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Good Riddance

Remain in Memory: The Final Show
2008
Fat Wreck Chords

Good Riddance - Remain in Memory: The Final Show (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Ben
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Published on May 9th 2008

I’ve got the feeling that many other people who got into Good Riddance in the mid-`90s eventually expanded their tastes and moved onto new bands and styles of punk rock. While I’ve always made sure to grab the latest Good Riddance releases, none of their albums have really struck a lasting chord with me in the last six or seven years. I know I can’t be the only one.

Perhaps one of the reasons Good Riddance has decided to call it a day -- besides having a long and successful run -- is that punk rock is not the same beast it was when they started or when they reached their peak. The punk community has left many of the bands from Good Riddance’s time behind, save for the few that have gone on to wider success and the people that remain blindly loyal to Fat’s catalogue, although it has been incredibly strong the last few years.

Though no matter how far I may have strayed from Good Riddance, it’s hard to forget what they did for me musically. As a teenager in a small town outside of Toronto, there weren’t a lot of opportunities to expose oneself to alternative politics or music. Good Riddance was a gateway into progressive thought and an easy introduction to punk and hardcore. Despite having not spent any good time together in ages, it’s always nice to see a good friend off, which is the opportunity Good Riddance provides us with their most recent and final album.

Remain in Memory documents Good Riddance’s last show, in their hometown of Santa Cruz, California. Of course, the majority of the band’s fans, new and old, could not attend. Presenting the show in its entirety is a nice gesture from the band, allowing those who would have liked to have gone but could not, the opportunity to at least get a feel for what went down the night it was recorded.

For the most part, the album succeeds in this respect. Remain in Memory captures the whole show, not just highlights and is not comprised of songs recorded on different nights. This also serves as one of the album's drawbacks, though. At 30 songs, the set is just too long for anyone but a diehard fan to really stay interested in the whole time. It helps that all of their best songs are represented and spread apart enough to pull you back in, but an hour-plus of Good Riddance is simply too much. Sure, you could say “Dude, this was the last chance for the band to play these songs. You’d want to hear ‘em all if you were into them.” True, I would want to hear each of these songs if I was a super-fan, but as a casual listener, I would have rather heard an abbreviated set list. It’s alright, though. 30 songs were recorded and it's 30 songs we get.

Thankfully, this leaves plenty of room for the band’s best songs to be played. "Mother Superior," "United Cigar," "One for the Braves," "Weight of the World" and more all make strong appearances. It’s easy to forget over time just how many great songs the band wrote and how most of them have stood the test of time and still stir up the same emotions as they did when first heard. The long set list also allows for the band’s entire discography to be fairly represented. Songs from throughout the band’s 15+ years of recorded output made the cut and none overbearingly so.

Remain in Memory spent quite a bit of time in the mixing and mastering stage, leaving the final product as polished as you’d want a live album to be. The end result is a live album with songs sounding balanced and clean, but with enough of the live spirit and vocal/musical changes remaining to make sure you don’t forget you’re listening to a live song. The crowd’s applause is raised in between songs and where appropriate and their singing along is noticeable, such as on the band’s anthem "Mother Superior."

I’m probably not going to put this album on to listen to in its entirety now that this review is completed. But I’m certainly going to make sure that a number of tracks from it make their way into iPod playlists for a long time to come. It would have been nice to have been treated to a DVD as well, which I thought was planned all along. But then again, I probably wouldn’t watch that more than a few times, either.

One thing I am thankful of after hearing this is being reminded how much I love the chorus of "One for the Braves" or how much "Heresy, Hypocrisy and Revenge" meant for me the first time I heard it. There are a number of these moments peppered through out this CD and every listener is going to find their own.

In the end, one can't fault the band for presenting as comprehensive a farewell package as they could reasonably provide. It's just too bad that such a product doesn't always make for easy listening.

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Posted by skaboy32 on 2008-07-29 09:37:23

Amazing live album with a shit ton of songs I love it!

Posted by MN_punkmaster-skaman on 2008-06-10 21:22:17
My Score:

Pretty good line up of songs for their final show, but "Shame" should have been included.

Posted by VictorIkpeba24 on 2008-05-14 14:45:54
My Score:

I agree with the guy that said it's the best live album ever. At least it's the best I've ever heard. And I'm not a great fan of GR, but that set is insane, all their best songs, plus the sound is fantastic, you feel like you actually were at that last show ever.

Posted by bathroom_surgery on 2008-05-13 16:17:35

anyone who can't listen to this album should probably take their girl jeans with them and go back to absolutepunk.net and find out when All Time Low or Boys Like Girls is coming to their town.

Posted by dordon on 2008-05-13 09:40:20
My Score:

score is for the guy in the shopping cart who looks like snoop dogg

Posted by paulrulzdood on 2008-05-13 09:17:17
My Score:

good variety to the final show setlist, solid performance, good recording quality, great introduction to the band and a must have for long-term fans.

Paul

Posted by griffigr on 2008-05-12 13:08:30

"Up the Affiliates" and "There's No I in Team" are still two of my favorite punk rock songs of all time. I miss these guys.

Posted by griffigr on 2008-05-12 13:08:12

"Up the Affiliates" and "There's No I in Team" are still two of my favorite punk rock songs of all time. I miss these guys.

