The Greatest Generation (album)

The Greatest Generation is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Wonder Years. The album was produced by Steve Evetts,[2] who also produced their previous album, Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing.

This article is about the album. For the demographic cohort, see Greatest Generation.
The Greatest Generation
Studio album by
The Wonder Years
ReleasedMay 14, 2013
RecordedJanuary–February 2013
GenrePop punk[1]
Length48:51
LabelHopeless
ProducerSteve Evetts
The Wonder Years chronology
Sleeping on Trash: A Collection of Songs Recorded 2005–2010
(2013)		 The Greatest Generation
(2013)		 No Closer to Heaven
(2015)
Singles from The Greatest Generation
  1. "Passing Through a Screen Door"
    Released: March 27, 2013
  2. "Dismantling Summer"
    Released: April 16, 2013

Background

On January 13, 2013, Campbell posted that the group had finished pre-production.[3] On February 12, the band announced they had finished recording.[4]

In the teaser video the band talked about the recording and writing process of the album. They wrote the album in a small apartment above an abandoned sandwich shop. In the teaser, "Soupy" Campbell called it a third piece in a trilogy about growing up. He also stated the album was about the end of the war he had within himself fighting depression and anxiety. The title is taken from the term coined by Tom Brokaw about how the generation that fought in World War II was 'the greatest generation'.

The Greatest Generation is a part of a trilogy (along with The Upsides [2010] and Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing) that dealt with vocalist Dan Campbell's struggles of being scared, loneliness and feeling lost.[5] Grantland writer Steven Hyden compared albums by Japandroids, Fucked Up, and Cloud Nothings to The Greatest Generation due to them "shar[ing musical] DNA with Generation."[6] "Dismantling Summer" was written after Campbell's grandfather had a heart attack.[7]

Release

On March 6, 2013, The Greatest Generation was announced for release in May, revealing its track listing and artwork.[8] The band then embarked on headlining US tour with support from Fireworks, Hostage Calm and Misser.[9] On March 19, the group released a video trailer for the album.[10] On March 25, "Passing Through a Screen Door" was made available for streaming via AbsolutePunk.[11] Over the next two days, a lyric video was released,[12] and the song was released as a single.[13] On April 15, "Dismantling Summer" was made available for streaming via Alternative Press.[14] The following day, a lyric video was post online,[15] and the track was released as a single.[16] On May 2, a lyric video was released for "The Bastards, the Vultures, the Wolves".[17] On May 8, The Greatest Generation was made available for streaming.[18]

The band played four record release shows in 24 hours in support of the album: Philadelphia at 6pm on May 10 with Modern Baseball; New York City at 12am on May 11 with A Loss for Words; Chicago at 10am on May 11 with Mixtapes; and Anaheim at 6pm on May 11 with Versus the World and the Sheds.[19] Due to travel complications the Anaheim show did not begin until 8pm.[20] The Greatest Generation was released on May 14 through Hopeless Records.[8] In June, the group supported Silverstein on their tour of Canada.[21] In August, the band performed in Japan.[22] In September and October, the band supported A Day to Remember on the House Party tour in the US.[23] In between dates on the tour, the band supported All Time Low for a few headlining shows.[24] On November 13, a music video was released for "There, There".[25]

In November, the group went on a headful of UK shows, included UK Warped Tour, with support from Real Friends.[26] Proceeding this, the group played a handful of shows in Europe.[22] In December, the band went on a short acoustic holiday tour with Vinnie Caruana and Young Statues.[27] On March 24, 2014, a music video was released for "Dismantling Summer".[28] In March and April 2014, the group embarked on an North American headlining tour with support from Citizen, Real Friends and Modern Baseball. They group offered VIP bundles which included pre-show acoustic sets and Q&As, along with memorabilia.[29] Defeater was originally scheduled to support, however, due to their vocalist becoming ill, they were replaced by Fireworks.[30] In May, the group went on a headlining European and UK tour with support from State Champs and A Loss for Words.[31] In August, the group appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK.[32] In September, the group was due to perform in Australia, but was unable to due to "circumstances beyond our control".[33] In October, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from The Story So Far, Modern Baseball, Gnarwolves.[34]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic97/100[35]
Review scores
SourceRating
Absolutepunk[36]
Allmusic[37]
Big Cheese5/5[38]
Kerrang![39]
Punknews.org[40]
Sputnikmusic[41]

The Greatest Generation has received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics the album holds an overall rating of 97, which indicates "universal acclaim," based on 5 reviews. Scott Heisel of Alternative Press gave the album 4.5 out 5 stars saying, "It's fast, it's honest, and it'll probably make you tear up more than once." Thomas Nassif of Absolute Punk did not even give the album a standard rating from 10 to 10, stating "It is my firm belief that The Greatest Generation has no real precedent in this community. It’s my belief that there isn’t another band in pop-punk right now that can write a record this good." David Allen of TheCelebrityCafe.com, gave the album a 5/5, stating, "This album, more than ever, speaks to the fast, the angry, and the unforgiving part of the human subconscious...It feels as if this album, by itself, has been able to repossess every inch of teenage angst over the past 60 years and throw it back up into arrangements, lining it up half-hazardly, and yet purposefully, to hear.".[42]

