Additional personnel includes: Suzie Katayama (strings); Jason Powell (saxophone); Phil Jordan (trumpet); Erich Marbach (trombone); Brendan O'Brien (piano); Ronnie King (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums); Juan Alvarez (bells); Mark Moreno (scratches); Jim Lindenberg, Jack Grisham, Lauren Kinkade (background vocals).
Ten years after their breakthrough hit, "Keep 'Em Separated," and 14 years after their debut, the Offspring maintains pace with SPLINTER. Since the last release, the band has lost longtime drummer Ron Welty, who's replaced here by A Perfect Circle skins-pounder Josh Freese. There's no discernible let-up in momentum; Dexter and company are essentially pursuing the same stylistic path they've been on from the beginning. Even though they achieved fame at the tail end of the grunge era, their '80s beginnings make them the grand old men of third-wave punk, and SPLINTER consequently bears a lot more gravitas than the efforts of younger pop-punks.
As usual, the band throws in a touch of ska-punk, this time with cautionary drinking tale "The Worst Hangover Ever," complete with horn section. And there are a couple of diversions from the norm--Ronnie King's wah-wah synth lightening things up on "Hit That," the acoustic guitar textures of "Spare Me the Details"--but the tried-and-true smart-aleck lyrics and pounding punk cadences that ensnared Offspring fans from the get-go are still very much in evidence.
Recorded at Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia.
The Offspring: Dexter Holland, Noodles (vocals, guitar); Greg K (vocals, bass).
Personnel: Dexter Holland, Noodles (vocals, guitar, background vocals); 2002 Reading Festival Crowd, Greg K. (vocals); Gayle Levant (harp); Matt Funes, Eve Butler, Natalie Leggett, Mario Diaz de Leon, Denyse Buffum (violin); Larry Corbett (cello); Jason Powell (saxophone); Phil Jordan (trumpet); Erich Marbach (trombone); Brendan O'Brien (piano); Ronnie King (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums); Chris Higgins (sound effects, background vocals); Lauren Kinkade, Jack Grisham, Jim Lindberg (background vocals).
DJ: Mark A. Moreno.
Audio Mixer: Brendan O'Brien.
Recording information: Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; King Neptune's, Sunset Beach, CA; SOuthern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, GA.
Photographer: Rupert Truman.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Spin (01/04, p.97) - "...They prove they're still pretty fly for old guys..." - Grade: B- Spin (01/04, p.97) - "...They prove they're still pretty fly for old guys..." - Grade: B-f Q (1/04, p.121) - 3 stars out of 5 - "SPLINTER sounds like a band who know exactly what they're doing....There are some cracking punk rock tunes here." Mojo (Publisher) (12/03, p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]his is still a varied and extremely capable band, with SPLINTER displaying all the subtle, sometimes subversive humour and understated scope."
Highly Underrated!! wow!! alot of folks are just cruel to this album haha... I for one think Splinter is ONE OF, not saying it IS the best, but it is FAR from the WORST album, the intro "Neocon" would no doubt make such a good entrance for a hometown sports team preparing for a match very soon, "The Noose" and "Long Way Home" are what you'd expect out of an Offspring album.. varied slightly, "Hit That" mixes a more dancier punk pop sound kicking it with the added synthesizer and techno sounds and letting loose with the chorus as the true punk rock offspring riffs take you home, "Race Against Myself" marks a more harder spot on the entire album or Offspring's music in general... love it!!, "(Can't Get My) Head Around You" is your typical favored punk song by the offspring as one listen just won't do it with it being like other favorite PUNK songs by the band... extremely catchy!!, "The Worst Hangover Ever" I find this CD could do without as it takes us away from punk rock with ska as offspring tended to do in previous albums, "Never Gonna Find Me" and "Lightning Rod" offspring takes us BACK to punk rock with these two revved up tunes, "Spare Me the Details" is a more poppier PUNK song on the cd but amazingly catchy nonetheless and one to sure get you moving, "Da Hui" being the more TYPICAL Punk Rock structured song with it being a much shorter track, faster, and in your face screaming, and "When You're In Prison" be another track that should've done without although it being the HUMOROUS side of a typical PUNK band..... so after reviewing each track, the only TWO that 'I' find shouldn't be here, are "The Worst Hangover Ever" and "When You're In Prison" ... but they ARE on it, but I'm not regretting buying the CD, as the album has such GREAT tracks on it, I hardly even THINK about those lacking songs.... favorites: "Hit That" , "Race Against Myself" , "(Can't Get My) Head Around You" , "Lightning Rod" and "Spare Me the Details"... Amazing!!! Rock On!! Submitted by Justin (St. Anthony, NL, Canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Excellent fragments make one great Splinter Each song on Splinter is a powerful success. From the dark "Lightning Rod" to the tongue-in-cheek "Worst Hangover Ever," Splinter is masterful music of varying styles.
Dexter's vocals have never sounded better, with pulse-pounding screams and soft, melodic singing. Josh Freese replaces Ron Welty on drums for this album, but still manages to keep The Offspring's style while adding his own flair. Greg K mixes it up a bit on bass, and Noodles delivers solid, powerful guitar chords.
Splinter is short, but memorable, with songs that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head and get you up and moving, such as "Hit That," "(Can't Get My) Head Around You," and the catchy, accoustic "Spare Me the Details".
But Splinter's greatest triumphs are its meaningful lyrics that everyone can relate to. It reminds me more of Americana than Conspiracy of One lyrically. Songs like "Never Gonna Find Me" and "Race Against Myself" convey thoughts that we've all had at one point or another. Everyone will be able to find at least a few songs they like on Splinter.
I highly recommend Splinter. It transcends genres. Fans of rock, punk, pop, ska, etc. alike will be able to enjoy it. Submitted by a reviewer (FL, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
great album The people who wrote bad things about this album are on crack. The songs are fast, hard, and slightly bohemian. This has been my FAVORITE Offspring CD for years, and one of my favorite CD's just in general. BUY IT!!!---or download illegally. ;-) Submitted by bored8768 (Cali) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Way too short and too much filler What the heck happened? The Offspring never put out a crappy album until this one. I've got all their albums, so I know their material well. There are a few strong tracks, but the album is so short. I also don't know why the prison song is on there. That was a wasted two minutes of my life. I now know why they were going to give the album away on the net. I hope they can come out with something better next time. Fans of the band may want this, but don't expect much. Submitted by Fred (Ashburn, VA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
the offspring's back, but short the offspring rules on this one, from the sound of their intro, to the odd, but funny exit, this cd is pure offspring. one of the band's best album,(next to ixay and americana) they don't miss a beat with punk heavy sarrow, and vandal like humor, with best drummer in the world josh freese, next to byron mcmackin.replacing ron welthy for this album. they don't miss on this album. its like afi and the vandals had a kid and name it the offspring. buy this album, you well be pleased!!!.......the only draw back is that its only 11 tracks of goodness, not counting the last track, kinda freaky to listen to at night. Submitted by deadvandals (Albuqureque, NM) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Highly Underrated!!
Way too short and too much filler
the offspring's back, but short
Share this Product