Buffalo Seven" – 3:20
- "Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra" – 4:12/ "Hopeless"* – 2:56
* "Hopeless" is a bonus track that follows the end of "Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra"
Miscellanea
- "In Love With a Bad Idea" contains lyrics which were once a part of a short poem by Good entitled "Paris Hilton's Vagina".
- "North American for Life" came about as a result of impromptu jam sessions between Good and his live bandmembers while on tour for his previous album, Avalanche.
- "Blue Skies Over Bad Lands" was recorded live in one take. Livesey recorded a practice take that the band was performing so that mic levels could be set for the "real" recording. After listening back to the practice take, Good and producer Warne Livesey felt they had captured "something special" and that another take wasn't necessary.
- "Buffalo Seven" receives its title from that of a poster displaying a posse of seven cowboys which Good once hung over his bed.
- "Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra", is said to be about fights Good was involved in during his youth. It is said to be a homage to The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, whose influence was cited by Good as an inspiration for the record. The song bears many similarities to The Who's classic, "Won't Get Fooled AgainWon't Get Fooled Again"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
".
- "Hopeless" was not included as part of the official tracklisting, contrary to Good's wishes, as a result of pressure by his record label who felt that the song was too country for the album.
- "Alert Status Red", "In Love With A Bad Idea", and "Buffalo Seven" were all added after the initial recording session for the album. This was done at the suggestion of the record label, who were concerned that the record lacked any marketable singles.
- Known b-sides for White Light Rock & Roll Review include "Dusk" and "Can't Get Shot in the Back (If You Don't Run)". The former was recorded during the early hours of the morning at the Warehouse Studios in Vancouver on an old piano after initial recording sessions for the album were complete. It was eventually offered for purchase via Puretacks, to coincide with the release of the album's first single, "Alert Status Red". A demo for "Can't Get Shot in the Back (If You Don't Run)" was recorded after the record had been mixed and was streamed on Good's website. The song was later re-recorded properly in a studio for the Hospital MusicHospital MusicHospital Music is the third solo album by Canadian musician Matthew Good. It was released on July 31, 2007 Good performed nearly all the instruments himself, with the exception of drums and a few guitar and bass parts...
sessions and offered as a free download for matthewgood.org community members.
Personnel
- Matthew GoodMatthew GoodMatthew Frederick Robert Good is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer for the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002...
- 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...
, 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...
, art direction - Christian Thor Valdson - Guitar,
- Pat Steward - 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... - Rich PriskeRich PriskeRich "Rock" Priske is a Canadian musician born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has long been active in the Vancouver music scene, and has played bass and/or written songs for DSK, ShoCore, Bif Naked and Real McKenzies, and others. Priske is most widely known for playing bass guitar and...
- Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Warne Livesey - Producer, engineer, mixer
- Scott Ternan - Assistant engineer
- Joel Livesey - Assistant engineer
- Zach Blackstone - Assistant engineer
- Kirk McNally - Assistant engineer
- Garnet Armstrong - Album design
- Ivan Otis - PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Liza Visagie - Cover art (Second Beach Three and Second Beach Four)
- Mastered by Tim Young at Metropolis, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Controversy
Alert Status Red is a song about terrorism and violence. The title of the song alludes to the United States terrorist warning system.The video for this single was released on June 1, 2004, on Matthew Good's website. Matthew Good did not direct this video, and after complaints, he took it down, because in addition to footage shot at Centennial School in Coquitlam, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, it also contained brief flashes of footage from the Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
.
After thinking on the matter for a while, Good put the video back on his website, with these comments:
- "We are members of a violent society. We sell the world the majority of its weaponry; we are the foremost purveyors of nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons, and military hardware. And yet we love nothing more than to point the finger at others and claim that they are the cause of the world's love affair with violence. The truth of the matter is that we tend to hide from the fact that we are just as violent, that we are just as capable, that we do not dwell on some higher moral ground from which to cast blame and point fingers. Incidents such as what occurred at Columbine High School demonstrate this, as does the wanton aggression of world superpowers that claim to be acting in self-defense when the truth of the matter is that they're merely reaping the whirlwind of their own abusive conduct. Our responsibility is to wake up and realize these truths."