No Control (Bad Religion album)

After a long-term hiatus, Bad Religion reformed in 1987 with a new lineup, releasing the studio album Suffer in 1988. Although Suffer was not a commercial success, the band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim with that album and it managed to sell 4,000 copies. While Bad Religion continued touring in support of Suffer, Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz began writing songs in late 1988/early 1989 for the band's next record. Bassist Jay Bentley commented on the making of No Control, stating that "songs were being written all the time. I wouldn't go so far as to say an 'album's worth', but during the U.S. and subsequent European tour into '89, lots of ideas were coming to fruition. I would think that more songs were written during the down time between tours and 'perfected' on the road." Contrary to rumor, "21st Century (Digital Boy)" (which appears on Against the Grain and again on Stranger than Fiction) was not written and recorded for this album. == Release and reception ==

No Control was released through Epitaph Records on November 2, 1989. By the time it was released, Bad Religion had become one of the most critically praised hardcore punk bands of the time, in spite of lack of mainstream success. The album has received generally favorable reviews in the years since its initial release, with several reviewers having deemed No Control one of Bad Religion's best albums. AllMusic's Johnny Loftus said that it "simply and forcefully continued the shift, delivering a pummel of melodic songwriting made sharp by Greg Graffin's populist cynicism and the stinging barbs of a twin-guitar strike...", and described the change as "welcome, as it makes the band sound that much more direct on principal cuts." Rise Against cited the album as one of their 12 key influences, alongside works by Dead Kennedys, Fugazi and Jawbreaker. On June 2, 2016, the song "Change of Ideas" was placed at No. 7 on Loudwire's top ten list "Greatest Songs Under One Minute Long". == Track listing ==

• Track 3, "No Control" quotes Scottish natural historian James Hutton, "no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end." • "Sometimes I Feel Like" was labeled as "Sometimes I Feel Like... *?!%+!*" on the disc to the original CD version. • "Billy" was erroneously labeled as "Bizzy" on the cassette version. • "The World Won't Stop" was also labeled as "The World Won't Stop Without You" on the disc to the original CD version. Also, in some software-based audio players and CD rippers that use CD lookup databases such as CDDB, "The World Won't Stop" is tagged as "The World Won't Stop Without You". • "No Control" (along with Suffer) is also mentioned in the song "21st Century (Digital Boy)" (from 1990's Against the Grain and 1994's Stranger than Fiction), when band's guitarist Brett Gurewitz sings ''"tried to tell you about no control, but now I really don't know, and then you told me how bad you had to suffer, is that really all you have to offer"''. ==Personnel==

Adapted from the album liner notes. ;Bad Religion • Greg Graffin – lead vocals, backing vocals • Greg Hetson – guitar • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals • Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals • Pete Finestone – drums ;Technical • Bad Religion – producer • Brett Gurewitz – engineer (credited as The Legendary Starbolt) • Donnell Cameron – engineer • Eddie Schreyer – mastering • Norman Moore – cover art • Pierre Deauville – computer effects • Analisa Pessin – photography ==References==