Unglued Reviews

Melodic hardcore band Good Riddance provided a soundtrack to modern rebellion from the early ā€™90s onwards over the course of seven full-length studio records on Fat Wreck Chords (plus 2002ā€™s covers album Cover Ups), but last year made the difficult decision to call it a day due to a variety of factors. As a mark of the bandā€™s legacy, Fat have seen fit to issue a live recording of their final farewell show in their hometown of Santa Cruz, California on May 27, 2007.

Beginning with two minutes of crowd noise and political soundbites, setting the stage and building anticipation almost as much as actually being there, Remain In Memoryā€™s track list reads like a Best Of, a 30 song retrospective covering the bandā€™s entire career. Highlights during the epic 78 minute running time include the anthemic Think of Me and chugging Darkest Days, Saltā€™s rallying cry for sanity in the hardcore scene, the guest appearance by Cinder Block (formerly of Tilt) on the anti-misogynist A Credit To His Gender, passionate and punchy Last Believer, visceral All Fall Down and ancient rarity Not So Bad, from 1993ā€™s Gidget EP.

The energy levels never dip (although there are a few breaks for the foursome to banter and catch their breath), and hearing the groupā€™s devoted fanbase yelling vocalist Russ Rankinā€™s intelligent and thought-provoking lyrics back at him adds another level to the experience. One reason the band gave for their split was concern that their style of music was becoming irrelevant; itā€™s an impossible fear to accept when listening to this ferocious document and the adoring response from the audience to each and every song.

ā€?Good riddanceā€¯? More like ā€?Sad to see you goā€¯.

Owen Heitmann