The Gray Race

The Gray Race is the ninth full-length album of the punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released in 1996. It was the follow-up to the band's highly successful 1994 album Stranger Than Fiction.

The Gray Race
Studio album by
Bad Religion
ReleasedFebruary 27, 1996
RecordedOctober–November 1995
StudioElectric Lady (New York City)
Genre
Length38:04
LabelAtlantic
ProducerRic Ocasek
Bad Religion chronology
All Ages
(1995)		 The Gray Race
(1996)		 Tested
(1997)
Singles from The Gray Race
  1. "A Walk"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Punk Rock Song"
    Released: 1996
  3. "The Streets of America"
    Released: 1996
  4. "Ten in 2010 "
    Released: 1996

This was the band's first album not recorded with original guitarist Brett Gurewitz (since the 1985 EP Back to the Known) and is their first release with Brian Baker, who replaced him during the Stranger Than Fiction tour.

Some songs on the album are considered fan favorites, such as, "Them And Us", "A Walk", "Punk Rock Song", "Spirit Shine", "Ten in 2010", "Come Join Us", and "Cease".

Although not as successful as Stranger Than Fiction, The Gray Race achieved modest success when MTV ran a commercial for the album during its release. The album was re-released by Epitaph Records on September 15, 2008.

Production and marketing

After the 10-month Stranger Than Fiction tour, frontman Graffin soon began writing songs for Stranger Than Fiction's follow-up. The band recorded it at Electric Lady Studios, New York City with producer Ric Ocasek (of The Cars, Bad Brains and Weezer fame). The recording lasted throughout much of October and November 1995.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Alternative Rock9/10[4]
Robert Christgau(1-star Honorable Mention)[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME1/10[2]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spin7/10[1]

The Gray Race was released on February 27, 1996, and peaked at #56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[8] It spawned the moderately successful single "A Walk" in the United States. In Europe, the album also reached the German charts at #6 as well as earn the group a gold record for sales in Scandinavia. Then-former and now current guitarist Brett Gurewitz disliked the album, however, and commented that it was "BR's worst-selling record to date" and described it as "uninspired." He has since taken that back. [9] Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that Baker "not only brings new blood to the band, but also some superior guitar work. Gritty classics, tougher than recent offerings, dance on an edge not visited since the days of Generator."[4]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Gray Race"Graffin, Baker2:06
2."Them and Us"Graffin2:50
3."A Walk"Graffin2:14
4."Parallel"Graffin3:19
5."Punk Rock Song"Graffin2:27
6."Empty Causes"Graffin2:51
7."Nobody Listens"Graffin, Baker1:57
8."Pity the Dead"Graffin2:56
9."Spirit Shine"Graffin, Baker2:11
10."The Streets of America"Graffin, Baker3:48
11."Ten in 2010"Graffin2:22
12."Victory"Graffin2:36
13."Drunk Sincerity"Graffin2:13
14."Come Join Us"Graffin2:03
15."Cease"Graffin2:35
Total length:38:04
Europe bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Punk Rock Song (German version)"Graffin2:27
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."The Universal Cynic"2:18
17."The Dodo"2:12

Personnel

Notes/Trivia
  • Due to Gurewitz's departure a year before the album was recorded, all tracks for this album were written by Greg Graffin, though guitarist Brian Baker co-wrote 4 out of 15 of the songs.
  • The track "Cease" was later re-recorded for Greg Graffin's 1997 solo album, American Lesion, this time as a piano and vocal arrangement. This version was played by Graffin on their 2006 DVD Live at the Palladium.
  • The album liner contains ten portraits of faces in black and white. Different versions exist, with different pictures as the front cover.
  • The album would earn Bad Religion a gold record for sales in Scandinavia and reach # 6 on the German charts for the single "Punk Rock Song".
  • The songs "Them and Us" and "Ten in 2010" were featured in the game Crazy Taxi.
  • The album was re-released by Epitaph Records on September 15, 2008.

Charts

Sales and certifications
Certifications for The Gray Race
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] Gold 20,147[19]

References

Citations

  1. Christgau, Robert (March 1, 1996). "Spins". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. p. 107.
  2. Cigarettes, Johnny (March 2, 1996). "Bad Religion - The Gray Race". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  3. AllMusic Review
  4. Thompson 2000, p. 170
  5. Robert Christgau Review
  6. Masuo, Sandy (March 3, 1996). "** 1/2 BAD RELIGION, "The Gray Race", Atlantic". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  7. Rolling Stone Review
  8. "The Gray Race's entry at Billboard.com" (PDF). Billboard.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  9. "The Gray Race (Album) | the Answer | the Bad Religion Page - Since 1995".
  10. "Australiancharts.com – Bad Religion – The Gray Race". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Bad Religion – The Gray Race" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bad Religion – The Gray Race" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  13. "Bad Religion: The Gray Race" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bad Religion – The Gray Race" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Bad Religion – The Gray Race". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  16. "Swisscharts.com – Bad Religion – The Gray Race". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  17. "Bad Religion Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  18. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  19. "Bad Religion" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 15, 2022.

Sources

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