Good Charlotte

Joel Madden – Vocals
Benji Madden – Lead Guitar, Vocals
Billy Martin – Guitar and Keyboards
Paul Thomas – Bass
Dean Butterworth - Drums
From the opening sounds of Good Charlotte's fourth album Good Morning Revival -- which launches with an artful, innovative sound collage that slides into the irresistible “Misery” -- it’s evident that the world-famous band who’ve sold over nine million albums has revolutionized its sound for 2007. And by the time the optimistic parting shot “March On” rolls around, it’s evident that this is the vibrant, adventurous and unexpected rock album that has redefined the group.

Returning to work with producer Don Gilmore (Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne) -- who helmed Good Charlotte’s eponymous 2000 breakthrough debut - -was the decisive change that reinvigorated the band. After a pair of successful albums like 2002’s tremendously popular triple platinum The Young and the Hopeless and 2004’s subsequent million-selling follow-up The Chronicles of Life and Death (which were realized with producer Eric Valentine), GC singer Joel Madden says its modus operandi on Good Morning Revival (Epic/Daylight) was simply to “make a record that we loved and that felt good.”

In an effort to achieve that goal, Gilmore challenged Joel and his identical twin, Good Charlotte’s guitarist Benji Madden, to bring their A game. And he was highly critical. “We threw out 50 or 60 songs and pretty much started over,” Benji says. “Don was like, ‘I want to reinvent you guys. I want people to ask themselves, ‘Is that Good Charlotte?’”

“Don wanted a fresh, new us,” Joel explains. “And he was like, ‘If you guys are ready for that then I want to work with you. And we were like, ‘Dude, we are so ready for that, you have no idea.’ He kept pushing us and we’d keep bringing songs to him and he’d be like, ‘Nah. It’s not what I’m looking for. And then he was like, ‘you know what? I’m going to take you guys out of L.A. and you’re going to work without interruptions and then we’re going to get it.’”

“We wanted to love every track,” bassist Paul Thomas explains. “Our goal this time out was to make it an awesome listen straight through. No fucking filler, man.”

For the Maddens, who -- unlike their bandmates Paul, guitarist/keyboardist Billy Martin and new Good Charlotte drummer Dean Butterworth -- had become fixtures of the paparazzi-addled L.A. nightclub scene as well as prominent DJs, the opportunity to ship up to Vancouver to create new music was absolutely necessary and remarkably fruitful.

The first day in British Columbia the Maddens had the bulk of “Victim of Love,” the contagious harmony-laden rock & roll song, down. “We knew we were onto something,” Joel explains. And literally every day it was like we were writing a new song. After two months in Canada, isolating ourselves and getting away from everything that we were comfortable with was amazing. We came away with most of what you hear on this record.”

By the time the group officially hit the studio with Gilmore, the downtime between its last tour and its official reconvening was as therapeutic as it was motivational. “The fact that we were able to stop, take a deep breath and kind of find some appreciation for all that we’ve accomplished has a lot to do with why this record sounds as vital and electrifying as it does,” says Martin. “We used to just take every offer that came our way and we’d never get much in the way of downtime. Now that we’ve had that time off it feels like a new band in a lot of ways.”

One of the album’s highlights is its first single: the blistering, unforgettable rocker “The River,” an impassioned song about sin and redemption that traverses the dark side of Los Angeles. For the song, the band brought longtime friends and fellow musicians M. Shadows and Synyster Gates (of Avenged Sevenfold) into the mix, marking the first time Good Charlotte has officially collaborated with another artist on an album. It turned out to be a natural fit for both bands.

“We’ve been friends with Avenged for a longtime. This wasn’t planned, but it ended up working out,” Joel explains. “We were sitting around listening to some new music and they liked that song so we asked them to jump on. It felt right and sounded really cool. Aside from being friends of ours, we’re also fans of their music and since this is our first collaboration, we couldn’t be happier that they’re a part of our record.”

Good Morning Revival sustains its momentum with tracks like the fuzzy, club-driven “Dancefloor Anthem” and the genre-defying, Gorillaz-like You Tube favorite “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” (which was introduced to audiences on the band’s U.S. fall 2006 tour and will be the lead single in Europe, Asia and South America). Good Charlotte has proven that it can thrive in a number of musical realms.

“Honestly, the first time I heard it, I was like, ‘Are you fucking kidding me? People will never know that’s a Good Charlotte song,” concedes Billy. “And then Joel’s like, ‘Well, that’s the point!’ But soon enough it had me in its clutches.”

