Good god, not Stranger than Fiction. That's probably the least interesting of their early 90's work. I would say that Generator or Recipe for Hate are pretty good starting points. Really though I would just start with Process of Belief, which seems to hit on almost every style they've ever played with.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:01 am Posts: 1524 Location: Ogden, Utah Gender: Male
My first one was "Process of Belief," and I went on to get a lot more! That being said, I'd probably recommend "Recipe For Hate" to start with though. I love 'American Jesus' on that one. Their two newer albums "The Empire Strikes First" and "New Maps of Hell" are some good ones to move on to later.
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:40 am Posts: 5773 Location: S. MPLS
meh... anyone that says Stranger Than Fiction sucks... well... sucks
most people i know who say that are just pissed because that's the album that gained them a ton of popularity (granted Recipe For Hate started it, but Stranger Than Fiction was pretty damn big at the time) or because it was their major label debut.
honestly it's probably their best all around album, and this is coming from a hardcore Bad Religion freak who has seen them well over 15x since '95. i remember the first time i heard it when it came out and thought "jesus, is this even the same band?" (in a good way).
i'd rank their albums probably something like:
Stranger Than Fiction Recipe For Hate Against the Grain Suffer Generator No Control The Gray Race The Process of Belief The New America The Empire Strikes First How Could Hell Be Any Worse? New Maps of Hell No Substance Into the Unknown
obviously depends on the day
which just shows how great their catalog is, because besides Into The Unknown, the 4 above it are still great albums. i much prefer their post 90's stuff though, as it sounds 100x better. sometimes i wish they'd go back and re-record the best of their 80's songs, as they sound amazing live.
Last edited by solace on Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:50 pm, edited 4 times in total.
i would kinda agree that stranger than fiction is a good starting point. even though its nowhere near their best.
process of belief or empire strikes first could be good starting points too.
most everything they do is great.
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:40 am Posts: 5773 Location: S. MPLS
i wouldn't argue with someone who said it's not exactly their VERY best, as on any given day there's at least 4 or 5 albums i'd consider "their best", but it's among their best easily imo. hell, even most of the members of the band think so .
i've come to realize though that BR fans rarely agree on what are their best albums, since they've been around SO damn long that you have at least 3 maybe 4 generations of fans and when they started listening to the band. i know tons of people who discount pretty much anything post 1990.
as I recall i don't think there was another album that i listened to more in '94 than STF (even Vitalogy). you have to realize that i was 16 when that album came out, sort of at the height of my punk and "me against the world" phase .
their last few have been pretty solid, but at times a bit bulky for punk albums IMO.
Last edited by solace on Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:49 pm, edited 3 times in total.
i think the problem with stranger than fiction is that i wore it out. it is definitely a great album. but so many of the other albums hit on such a deeper level lyrically that they have better staying power with me. i've been really happy with the last couple of albums.
_________________ "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." -- John Steinbeck
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:40 am Posts: 5773 Location: S. MPLS
aprilfifth wrote:
i think the problem with stranger than fiction is that i wore it out. it is definitely a great album. but so many of the other albums hit on such a deeper level lyrically that they have better staying power with me. i've been really happy with the last couple of albums.
fair enough.
i don't think i could ever wear out a BR album i'd agree lyrically that their albums are always strong. they're one of the few true punk bands i even still listen to in 2007 honestly.
Joined: Sat May 14, 2005 9:34 pm Posts: 345 Location: Montreal
I got All Ages to start off (Live comp) and I highly recommend it to you.
_________________ I will hold the candle till it burns up my arm
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I will stare the sun down until my eyes go blind
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Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:21 am Posts: 23078 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Gender: Male
Al wrote:
theplatypus wrote:
"Suffer" is great but at first it sounds like one long 26-minute song.
"Stranger than Fiction" or even "Generator" would be a much better starting point, and then work your way backwards (and then forward) from there.
That's what's so great about it!
Yeh, but there's much more to Bad Religion than what is in Suffer. It does have some great songs, and it's a very important record (Fat Mike was right to say it "changed everything"), but on first listen it's so repetitive-- only "What Can You Do" really sticks out.
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:40 am Posts: 5773 Location: S. MPLS
what's your guys thoughts on A New America?
it seems to get a poor reception from some BR fans i know, but at the time it came out I couldn't get enough of it. lyrically it's some of Greg's best work (minus I Love My Computer )
No Substance was actually my first BR album. I took it off my friend who didn't like them, who got it from his dad. I seem to like it a whole lot more than most people.
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