Nothing Gold Can Stay (album)
Encyclopedia
Nothing Gold Can Stay is the debut studio album
by American rock
band New Found Glory
, released on October 19, 1999 through independent record label
Eulogy Recordings
. At the time, the band were then named "A New Found Glory", but later dropped the indefinite article "A" due to some fans struggling to find their records in stores. The original pressings of the album contained samplings
from several films including The Outsiders
(1983), Weird Science
(1985), and That Thing You Do!
(1996), as well as Robert Frost
's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay
", after which the album is named.
On the strength of the release, Richard Reines
, co-founder of Drive-Thru Records
, signed the band after paying Eulogy a $5,000 license fee in order to re-release the album. Propelled by debut single "Hit or Miss (Waited Too Long)", Nothing Gold Can Stay garnered a cult following
and sold in excess of 300,000 copies. The record was responsible for breaking the band in the United States
and has been noted for its influence on contemporary pop punk
music.
success with the release of debut EP It's All About the Girls
(1997), they soon caught the attention of independent label Eulogy Recordings
, and the quintet subsequently signed in order to increase distribution of their music. The album was recorded on a low budget with the members having to self-fund the sessions. Jordan Pundik
recalls, "I was working in Walgreens
, I remember borrowing money off my sister to pay for the recording and everybody getting on me for not throwing in enough." Chad Gilbert
also said that the album "wasn't recorded too well", but also praised its rawness by adding, "It sounds more real than a lot of other records". Pundik worked alongside primary lyricist and rhythm guitarist Steve Klein to pen the tracks. "When me and Steve would work on the songs, he'd come and pick me up in his punk-rock station wagon, with stickers all over the back. It didn't have a stereo
, just a boombox
. We'd sit in his room at his parents' house, and we'd work on lyrics and melodies with sheets of paper everywhere". Pundik also said that a five-year relationship during high school
inspired the lyrics to "Winter of '95". "I was with her for 5 years, she was the only thing I knew, so that played a big part. I remember listening to a Gameface record on vinyl, but was writing my own lyrics for the song at the same time in my head". Gilbert reflects on the album as "100 percent, without a doubt, the most honest, simple, pure record. We were just a bunch of kids who grew up in the suburbs. We never expected to leave Florida
, we were just making a a record we could play locally and sell to friends. Then, eventually, it took us so many other places".
/Promise Ring
rip-off bands crawling out from under every suburban nook and cranny, A New Found Glory pull out all the right hooks and harmonies. Reminiscing about the days of walking to the beach, holding hands with a loved one and loudly singing Michael Jackson
's "Thriller
". But, they're also about trying to pick up the pieces of a shattered relationship by writing a song about it. Just sit back, listen, and relate to their heartfelt days of love lost and found." Michael Dabaie of College Music Journal
awarded the album a "super" four-star rating. Describing the sound as "abrasive
yet extremely catchy" he also opined that the album was "pop-punk with substance and a stiff backbone."
A decade after the albums release, Brendan Manley of Alternative Press covered the album in two separate articles for the magazine. Discussing the album in the "10 Classic Albums of '99" feature, he wrote, "Like its title implies, Nothing Gold Can Stay is the sonic transcript of a glorious, fleeting time for NFG, and for pop-punk. But just as gold never loses its luster, it's only fitting that 10 years later, Nothing Gold Can Stay still shines". Later, during a separate article covering the bands history, Manley noted their lasting influence on modern pop-punk music; "New Found Glory are still at the forefront of the scene they helped create". Gabe Saporta
of Midtown
also said of Nothing Gold Can Stay; "The record has so many little quirks - so many things that made you feel like [NFG] were friends of yours, who were fucking around in the studio and happened to create something magical". Also, when Jared Logan was producing Fall Out Boy
's debut album
, he asked bassist Pete Wentz what sound the band desired for recording. Wentz responded by "handing over the first two New Found Glory records".
; music composed by New Found Glory
.
New Found Glory
Additional musicians
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
, released on October 19, 1999 through independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Eulogy Recordings
Eulogy Recordings
Eulogy Recordings is a record label based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.The label specializes in heavy metal or hardcore punk bands, some of which are straight edge. The label was founded by ex-hardcore guitarist John Wylie...
. At the time, the band were then named "A New Found Glory", but later dropped the indefinite article "A" due to some fans struggling to find their records in stores. The original pressings of the album contained samplings
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from several films including The Outsiders
The Outsiders (film)
The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. The film was released in March 1983...
(1983), Weird Science
Weird Science (film)
Weird Science is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock...
(1985), and That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do! is a 1996 comedy-drama musical film written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the story of the quick rise and fall of a one-hit wonder rock band...
(1996), as well as Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nothing Gold Can Stay (poem)
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is a poem by Robert Frost, written in 1923, and published in the Yale Review in October of that year. It was later published in the collection New Hampshire that earned Frost the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.New Hampshire also included Frost's poems "Fire and Ice" and...
", after which the album is named.
On the strength of the release, Richard Reines
Richard Reines
Richard Reines is an American recording industry executive who is co-owner of Drive-Thru Records with his sister, Stefanie Reines. Since its establishment in 1996, Drive-Thru Records has achieved notable success with bands including New Found Glory, Fenix*TX, Midtown, Finch, The Starting Line,...
, co-founder of Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records, established in 1996, was a California-based record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. It has produced various pop punk bands, many with a distinct SoCal sound....
, signed the band after paying Eulogy a $5,000 license fee in order to re-release the album. Propelled by debut single "Hit or Miss (Waited Too Long)", Nothing Gold Can Stay garnered a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
and sold in excess of 300,000 copies. The record was responsible for breaking the band in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and has been noted for its influence on contemporary pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
music.
Background and recording
Following the band's undergroundUnderground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
success with the release of debut EP It's All About the Girls
It's All About the Girls
It's All About the Girls is the debut EP by A New Found Glory released on December 20, 1997 by Fiddler Records. It is the only release with their original drummer Joe Moreno...
(1997), they soon caught the attention of independent label Eulogy Recordings
Eulogy Recordings
Eulogy Recordings is a record label based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.The label specializes in heavy metal or hardcore punk bands, some of which are straight edge. The label was founded by ex-hardcore guitarist John Wylie...
, and the quintet subsequently signed in order to increase distribution of their music. The album was recorded on a low budget with the members having to self-fund the sessions. Jordan Pundik
Jordan Pundik
Jordan Izaak Pundik is an American musician and songwriter.Pundik is a founding member and the frontman of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics...
recalls, "I was working in Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
, I remember borrowing money off my sister to pay for the recording and everybody getting on me for not throwing in enough." Chad Gilbert
Chad Gilbert
Chad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, composes music and provides backing vocals...
also said that the album "wasn't recorded too well", but also praised its rawness by adding, "It sounds more real than a lot of other records". Pundik worked alongside primary lyricist and rhythm guitarist Steve Klein to pen the tracks. "When me and Steve would work on the songs, he'd come and pick me up in his punk-rock station wagon, with stickers all over the back. It didn't have a stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
, just a boombox
Boombox
Boombox is a colloquial expression for a portable cassette or CD player. Other terms known are ghetto blaster, jambox, or radio-cassette. It is a device capable of receiving radio stations and playing recorded music , usually at relatively high volume...
. We'd sit in his room at his parents' house, and we'd work on lyrics and melodies with sheets of paper everywhere". Pundik also said that a five-year relationship during high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
inspired the lyrics to "Winter of '95". "I was with her for 5 years, she was the only thing I knew, so that played a big part. I remember listening to a Gameface record on vinyl, but was writing my own lyrics for the song at the same time in my head". Gilbert reflects on the album as "100 percent, without a doubt, the most honest, simple, pure record. We were just a bunch of kids who grew up in the suburbs. We never expected to leave Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, we were just making a a record we could play locally and sell to friends. Then, eventually, it took us so many other places".
Reception and legacy
Upon release in 1999, Nothing Gold Can Stay received positive reviews. Mike DaRonco of Allmusic gave the album a positive four star review. He wrote, "With an abundance of LifetimeLifetime (band)
Lifetime is an American melodic hardcore/emo band from New Jersey. Lifetime was formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1997. In late 2005, they announced their reunion.-History:...
/Promise Ring
Promise Ring
"Promise Ring" is the debut single by R&B singer Tiffany Evans from her self-titled debut album. It features Ciara. The song was produced by Mr. Collipark and The Clutch. It was officially released to iTunes on May 29, 2007. Once released, the song began to receive airplay on mainstream radio...
rip-off bands crawling out from under every suburban nook and cranny, A New Found Glory pull out all the right hooks and harmonies. Reminiscing about the days of walking to the beach, holding hands with a loved one and loudly singing Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Thriller
Thriller (song)
"Thriller" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records...
". But, they're also about trying to pick up the pieces of a shattered relationship by writing a song about it. Just sit back, listen, and relate to their heartfelt days of love lost and found." Michael Dabaie of College Music Journal
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
awarded the album a "super" four-star rating. Describing the sound as "abrasive
Abrasive
An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away...
yet extremely catchy" he also opined that the album was "pop-punk with substance and a stiff backbone."
A decade after the albums release, Brendan Manley of Alternative Press covered the album in two separate articles for the magazine. Discussing the album in the "10 Classic Albums of '99" feature, he wrote, "Like its title implies, Nothing Gold Can Stay is the sonic transcript of a glorious, fleeting time for NFG, and for pop-punk. But just as gold never loses its luster, it's only fitting that 10 years later, Nothing Gold Can Stay still shines". Later, during a separate article covering the bands history, Manley noted their lasting influence on modern pop-punk music; "New Found Glory are still at the forefront of the scene they helped create". Gabe Saporta
Gabe Saporta
Gabriel Eduardo "Gabe" Saporta is the lead singer and primary creative force behind the synthpop band Cobra Starship. He was previously the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the pop punk band Midtown....
of Midtown
Midtown
-In cities:Nepal*Midtown, Kathmandu, NepalUnited States*Midtown, Agoura Hills, California*Midtown Atlanta, Georgia**Midtown , passenger rail station near this area*Midtown Columbus, Georgia*Midtown, Detroit, Michigan...
also said of Nothing Gold Can Stay; "The record has so many little quirks - so many things that made you feel like [NFG] were friends of yours, who were fucking around in the studio and happened to create something magical". Also, when Jared Logan was producing Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
's debut album
Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend
Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend is the debut mini-LP by American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was released in 2003 through Uprising Records. In 2005, Uprising released a remastered reissue as Evening Out with Your Girlfriend, following the band's very successful major label debut From...
, he asked bassist Pete Wentz what sound the band desired for recording. Wentz responded by "handing over the first two New Found Glory records".
Track listing
All lyrics written by Steve Klein and Jordan PundikJordan Pundik
Jordan Izaak Pundik is an American musician and songwriter.Pundik is a founding member and the frontman of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics...
; music composed by New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
.
Personnel
The following people contributed to Nothing Gold Can Stay:New Found Glory
- Jordan PundikJordan PundikJordan Izaak Pundik is an American musician and songwriter.Pundik is a founding member and the frontman of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics...
- lead vocals, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of... - Chad GilbertChad GilbertChad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, composes music and provides backing vocals...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals, composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Steve KleinSteve Klein (musician)Stephen Lee "Steve" Klein is an American musician. Klein is a founding member of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he is the primary lyricist and plays rhythm guitar....
- rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, lyrics - Ian Grushka - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Cyrus Bolooki - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Additional musicians
- Chris CarrabbaChris CarrabbaChristopher Ender Carrabba is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Dashboard Confessional, and is the vocalist for the American emo/indie rock band Further Seems Forever.-Biography:...
– backing vocals - The Boofins on the Side Crew – backing vocals
- Marisa Browne – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
("Broken Sound", "The Goodbye Song")
Production
- A New Found Glory - producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, recordingRecordingRecording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording.... - Jeremy Du Bois - engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...