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Product Summary
Song Listing
After two decades as a punk-rock band that has done things its way, even as it was among the first indie groups to graduate to a major label, Dexter still has the desire to pass the torch to the next generation of fans. Just as he grabbed the torch from idols like TSOL, the Adolescents, Social Distortion, Bad Religion.
"We're just happy to be at the party," says Dexter, who continues to follow his original principle of empowering another generation of young people trying to find their identity in a conformist world. "I know younger kids relate to what we're doing. We're pretty much the same as we ever were. When I was young, I couldn't imagine myself working at a desk 9 to 5 with a suit and tie. I knew there was something better, something that would make me happy and this is better than even I could've imagined."
| Almost two decades, six albums and 32 million records sold, vocalist/guitarist Dexter Holland and bassist Greg K, along with fellow classmate (and school custodian) guitarist Noodles, are still delivering on their seventh and latest effort, Splinter. The album was recorded in L.A. and Atlanta, produced once again by Brendan O'Brien (who was behind the boards for 2001's Conspiracy Of One), with The Vandals' Josh Freese sitting in after the departure of drummer Ron Welty, who'd been with the band since 1986. Completing the old-school punk reunion are Pennywise's Jim Lindberg and former California gubernatorial candidate Jack Grisham of TSOL (who are signed to Dexter's Nitro Records) doing backing vocals on "The Noose" and "Da Hui." Splinter, a name the band chose only after rejecting first choice Chinese Democracy, the ill-fated title Guns N Roses' Axl Rose wanted for his yet-to-be-completed new album, stresses the different directions individual members of the band has set out to achieve. Still, the disc boasts some of the group's signature high energy rock on the apocalyptic, doomsday-laden "The Noose," the rush of "Long Way Home," the introspective dirge of "Race Against Myself" and the pure punk thrash of "Da Hui," the group's tribute to the original native Hawaiian surf brotherhood on the North Shore of Oahu. Dexter and Noodles, surfers themselves, went to the Island to shoot a video riding the waves with Da Hui, which will be included on Splinter's enhanced-CD. |
"Throughout, Splinter's sound is powerful and dense, with The Offspring weaving and surging within it like the experts they've become. Mojo
"They're still pretty fly for old guys. Spin
Album Notes and Credits
Notes & Personnel Info |
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This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. |
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The Offspring: Dexter Holland, Noodles (vocals, guitar); Greg K (vocals, bass). |
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Additional personnel includes: Suzie Katayama (strings); Jason Powell (saxophone); Phil Jordan (trumpet); Erich Marbach (trombone); Brendan O'Brien (piano); Ronnie King (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums); Juan Alvarez (bells); Mark Moreno (scratches); Jim Lindenberg, Jack Grisham, Lauren Kinkade (background vocals). |
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Recorded at Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia. |
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Personnel: Noodles (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Dexter Holland (vocals, guitar); 2002 Reading Festival Crowd, Greg K. (vocals); Gayle Levant (harp); Matt Funes, Eve Butler, Natalie Leggett, Mario Diaz de Leon, Denyse Buffum (violin); Larry Corbett (cello); Jason Powell (saxophone); Phil Jordan (trumpet); Erich Marbach (trombone); Brendan O'Brien (piano); Ronnie King (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums); Chris Higgins (sound effects); Mark A. Moreno (scratches); Lauren Kinkade, Chris "X-13" Higgins, Jack Grisham, Jim Lindberg (background vocals). |
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Audio Mixer: Brendan O'Brien . |
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Recording information: Henson Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA; King Neptune's, Sunset Beach, CA; SOuthern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, GA. |
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Photographer: Rupert Truman. |
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Ten years after their breakthrough hit, "Keep 'Em Separated," and 14 years after their debut, the Offspring maintains pace with SPLINTER. Since the last release, the band has lost longtime drummer Ron Welty, who's replaced here by A Perfect Circle skins-pounder Josh Freese. There's no discernible let-up in momentum; Dexter and company are essentially pursuing the same stylistic path they've been on from the beginning. Even though they achieved fame at the tail end of the grunge era, their '80s beginnings make them the grand old men of third-wave punk, and SPLINTER consequently bears a lot more gravitas than the efforts of younger pop-punks. |
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As usual, the band throws in a touch of ska-punk, this time with cautionary drinking tale "The Worst Hangover Ever," complete with horn section. And there are a couple of diversions from the norm--Ronnie King's wah-wah synth lightening things up on "Hit That," the acoustic guitar textures of "Spare Me the Details"--but the tried-and-true smart-aleck lyrics and pounding punk cadences that ensnared Offspring fans from the get-go are still very much in evidence. |
Producer: Brendan O'Brien |
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Engineer: Karl Egsieker; Nick DiDia; Billy Bowers; Chris Higgins |
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Compilation Appearances
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Thought Remains The Same |
Technical Info
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Release Date : 12/09/2003 |
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Original Release Date : 2003 |
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Catalog ID : 90836 |
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Label : Columbia (USA) |
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Number of Discs : 1 |
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Studio/Live : Studio |
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Mono/Stereo : Stereo |
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SPAR Code : n/a |
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UPC : 00827969083628 |
Professional Reviews
- "...They prove they're still pretty fly for old guys..." - Grade: B-
- "...They prove they're still pretty fly for old guys..." - Grade: B-f
- 3 stars out of 5 - "SPLINTER sounds like a band who know exactly what they're doing....There are some cracking punk rock tunes here."
(12/03, p.109)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]his is still a varied and extremely capable band, with SPLINTER displaying all the subtle, sometimes subversive humour and understated scope."
