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Entertainment Weekly

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

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.

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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.

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Billboard

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

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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]

Los Angeles Times

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

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.

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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]

Blender

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

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.

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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.

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Rolling Stone

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

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]

The Guardian

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

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The New York Times

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

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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

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The Chronicles Of Life And Death

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