...And Out Come the Wolves
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…And Out Come the Wolves is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on August 22, 1995 through Epitaph Records. Rancid's popularity and catchy songs made them the subject of a major label bidding war (hence the title, ...And Out Come the Wolves[1] taken from a poem in Jim Carroll's The Basketball Diaries) that ended with the band staying on Epitaph. With a sound heavily influenced by ska, which called to mind Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman's past in Operation Ivy, Rancid became one of the few bands of the mid-to late-1990s boom in punk rock to retain much of its original fanbase. In terms of record sales and certifications, …And Out Come the Wolves is a popular album in the United States. It produced three hit singles: "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho", that earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date. All the singles charted on Modern Rock Tracks. …And Out Come the Wolves was certified gold by the RIAA on January 22, 1996. It was certified platinum on September 23, 2004.[2]
Along with Bad Religion's Stranger than Fiction, Green Day's Dookie and The Offspring's Smash, ...And Out Come the Wolves helped revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the mid-1990s, signaled the initial rise of mainstream punk rock, and proved to be a massive success for the band, making them possibly the most popular American punk rock band to be signed onto an independent record label. Since 2004, the album has continued to sell millions of digital copies.
Background
Rancid formed in Albany, California in 1991. They signed to Epitaph Records (founded by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz) in 1992 and released their eponymous debut album, Rancid, a year later to rave reviews. While Rancid was already writing another album, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, one of the band's friends, joined them to co-write the song "Radio". This led to him playing a live show with the band, and Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong eventually asked him to become a member of the band, but he decided to continue playing in Green Day. Armstrong had previously asked Lars Frederiksen to be Rancid's second guitarist, but he turned down the request. After Billie Joe declined, Frederiksen changed his mind and decided to join the band. Rancid's second album, Let's Go, was released in 1994 to unexpected success and acclaim. After the release of Green Day's Dookie and The Offspring's Smash later that year, Rancid was pursued by several major labels, including Madonna's Maverick Records, but eventually turned them down. They decided to stay on Epitaph and soon began recording a follow-up album.
Recording and production
...And Out Come the Wolves was recorded mainly between February and May 1995. The recording took place at not only Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California (where Let's Go was recorded), but also at the famous Electric Lady Studios (built by Jimi Hendrix) in New York City. This was the first time Rancid recorded an album at more than one studio. Jerry Finn reprised his role as the album's producer.
Release and reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A+[4] |
| Punknews.org | [5] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[6] |
| Rock Hard (de) | 8.5/10[7] |
...And Out Come the Wolves was released on August 22, 1995 and peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[8] Five months after its release, the album was certified gold.[2]
The album received positive reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the album as having "classic moments of revivalist punk". Erlewine praised the music and claims the album "doesn't mark an isolationist retreat into didactic, defiantly underground punk rock". The album received a rating of four and a half out of five stars, while "Time Bomb," "Ruby Soho" and "Roots Radicals" earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date.[1] In 2005, ...And Out Come the Wolves was ranked number 368 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[9]
Artwork
The cover art is a tribute to Minor Threat, a landmark hardcore punk band, that originally used the image of Alec MacKaye (brother of the band's lead singer Ian MacKaye) with his head on his knees on steps of the "Dischord House" on their eponymous debut EP.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman and Lars Frederiksen, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Maxwell Murder" | Frederiksen, Armstrong | 1:25 |
| 2. | "The 11th Hour" (written by Armstrong, Freeman, Frederiksen, Eric Dinn) | Armstrong | 2:28 |
| 3. | "Roots Radicals" | Frederiksen, Armstrong | 2:47 |
| 4. | "Time Bomb" | Armstrong | 2:24 |
| 5. | "Olympia WA." | Armstrong | 3:30 |
| 6. | "Lock, Step & Gone" | Frederiksen, Armstrong | 2:25 |
| 7. | "Junkie Man" (written by Armstrong, Freeman, Frederiksen, Jim Carroll) | Armstrong, Frederiksen | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Listed M.I.A." | Frederiksen | 2:22 |
| 9. | "Ruby Soho" | Armstrong | 2:37 |
| 10. | "Daly City Train" | Armstrong | 3:21 |
| 11. | "Journey to the End of the East Bay" | Armstrong | 3:11 |
| 12. | "She's Automatic" | Frederiksen | 1:35 |
| 13. | "Old Friend" | Armstrong | 2:53 |
| 14. | "Disorder and Disarray" | Armstrong, Frederiksen | 2:49 |
| 15. | "The Wars End" | Frederiksen | 1:53 |
| 16. | "You Don't Care Nothin'" | Frederiksen, Armstrong | 2:28 |
| 17. | "As Wicked" | Armstrong, Frederiksen | 2:40 |
| 18. | "Avenues & Alleyways" | Armstrong, Frederiksen | 3:11 |
| 19. | "The Way I Feel" | Frederiksen, Armstrong | 2:34 |
| Total length: | 49:39 | ||
Personnel
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Chart positions
 | The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (September 2014) |
Album – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Billboard 200 | 45 |
Singles – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Roots Radicals" | Modern Rock Tracks | 27 |
| 1995 | "Time Bomb" | Modern Rock Tracks | 8 |
| 1995 | "Ruby Soho" | Modern Rock Tracks | 13 |
References
- ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "...And Out Come the Wolves". Allmusic.com. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
- ^ a b "RIAA Certification (type in "Rancid" in the artist box)". RIAA. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. ...And Out Come the Wolves at AllMusic
- ^ "Music Review: ...And Out Come the Wolves". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Review: ...And Out Come the Wolves". Punknews.org.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "...And Out Come the Wolves". Robert Christgau.
- ^ Kress, Hanno. "Rock Hard review". issue 100. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ "...And Out Come the Wolves' entry at Billboard.com". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 61. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
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