“It’s kind of weird,” Joel says. “That song takes a lot of balls. I know some people will listen to it and probably think, ‘No thank you.’ It’s definitely not as if we sat down and penned a piece of art. It’s kind of like a sarcastic take on the whole club scene.”

Elsewhere, on the hard-charging dance beat-steered rocker, “Misery” -- in which the singer observes the “tacky, plastic, shallow, empty” people that distinguish the City of Angels -- the keyboards are really pronounced. While the gorgeous “A Beautiful Place,” which evokes strains of Travis, The Beach Boys and the Flaming Lips, asserts that Good Charlotte is as much of a bona fide pop band and serious chart contender as it is a techno group or a punk quintet.

“I wrote that song in Mexico,” Benji says of “A Beautiful Place.” “I was down there during hurricane season and I was in this beautiful beach environment. I had a night off and I was just thinking about how lucky I’ve been. That’s a real Dean [Butterworth] moment. It was different when we wrote it, but then Dean started playing that real pronounced drum part. The drums are part of the hook. And it changed the whole sound.”

Speaking of new vibes, the ups and downs of relationships propel rock anthems like “Break Her Heart” and the opposites attract tack of “Something Else.” These songs, along with the tender, melodic ballad “Where Would We Be,” find Joel -- who recently ended a lengthy, highly-publicized relationship with a certain movie star -- putting his feelings out there for public scrutiny. “I’m sure people are going to say these songs are about this or that,” he admits. “Love is a big part of me and I’ve accepted that and it’s in my music. And I’m not afraid to just show it.”

Such honesty coupled with success and personal growth couldn’t help but inform Good Morning Revival. “This record shows a lot more of us than anything we’ve done in the past,” Benji says. “Because it’s hard to be an angry kid, all mad at the world when you’ve got it so good. I mean, that angst will always be there for Joel and I because of the way we grew up. Our father wasn’t the best role model as people know. But I definitely have a moment every day where I go, ‘Wow. What a rad life.’ I look at myself as being really blessed.”

To which Joel adds, “It’s been a roller coaster ride for us in our own little way. We were up, then we kind of went down a bit. But now we’re up again. I think our new record has really been as much about looking back as it is about moving forward. We’ve realized a lot, and I’m really grateful that we’re still doing what we love.”

Revitalized and inspired, Good Morning Revival finds Good Charlotte at its creative pinnacle.

The East Coast post-grunge/pop-punk outfit Good Charlotte was founded in 1996 by identical brothers Joel and Benji Madden. Inspired by a Beastie Boys performance on their 1995 Ill Communication tour, the Maddens enlisted the help of several high school classmates in assembling a band that combined the energetic elements spawned from '70s punk with the sentimental ballads of mainstream corporate rock. Good Charlotte was soon formed, with Joel Madden handling lead vocals and Benji Madden playing lead guitar. Paul Thomas (bass) and Aaron Escolopio (drums) completed the early lineup, while Billy Martin later joined as a second guitarist.

Although the band hailed from the suburban town of Waldorf, MD, Good Charlotte quickly made a name for itself in nearby Washington, D.C., playing the WHFS annual rock show HFSFestival in 1998 and 1999. A year later, the band issued its spunky self-titled debut on Epic, and the single "Little Things" made minor waves. The Madden brothers scored a gig as MTV VJs and soon were all over the network's late-night rock show All Things Rock, which gave their band's profile a boost. The two spent time behind the scenes writing songs for their sophomore album, but Escolopio left the group to join his brother in Wakefield before recording could commence. Josh Freese was quickly enlisted as the band's temporary drummer (Chris Wilson would later replace him permanently). By the fall of 2002, Good Charlotte was ready to release The Young and the Hopeless, and their expanded audience was ready. Singles "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and "Anthem" catapulted the band into the mainstream in 2003 and eventually drove the album into triple-platinum sales; shared dates with New Found Glory for the third annual Honda Civic Tour were equally successful.

In 2004, Good Charlotte returned with The Chronicles of Life and Death, which hit number three on the Billboard charts but failed to sell as well as the band's previous album. Wilson exited the band in mid-2005, citing health reasons, and later went on to join the Summer Obsession. Dean Butterworth (who had previously drummed for Morrissey, among others) joined up in time for sessions for the crew's fourth album, which were held in Vancouver and away from the Madden-loving paparazzi (especially Joel and his then-girlfriend Hilary Duff). The much more varied Good Morning Revival appeared in late March 2007, spearheaded by the single "The River," which featured M. Shadows and Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide