Chronicles Of Life And Death, The - Good Charlotte > Reviews > I just wanna listen, and listen .....

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	lyrics from songs are all easy to relate to
Disadvantages:	I just wanna live, not a great song

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is the third album from the band that call themselves Good Charlotte, and to be honest, I love it! For those of you who are not familiar with the band they are Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Billy Martin, and Paul Thomas, they formed in 1995 and have been getting bigger ever since!

There are two versions of this album, the life version and the death version, the only difference being the bonus track at the end, on the death version, which is the one I have, the bonus song is Meet my maker, the bonus on the life version is Falling away.

All the songs on this album are about feelings that everyone will encounter at some point in their lives.
The album starts with Once upon a time the battle for life and death, an intro that I used to skip, but it has grown on me and I really like it now, it's really different. Kind of reminds me of some of the songs on the lord of the rings soundtrack, it's very dramatic.
Next is the chronicles of like and death. Starting off "You come in cold, you're covered in blood, they're all so happy you've arrived" Sounds slightly depressing but it's not, it's really upbeat and you can't help but dance little in your seat as you listen.
Walk away is next on the tracklist, this is one of my favourites on the album, a song about regrets and fears, the lyrics in the chorus,"Well maybe I'm just scared, To face the things I fear, It's easier to walk away from everything", bring forth a feeling that everyone must have felt at one point.
Next is S.O.S, a song about needing help from someone who cares, because " I can't make it on my own ".
Next is I just wanna live, which is my least favourite on the album, it's very poppy and I just don't think it fits in right with the rest of the songs on the album.
Ghost of you comes next, a quite depressing song, but it doesn't make it bad by any means, it's a great song about lost loved ones and the feelings they leave behind.
After Ghost of you, comes Predictable, a song about knowing something is going to go wrong, and letting it " I knew it all along, It's so predictable, I knew something would go wrong." It's about hoping everything will be alright, but knowing in your heart it wont be.
Secrets is next. The music to this song is very upbeat. The lyrics are about the secrets that everyone keeps, and about not wanting to keep those secrets anymore.
Next is my favourite song on the album. The Truth. A very slow song, very sad also. About wanting to know the truth,even though you know you aren't going to like it. "I want the truth from you. Give me the truth." This song is sung with raw emotion, and brings a tear to my eye most of the time. Towards the end the singing turns into more of an anguished cry than anything else, but this just adds to the effect of the song.
Next is The world is black. "The world is black, and hearts are cold, theres no hope, that's what we're told" says it all about this song. Basically a song about the world not caring enough.
Mountain is next. I love the beginning of this song, you think it's going to be another accoustic, and then it kicks in with a "Whoooaa". A classic song about being lost, but finding your way again, and about everything you have acheived not meaning anything unless theres someone there wth you.
Next is We Believe. This song is another slow one, about how all humans are the same. Not much to say about it but it's really good.
It wasn't enough is next. About trying your hardest to keep a hold of someone, but you best not being enough.
Next is In this world (murder), Iove this song, I cant't describe it, it's just fantastic!About pointless suffering and the sinners who will never reach heaven. The ending to his song is great, really dramatic, like the intro.
Next is the bonus track, which on my CD - the Death version, is Meet My Maker. A really good, catchy song. It appears to be the last song on the album, not so! If you wait a couple of minutes, there is a bonus track. Titled Wounded, this one is accoustic and very very good, my second favourite on the album. This song is about needing someone to help you heal old wounds.

All i all, I love this album and I rarely go a day without listening to it, it's great and deals with real life emotions, which makes the songs more endearing. The only weak link is I just wanna live, and it really isn't that bad, it just doesn't live up to the standards of all the other amazingsongs on this album.

I got this as a present, so I'm not sure how much it was but I'm pretty sure you could get it for under £10 now, and it's well worth it.