Posted by johnrambo on 2008-05-11 13:25:23

"did these guys record some songs with 2 guitars or is the bass on some just on serious distortion. when the guitar is playing solos i'm positive i can sometimes hear a 2nd guitar playing"

they ran through and recorded the whole set before the doors opened for this show. they could have just played rhythm at some parts during the first tracking, played solos live at the show, then mixed them both together for the cd.

Posted by bytheslice on 2008-05-11 10:10:04

I haven't heard this, but "Bound By Ties..." is one of their best albums. I never got to see them live, but I did catch Only Crime 6 months or so ago in Denton TX, and they were pretty good.

Posted by -Strewtho- on 2008-05-11 06:23:48
My Score:

"I politely disagree about their later albums not being as good. Good Riddance never put out a record that wasn't great in my opinion."

Agreed, I enjoy their later albums more with the exception of My Republic.

Posted by punk_rawk_show on 2008-05-11 03:48:47

Great Band

R.I.P

Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2008-05-11 02:48:42
My Score:

I politely disagree about their later albums not being as good. Good Riddance never put out a record that wasn't great in my opinion.

R.I.P.

Posted by client-9 on 2008-05-10 19:50:31

I think this is a good live album. much better song selections than NOFX's latest. To me, Face to Face put out the best "live" album. I know it's somewhat over produced, but the song selection is perfect...

Posted by ickefes on 2008-05-10 12:42:06

damo:
From the little I've heard from the album I think they have put a doubler or a delay on the opposite of the left and right PA speakers so that the guitar sounds very wide, almost like two guitars. I am not sure about this though.

Posted by damo on 2008-05-10 11:51:53

did these guys record some songs with 2 guitars or is the bass on some just on serious distortion. when the guitar is playing solos i'm positive i can sometimes hear a 2nd guitar playing

Posted by danperrone on 2008-05-10 08:39:47

yeah, it isn't great to have a super-long STUDIO album (as in, the number of tracks, not the duration). it just leads to more filler and a more tedious listen.

live albums are completely different. put a thousand tracks on it if you can. it doesn't have to flow.

Posted by christian on 2008-05-10 01:50:01
My Score:

Awesome band, fantastic record.

Complaining because the record is too long? Hahaha...puh-lease. Some people just need something to bitch about.

Posted by Jeevz on 2008-05-10 01:41:11
My Score:

Oh yeah, I give it an 8. R.I.P. Good Riddance, one of my favorite bands growing up for sure.

Posted by Jeevz on 2008-05-10 01:39:35

I'm hearing more and more that it's bad to have a long album. Now I get it if the album sucks, but this is Good fucking Riddance's final fucking show!. The length is perfect, the show was that long so that's how long the album is. The recording is good, you can tell it's live with all the fuck ups and crowd noise. There's nothing worse than a polished to shit live recording, what's the point?

Posted by swiftjustice on 2008-05-10 00:27:51
My Score:

I think the "Think of Me" on this is way better than the original.

Posted by thomas7155 on 2008-05-09 23:11:10

I think they were a fucking awesome band, I and I wish someone more into them had reviewed this, since it's fucking awesome. "Mother Superior" does sound great!

Posted by bigwig1022 on 2008-05-09 22:42:53

cool art

Posted by Tinner on 2008-05-09 22:28:38

"I would have rather heard an abbreviated set list."

Are you kidding? What kind of final show release would only have part of the set?

Posted by itsagiftandacurse on 2008-05-09 21:44:29
My Score:

Hands down the best live album of all time!!! I never look at the back of the cd case when I get a live album so I can be surprised and boy was I surprised that they played 30 songs!!!

Good Riddance was an extremely underrated band! I enjoyed all of their albums from start to finish.

Posted by LooseKanonYankee on 2008-05-09 21:33:58

No Joke, Russ works at the apple store in the mall near my job
It was really crazy seeing him there. I stopped him and we talked about this cd and the new cd only crime is working on.

Posted by facetofacereunion08 on 2008-05-09 19:54:06
My Score:

i like this cd alot. my fav is pisces/almost home

Posted by johnrambo on 2008-05-09 19:03:32

played it.

Libertine and Darkest Days are my top 2 GR faves

Posted by smash_it_up on 2008-05-09 18:54:34

A tribute to his gender

Posted by Ollywood on 2008-05-09 18:40:34

You know if you had enough of Good Riddance that night, there was always the option of leaving the show early, or going to the bar and then coming back. I think it's great that they had such long set. The show was pretty awesome and their set went by fast. And although I think Good Riddance were a great band, there is no denying the sense of mediocrity in their music.

Posted by pricey123 on 2008-05-09 18:29:55
My Score:

they always find their way onto my mix cds. you knew what you were getting with them when you bought a cd; no surprises, but each release was solid and a safe buy.

Posted by the_problem_with_fire on 2008-05-09 18:18:05

totally agree with dan here. seems like they had a lot of the right stuff going on, but could never pull off being great.

Posted by danperrone on 2008-05-09 17:34:41
My Score:

good riddance were always just passable. i don't think they've ever done anything that will blow anyone out of their socks, but they've just been a pretty good punk band for a long time now. they just don't really stand out. they're the eternal "7/10".

Posted by brentmills on 2008-05-09 16:28:35

favorite good riddance song - GO!

out of mind

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