As they must to all men, the years have caught up to Good Charlotte, the punk-pop band who made their bones as snotty young brats.
Facing their forties, Joel and Benji Madden turn both inward and outward on Generation Rx, a swift LP teeming with affirmations and anthems.
Perhaps its title is a jab at a medicated generation, but the record also seems to be designed as healing: punk-pop as self-help.
Indeed, the second song on Generation Rx is called "Self Help," and while the Maddens aren't entirely navel-gazing here, their rallying calls for bullied teens and broadsides against "thoughts and prayers" platitudes are rooted within the idea that empathy is preferable to sarcasm.
Such earnestness means that Generation Rx can feel a little bit deliberate: it may be little more than half an hour but it feels a bit longer, because the tempos are moderate and the melodies studiously avoid effervescence.
All the same, Generation Rx winds up showing a way forward for Good Charlotte: they haven't forgotten their adolescence, but instead of attempting to re-create those wild crazy days, they've chosen to act as the concerned big brothers showing there's a way out of the darkness.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Generation RxZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 02:07 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 2 | Self HelpZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | ShadowboxerZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Actual PainZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | PrayersZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Cold SongZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | LeechZakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Better DemonsDan Lancaster, Benji Madden, Joel Madden | Good Charlotte | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | California (The Way I Say I Love You)Zakk Cervini, Benji Madden, Joel Madden, Matt Pauling | Good Charlotte | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 31 mins | 72 MB | |||||
| 31 mins | 217 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Courtney Ballard | Engineer |
| 2 | Sasha Becerra | Design |
| 3 | Dean Butterworth | Drums, Group Member |
| 4 | Sam Carter | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 5 | Zakk Cervini | Composer, Engineer, Producer, Vocals |
| 6 | Doug Dean | Artwork, Layout |
| 7 | Good Charlotte | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Ted Jensen | Mastering |
| 9 | Ville Juurikkala | Photography |
| 10 | Nik Karpin | Mixing Assistant |
| 11 | David Kaye | Vocals |
| 12 | Dan Lancaster | Composer |
| 13 | Lucy Landry | Vocals |
| 14 | Chris Lord-Alge | Mixing |
| 15 | Jon Lundin | Assistant, Engineer |
| 16 | Benji Madden | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Producer, Vocals |
| 17 | Joel Madden | Composer, Group Member, Vocals |
| 18 | Billy Martin | Group Member, Guitar |
| 19 | Musyca Children's Choir | Choir/Chorus |
| 20 | Matt Pauling | Composer, String Arrangements |
| 21 | Colin Schwanke | Editing |
| 22 | Allie Snow | Cover Photo |
| 23 | Paul Thomas | Bass, Group Member |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |