Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit
Encyclopedia
Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit is the fifth album by the Santa Cruz, California
-based hardcore punk
band Good Riddance
, released July 10, 2001 through Fat Wreck Chords
. It was their only release ever to chart, reaching #32 on Billboard
's Independent Albums
chart. It marked the debut of drummer Dave Wagenschutz with the band; their longtime drummer Sean Sellers had left in early 1999, and Lagwagon
drummer Dave Raun
had filled in on the 2000 EP
The Phenomenon of Craving
and on several tours until Wagenschutz, formerly of Kid Dynamite
, joined Good Riddance full-time.
Like The Phenomenon of Craving and their previous album Operation Phoenix
, Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado
with the production team of Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton
, and Jason Livermore. Singer Russ Rankin
later reflected on the album as a high point for the band:
gave it four stars out of five, calling it "without question, the definitive GR album ... this is not the same 1,000-beats-a-minute GR you've listened to for the last several years." Jo-Ann Greene of Allmusic gave it four and a half stars out of five, saying that it "finds Good Riddance huddling ever closer to the melodic punk sound they've been moving towards over the few preceding years ... However, the increased tunefulness takes none of the bite out of Good Riddance's lyrics. And whether attacking individual imperfections or greater societal ills, the group's songwriting remains savagely on point. Always threatening greatness, the group have now produced a true classic."
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
-based hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Good Riddance
Good Riddance
Good Riddance was a punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, and their final album was a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup included guitarist Luke Pabich,...
, released July 10, 2001 through Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by Fat Mike and his ex-wife, Erin, in 1990....
. It was their only release ever to chart, reaching #32 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Independent Albums
Independent Albums
The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
chart. It marked the debut of drummer Dave Wagenschutz with the band; their longtime drummer Sean Sellers had left in early 1999, and Lagwagon
Lagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
drummer Dave Raun
Dave Raun
Dave Raun a resident of Fresno, California, is the drummer for the seminal California punk rock band Lagwagon. He also filled in on drums for a short period of time for Sean "SC" Sellers of Good Riddance. Additionally, Raun drums for the punk rock cover band/supergroup Me First and the Gimme...
had filled in on the 2000 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
The Phenomenon of Craving
The Phenomenon of Craving
The Phenomenon of Craving is an EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 23, 2000 through Fat Wreck Chords. Their drummer Sean Sellers had left the band in early 1999, so Dave Raun of Lagwagon drummed on the EP and on several tours with the band...
and on several tours until Wagenschutz, formerly of Kid Dynamite
Kid Dynamite
Kid Dynamite was a Philadelphia-based melodic hardcore band consisting of drummer Dave Wagenschutz, guitarist Dan Yemin, vocalist Jason Shevchuk, and bassist Michael Cotterman, who replaced original bassist Steve Farrell. The band put out two full-lengths before lead singer Jason Shevchuk left the...
, joined Good Riddance full-time.
Like The Phenomenon of Craving and their previous album Operation Phoenix
Operation Phoenix (album)
Operation Phoenix is the fourth album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 4, 1999 through Fat Wreck Chords...
, Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
with the production team of Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton
Stephen Egerton
Stephen Patrick O'Reilly , better known as Stephen Egerton , is an American guitarist, best known for his work playing with The Descendents and All....
, and Jason Livermore. Singer Russ Rankin
Russ Rankin
Russ Rankin is an American singer from Santa Cruz, CA. He has recorded and played in such notable bands as Good Riddance and Only Crime.-Musical Biography:...
later reflected on the album as a high point for the band:
Symptons of a Leveling Spirit, I think, was our...I think it was the pinnacle, it was definitely the pinnacle for us as far as our career if you just want to go by numbers. Like, the year that that came out, we were in every weekly, all of our shows were bumped up to the bigger rooms, we sold out our whole European tour, and that was about as good as it ever got for us and that was pretty cool for that to happen. Like that record was...I just have a lot of really good memories about that year personally and band-wise...everything just went really really well for us and we had a really successful year, and I still think that record, and to a lesser extent the E.P. that came before it, were where I finally kind of like, found my stride as a song-writer.
Reception
Reception to Symptons of a Leveling Spirit was positive. Chris Moran of Punknews.orgPunknews.org
Punknews.org is a website founded by Aubin Paul which launched in 1999. The website publishes music news and album reviews relating to punk rock, hardcore punk, ska, indie rock and heavy metal...
gave it four stars out of five, calling it "without question, the definitive GR album ... this is not the same 1,000-beats-a-minute GR you've listened to for the last several years." Jo-Ann Greene of Allmusic gave it four and a half stars out of five, saying that it "finds Good Riddance huddling ever closer to the melodic punk sound they've been moving towards over the few preceding years ... However, the increased tunefulness takes none of the bite out of Good Riddance's lyrics. And whether attacking individual imperfections or greater societal ills, the group's songwriting remains savagely on point. Always threatening greatness, the group have now produced a true classic."
Track listing
Personnel
- Russ RankinRuss RankinRuss Rankin is an American singer from Santa Cruz, CA. He has recorded and played in such notable bands as Good Riddance and Only Crime.-Musical Biography:...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Luke Pabich – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Chuck Platt – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Dave Wagenschutz – 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 ....
- Bill Stevenson – 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...
, recording and mix engineerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"... - Stephen EgertonStephen EgertonStephen Patrick O'Reilly , better known as Stephen Egerton , is an American guitarist, best known for his work playing with The Descendents and All....
– producer, recording and mix engineer - Jason Livermore – producer, recording and mix engineer, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
External links
- Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit at Fat Wreck ChordsFat Wreck ChordsFat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by Fat Mike and his ex-wife, Erin, in 1990....