Bad Religion Stranger Than Fiction CD

Live Recording

Bad Religion: Greg Graffin (vocals); Brett Gurewitz (guitar, background vocals); Greg Hetson (guitar); Jay Bentley (bass, background vocals); Bobby Schayer (drums).
Additional personnel: Tim "Lint" Armstrong (vocals); Wayne Kramer (guitar); Andy Wallace (Hammond organ); Jim Lindeberg (background vocals).
Personnel: Greg Craffin (vocals); Greg Hetson, Wayne Kramer , Brett Gurewitz (guitar); Bobby Schayer (drums).
Audio Mixer: Andy Wallace.
Recording information: Rumbo Recorders.
Photographer: Dan Winters.
Unknown Contributor Role: Tim Armstrong.
It seems that Bad Religion's eighth LP is a rare case of selling out in reverse. Having signed to the big bad major wolf ("what big teeth you have, Grandma Atlantic"), the bandmembers seem too intent on showing their fans they're not going wimpy, so they turn their back on the advances of Generator and Recipe for Hate in order to bring back the naked aggression. Stranger Than Fiction is back to the go-for-the-jugular stuff, pretending that the wonderful modifications and variety of their recent work never existed -- thus the qualms about this LP. It feels too regressive, a sort of pandering. That said, if they are going to go backwards, I for one am going with them -- there is still no one better at this stuff. The opening "Incomplete" features some of the most intense verse singing by the ever-soaring Greg Graffin, behind a muscular, punishing sound helped by guest guitar from the MC5's Wayne Kramer. Almost as storming in the same vein are philosophical songs such as "Leave Mine to Me," "Individual," "Tiny Voices," and the powerhouse "Marked," all uptempo barnburners, pulverizing in their rapid passion. The biggest gratification, though, is that a few songs do seem more in line with the maturity of the previous two LPs. "Handshake" is the album's summit, thanks to an oven-hot chorus and an outro-coda that has to rank among their ten best moments. "Slumber" is a slower show-stopper, with a pleading barrage of harmony vocals, while the title track builds on Generator's "Atomic Garden" with an unusual Beatles/Jam singsong melody. On the negative side, "Infected" into "Television" are the two least effective songs of their 15 years, the former a third-rate "Sanity," the latter bereft of hooks. In any case, it is not to be missed and it will haunt you in your sleep. ~ Jack Rabid
Bad Religion is punk-rock's Bonnie Raitt, a cult band that persisted and persisted until the world finally came around to them. Around the time Robert Johnson's old Delta blues records started selling in the hundreds of thousands, Raitt started collecting platinum records and Grammys; likewise, in the era of Nirvana's and Green Day's run up the charts, Bad Religion began seeing big returns for the same kind of records they used to make for peanuts.
STRANGER THAN FICTION is where Bad Religion cashes in--at the alternative register, anyway. Far from a sellout, it's a confident reaffirmation of all the band's strengths: anthemic rhythm-guitar hooks that are equal parts 70's punk, 80's hardcore and classic heavy metal; a fast but super-tight rhythm section; unswervingly political lyrics; and, in defiant contrast to all of the above, pop harmonies. Songs like "Incomplete," "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Handshake" (which equates record-company business deals with class and race warfare) enter your head as hurricanes of information about the world's ills. They remain there because they're built upon blistering punk-rock guitar hooks.

Rolling Stone (11/3/94, p.98) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...like the Ramones' early albums, STRANGER THAN FICTION is a thrill ride that threatens to hurtle off the track at any second, the melodies coming in great, breathless bunches..."
Entertainment Weekly (9/9/94, p.84) - "...What's strange about these California power punk veterans' major label debut is that their slammin' riffs, tersely punctuated guitar solos, and ambitious harmonies remained underground for so long..." - Rating: A-
Q (11/94, p.105) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...no-holds-barred yet melodic...Their battleplan is matching poignant socio-politically aware lyrics to grungy yet powerfully soaring guitar rock..."
Musician (10/94, p.86) - "...On a stylistic level, Bad Religion are punk fundamentalists...yet these guys are virtual Unitarians when it comes to songwriting, opting for easily accessible pop melodies and even the occasional cushion of harmony vocals....It makes for a wonderfully bracing album..."
NME (Magazine) (10/15/94, p.55) - 8 - Excellent - "...Bad Religion write great tunes...that place them firmly within that fine punk rock tradition of The Ramones and the sadly neglected Hard-Ons..."