Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

70 AFI
65 Air
71 Alice In Chains
77 Amerie
85 The Antlers
75 Arctic Monkeys
68 As Tall As Lions
82 Atlas Sound
75 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
56 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
72 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Brendan Benson
72 The Big Pink
96 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
51 Black Mold
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
77 A.A. Bondy
73 The Bottle Rockets
63 Box Elders
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
87 Brother Ali
70 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
78 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
79 Califone
68 Mariah Carey
84 Brandi Carlile
73 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
69 Castanets
65 The Cave Singers
84 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79 Vic Chesnutt
75 Choir Of Young Believers
81 Circulatory System
68 The Clean
84 The Clientele
71 Cobra Starship
85 Converge
71 Eric Copeland
80 Cymbals Eat Guitars
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
88 Destroyer
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
66 Bob Dylan
44 The Entrance Band
67 Esser
69 Fanfarlo
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
78 The Flaming Lips
66 Flight Of The Conchords
79 Florence And The Machine
67 John Fogerty
83 Fuck Buttons
71 Nelly Furtado
47 Gary Go
68 Ghostface Killah
79 Girls
69 Gossip
62 David Gray
66 David Guetta
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
77 Joe Henry
66 Hockey
69 Whitney Houston
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
73 Jessie James
74 Jamie T
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
69 Daniel Johnston
76 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
65 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
76 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
84 Miranda Lambert
72 Ledisi
75 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
73 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
73 Lyle Lovett
66 Lovvers
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
62 Maps
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
67 Reba McEntire
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
77 Malcolm Middleton
77 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
76 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
62 Morrissey
85 Mount Eerie
78 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
78 Nirvana
97 Nirvana
72 Nisennenmondai
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
73 Osso
81 Owen
76 Paramore
76 Pastels And Tenniscoats
51 Sean Paul
80 Pearl Jam
66 Jemina Pearl
72 Jack Penate
65 Phish
82 Pissed Jeans
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
66 Robert Pollard
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
80 Q-Tip
80 R.E.M.
89 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
70 Ramona Falls
75 Dizzee Rascal
75 The Raveonettes
76 Jay Reatard
82 Reigning Sound
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79 Russian Circles
69 Buffy Sainte-Marie
73 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
72 Six Organs Of Admittance
69 Slaughterhouse
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
62 Mindy Smith
78 Soulsavers
77 Speech Debelle
58 Spiral Stairs
58 Squarepusher
55 Steel Panther
73 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
65 Joss Stone
75 George Strait
83 Barbra Streisand
76 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78 The Swell Season
76 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
78 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
67 Third Eye Blind
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
71 The Twilight Sad
58 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
70 Various Artists
74 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
71 Kurt Vile
67 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
76 Rufus Wainwright
59 Weezer
80 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59 Andrew W.K.
71 Patrick Wolf
67 Wolfmother
84 The xx
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51 Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59 Zero 7

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Chronicles Of Life And Death

EMAILPRINTby Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte reviews
53
6.8 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 98 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Sony

Release Date: 05 October 2004

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Alternative, Rock

Summary

The twentysomething pop-punkers attempt to move past their past TRL success with a more mature follow-up to 2002's 'Young And The Hopeless.'

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83

Entertainment Weekly

A giant leap forward--in instrumental prowess, and in emotional and melodic scope. [8 Oct 2004, p.113]

75

E! Online

Pulling off the tricky balancing act of aiming for mainstream success while keeping one's street cred intact, songs like "Ghost of You" and "Predictable" abandon the band's mall-rat roots in exchange for more mature influences like U2 and Muse.

Read Full Review >
70

All Music Guide

For all their well-crafted ambition on Chronicles, "I Just Wanna Live" feels like Good Charlotte's centerpiece, since it's spiked with rock power, but gets its soul from the pop life they lead.

Read Full Review >
70

Billboard

The band takes its proven peppy rock sound to new heights.

Read Full Review >
67

Spin

It's hard to know if Madden's complaints seem so tame because the band's music is less zippy, or whether he's just taking the easiest path to the teen masses. [Nov 2004, p.109]

63

Los Angeles Times

The band never quite escapes its proven pop formula or simple tales of angst. [10 Oct 2004]

60

Village Voice

Good Charlotte have hooks for days and the fun, gloomy Life and Death sounds like a moody missing link between Fountains of Wayne and Thrice.

Read Full Review >
60

Alternative Press

Good Charlotte have obviously put a lot of effort and imagination into Chronicles, and if it comes off as slightly awkward in parts, well, isn't that part of growing up? [Nov 2004, p.135]

60

Blender

Welcome to tonight's Very Special Episode of pop-punk. [Nov 2004, p.130]

60

Stylus Magazine

Their musical gifts haven’t left them... and their overwrought yet empathetic lyrics signify that their bandwagon jumping is misguided rather than crass.

Read Full Review >
58

Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

Beyond some rich-and-famous irony, not a single suburban detail soils an hour of good intentions. And you know the music overreaches too.

Read Full Review >
40

Rolling Stone

They falter by attempting to stray from the formula they've mastered. [28 Oct 2004, p.100]

40

Q Magazine

It's nothing if not ambitious... [but] they simply don't have the depth, or the authority, to pull it off. [Dec 2004, p.143]

40

The Guardian

Good Charlotte's confessionals are typical teenage moans, and their music second-hand Green Day.

Read Full Review >
30

The New York Times

The disc is full of ham-fisted experiments. [11 Oct 2004]

Read Full Review >
0

New Musical Express

Half the time, Good Charlotte sound like Blink-182 after the snip, the other half they sound like the Backstreet Boys without the songs. [16 Oct 2004, p.48]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 98 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Andrea gave it a5:
The record has bad songs, I could save only three-four tracks. Not the best by this band, only a commercial product.

Paul gave it a1:
I bought this album as an impressionable 13-year old when it first came out. I didn't enjoy it much at the time, and upon returning, realise what a humourless, soulless turd it is. The pre-packaged predictability, the psuedo-goth lyrics (apparently free of irony in songs such as 'The World is Black') and the microwaved, rehashed power chords all reek of product. The transparent punk facade only adds further insult to the listener's intelligence. Album number five might as well be titled: 'My Daddy Left Me But At Least I Have A Platinum Record'.

Simon B gave it a2:
I'm sorry, no. There's just so much in this album that sounds like a change of heart. Every song makes it appear like the guys were drinking their asses off while writing the album, smoking some ganja. Did it ever occur to them they were making music? The hits displayed on T.V. show how careless the band is and how "rebellious" they want to be while still sticking in some dumb bowl. Pancake music is what I call this. Flat, regurgitative, tasteless music that is eaten and then made into fecal matter the next moment.

joseph a gave it an8:
a really good album. i just wanna live is a great song

David H gave it a0:
Pop OR punk, it's bloody awful.

kyle f gave it an8:
not a bad album could ave been better

Andrew V gave it a7:
it's not bad..definitely better than last (which i d/l cause wasnt good enough to buy) not punk tho..and in response to spike its both the sound and the lyrics make it punk. some songs are decent (in this world, mett my maker) others are quite poppy (i just wanna live, chronicles). It is a good place to start and then go on to grittier like Green Day, Nofx and mature punk like JEW and Matchbook Romance

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use