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| Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace | 
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| Artist: The Offspring
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $18.97
Buy New: $7.98
You Save: $10.99 (58%)
New (57) Used (12) from $7.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 829
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.7 x 0.2
MPN: 702908
UPC: 886970290821
EAN: 0886970290821
ASIN: B0018OAPAW
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 THE OFFSPRING return wiht a solid cd! June 17, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I'm a bit biased as my brother went to school with a couple of the members and I buy all things OFSPRING...but this cd is a return to glory for the So Cal punks.
I'm not much of a "punk" fan...I lean more towards metal but I have always had an affinity for this band simply beacuse of the way they capture the Orange County, California sound and vibe...some may hate it...most dig it.
This cd has a bunch of quick, uptempo numbers as well as some thoughtful lyrics...put together by a band that just plain rocks.
Definitely worth the 4 1/2 year wait.
 The Offspring finally manages to drive away their most solid fans. June 25, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I grew up in Southern California. The Offspring were my favorite band for well over a decade. I grew into metal, loved Metallica, Pantera, Megadeth, and all of the other great Thrash bands, but The Offspring always had a a special place in my musical tastes; I had bought Ignition on cassette from a friend when I was only in grade school, and loved every album that they've made because every single one had at least 4-5 solid songs that I wouldn't be ashamed of blasting on my car stereo. Smash was the first CD that I ever owned. I can't count the number of times I've played their songs on my car stereo, on my guitar, at home, when I streamcast. . . they were one of those bands that I thought I would never tire from.
Or so I thought. This album completely lacks the aggression, speed, hard riffs, and punk background that made their greatest songs great. I'm not talking about Pretty Fly or their other trendy songs, I'm talking about Bad Habit, Cool to hate, Kill the President, Americana, Mota, Pay the Man, The Noose is Falling, Come Out Swinging, and my personal favorite, Staring at the Sun. . . you long time fans know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. That sound and beat that made you band your head, get pumped up, and got your blood pumping. The songs that said "F--- YOU," and really embodied the basic tenants of punk. There is almost none of that on this album; they're not trying to dodge any bullets as they try to find their way through this mess of tracks. They manage to destroy the momentum of most song with terrible attempts at melodic choruses and horrible backup vocals. The only possible exceptions go to Hammerhead, You're Gonna Go Far Kid, and maybe Trust in You. The lyrics are so incredibly generic and terrible it amazes me. The thing that kills me about this album is that the three best songs on this album aren't nearly comparable to the best songs (or even the catchiest songs) on previous albums.
I don't know if it's Bob Rock, who I learned to hate from what he did to Metallica, I don't know if it's the loss of Ron Welty . . . I don't know what it is. All I know is that they're heading down a road of garbage, trendy music that's made for high schoolers with no damn taste. I'd have to agree with the previous reviewer, this sounds like a ton of over-produced garbage. All I know is that it just really sucks to see another one of the bands that I absolutely loved when I was younger go down a horrible path of mediocre "more mature" music, rather than stay true to their roots. At least Pennywise among a very small number of other bands has managed to hang on as one of the original punk acts that stayed original rather than devolving into a bunch of generic garbage. I seriously believe, despite their many successes with Sony/Columbia, that Offspring would be better off if they too had stuck with Epitaph.
 Splinter 2? June 28, 2008
3 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have been listening to The Offspring since about 1994. This album is nothing compared to what they used to be. I listened to clips (Thank God) before I purchased the cd. A few songs are good, but there are songs that just scream SELL OUT. They need to get it back together and quit trying to make mainstream corporate music happy, and work on the old shcool fans.
 "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" - The Offspring June 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
There are a few things that I feel need to be said about this album that the previous reviews have not touched upon.
First of all, I don't know if it's the excitement of a new release from these guys or what but this album DOES NOT sound like "Smash" or "Ixnay on the Hombre." In fact, the band has not sounded like that in a long time. Do not get me wrong, I think that growth and change are common and should be tolerated when it comes to music, but don't tell people this album sounds like these two excellent releases. Ever since "Americana" The Offspring has sounded more polished and radio-friendly and there is no denying that, so why are we denying it?
Second of all, this release, with the exception of a few songs sounds very sloppy and unfocused. It sounds like The Offspring is trying to make an album of sure-to-be hit singles. The album left me fatigued and unfulfilled BUT each song individually sounded fine. To put them all on one album, I think, was a mistake.
Third of all, WHO MIXED THIS ALBUM?!?! They should be ashamed of themselves. The muddy delivery that this album has should never be tolerated. Who decided that this mix was acceptable? It's disgusting.
My final point about this album and the last (Splinter) is that The Offspring hasn't listed a drummer. Perhaps you reading this can help me. I know the band used a drum machine for their last album and had a guy on hold for live shows. Are they doing this again? If so, That is quite lazy and lends to the idea that The Offspring are only doing this for the $$$.
This album, although horribly mixed, had some high points. These include:
Hammerhead
Takes me Nowhere
Nothingtown
Rise and Fall
The rest I can do without but these songs, even with the mud, are fantastic!
Not if you like quality sound. June 17, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have liked The Offspring for a long time, but I have to say that I can't even listen to this album because of how badly the bass was mixed/mastered. Someone didn't know what they were doing when mixing the music for this. Don't even try to listen to this album if you own a high-end stereo or if you have a quality subwoofer because the recordings are so muddy, it's unbelievable. The kick-drum is way too boomy and it clashes with the sound of the bass notes so all you get is rumbly, muddy sound.
Of course, if you do not own a high quality stereo and you're just listening to this on your iPod headphones, it will probably sound fine. I only gave it a 2-star rating because it's The Offspring... I should give it a zero for sound quality.
I think the users should know whether or not to spend the money on low sound quality music if they own a nice stereo. You know, to some people the sound also matters just as much as the song-writing and lyrics. Sorry for the negative review, but I don't want other people making the same mistake I made.
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