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

62 50 Cent
70 AFI
65 Air
70 Alice In Chains
55 Kris Allen
78 Amerie
67 Tori Amos
79 Annie
76 Anti-Pop Consortium
75 Arctic Monkeys
82 Atlas Sound
77 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
59 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
71 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Beak>
84 Biffy Clyro
72 The Big Pink
95 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
72 The Black Heart Procession
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
53 Bon Jovi
76 A.A. Bondy
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
83 Brother Ali
72 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
77 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
78 Califone
69 Mariah Carey
81 Brandi Carlile
72 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
71 Castanets
82 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64 Exene Cervenka
79 Vic Chesnutt
81 Circulatory System
67 The Clean
84 The Clientele
72 Cold Cave
85 Converge
76 The Cribs
79 Cymbals Eat Guitars
62 Dashboard Confessional
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
77 Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
73 Do Make Say Think
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
67 Bob Dylan
58 Echo & The Bunnymen
61 Electric Six
44 The Entrance Band
69 Fanfarlo
71 Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
66 Orenda Fink
79 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
65 Calvin Harris
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
67 Hockey
67 Whitney Houston
80 Hudson Mohawke
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
74 Jamie T
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
68 Daniel Johnston
76 Norah Jones
77 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
75 Kid Sister
66 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
63 Mark Knopfler
73 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
85 Miranda Lambert
67 Adam Lambert
71 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
64 Leona Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
74 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
83 Patty Loveless
73 Lyle Lovett
79 Lucero
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
61 Maps
73 Mario
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
60 John Mayer
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
75 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
75 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
66 Morrissey
76 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
82 Nirvana
96 Nirvana
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
64 OneRepublic
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
78 Osso
67 Alec Ounsworth
81 Owen
73 Paramore
78 Pastels And Tenniscoats
80 Pearl Jam
69 Jemina Pearl
65 Phish
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
72 Port O'Brien
79 Q-Tip
79 R.E.M.
88 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
75 Dizzee Rascal
74 The Raveonettes
79 Real Estate
76 Rihanna
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78 Russian Circles
69 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78 Say Anything
71 Shakira
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
58 Spiral Stairs
55 Steel Panther
75 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
68 Joss Stone
83 Barbra Streisand
77 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79 The Swell Season
80 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
80 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
78 The Dutchess & The Duke
71 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74 Them Crooked Vultures
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
73 Frank Turner
71 The Twilight Sad
60 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
69 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
70 Kurt Vile
65 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
73 Rufus Wainwright
78 Wale
57 Weezer
81 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
68 Robbie Williams
59 Andrew W.K.
65 Wolfmother
84 The xx
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52 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 (UPDATED) | Terms of Use