Commercially, it was also successful. It was their first to crack the top 20 at Billboard 200, moving 19,673 copies on its first week and reaching the number 20 spot. The album has sold 50,000 copies in the United States as of August 2015.[43]

In retrospect, Rock Sound included The Greatest Generation on their best albums of 2013 list, calling it "the defining album of what may well have been the genre's best year for a decade."[1] Kerrang! said the album "ripped up the pop-punk blueprint" pushing the genre to "new peaks of invention, both lyrically and musically."[44]

Rolling Stone listed the album at No. 41 on their feature "The 50 Greatest Pop Punk Albums".[45]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Wonder Years.

No.TitleLength
1."There, There"2:26
2."Passing Through a Screen Door"3:53
3."We Could Die Like This"3:38
4."Dismantling Summer"3:46
5."The Bastards, the Vultures, the Wolves"3:55
6."The Devil in My Bloodstream"4:05
7."Teenage Parents"3:38
8."Chaser"3:54
9."An American Religion (FSF)"2:16
10."A Raindance in Traffic"3:39
11."Madelyn"2:47
12."Cul-de-Sac"3:38
13."I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral"7:34
Total length:48:51

Personnel

Personnel per digital booklet.[46]

Chart performance
Chart (2013) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[47] 20
U.S. Billboard Alternative Albums[48] 4
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums[49] 3
U.S. Billboard Tastemaker Albums[50] 2
U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales[51] 20
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums[52] 4
U.S. Billboard Vinyl Albums[53] 2
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References
Citations
  1. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2013 Part Five: 10 – 1 | Photos | Rock Sound". Rocksound.tv. December 6, 2013. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  2. "Hopeless Records Press Release". Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  3. Kraus, Brian (January 13, 2013). "The Wonder Years finish pre-production for new album". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  4. Kraus, Brian (February 12, 2013). "The Wonder Years finish recording new album". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  5. Biddulph 2015, p. 43
  6. Hyden, Steven (March 19, 2014). "They Get the Girls, But We're Smarter: Modern Baseball, the Wonder Years, and Rock's Sacred Uncool". Grantland. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2015-09-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Whitt, Cassie (March 6, 2013). "The Wonder Years announce new album, 'The Greatest Generation'". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  9. Whitt, Cassie (December 4, 2012). "The Wonder Years announce 2013 tour dates with Fireworks, Hostage Calm and Misser". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  10. Bird, Michele (March 19, 2013). "The Wonder Years release 'The Greatest Generation' album trailer". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  11. "The Wonder Years premiere "Passing Through A Screen Door"". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. March 25, 2013. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  12. Kraus, Brian (March 26, 2013). "The Wonder Years release lyric video for "Passing Through A Screen Door"". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  13. "iTunes Download". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  14. Whitt, Cassie (April 15, 2013). "Song Premiere: The Wonder Years, "Dismantling Summer"". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  15. Kraus, Brian (April 16, 2013). "The Wonder Years release lyric video for "Dismantling Summer"". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  16. "Dismantling Summer - Single". itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
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  19. Whitt, Cassie (April 3, 2013). "The Wonder Years announce "Four shows in 24 Hours"". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  20. Dan Campbell [@headabovewater] (11 May 2013). "Flight to Orange County got delayed. Doors at Chain Reaction now at 8:00! #twy4in24" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. Whitt, Cassie (March 15, 2013). "Silverstein announce Canadian tour with the Wonder Years". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  22. Obenschain, Philip (July 2, 2013). "The Wonder Years announce tour of Japan". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  23. Whitt, Cassie (July 23, 2013). "A Day To Remember announce tour with Pierce The Veil and All Time Low". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  24. Horansky, TJ (August 3, 2013). "The Wonder Years added to All Time Low tour dates". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  25. Kraus, Brian (November 13, 2013). "The Wonder Years release "There, There" music video". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  26. Obenschain, Philip (June 11, 2013). "The Wonder Years announce additional UK dates with Real Friends". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  27. Szymanski, Aime (October 14, 2013). "The Wonder Years announce acoustic holiday tour". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  28. Obenschain, Philip (March 24, 2014). "The Wonder Years release "Dismantling Summer" music video". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  29. Horansky, TJ (December 10, 2013). "The Wonder Years announce North American tour with Defeater, Citizen, Real Friends, Modern Baseball". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  30. Crane, Matt (January 29, 2014). "Defeater drop off The Wonder Years tour; Fireworks to replace". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  31. Crane, Matt (December 10, 2013). "The Wonder Years, State Champs, A Loss For Words announce European tour". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on April 16, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  32. Crane, Matt (April 23, 2014). "Tonight Alive, the Story So Far, the Wonder Years, more added to Reading and Leeds festivals". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  33. Sharp, Tyler (August 22, 2014). "The Wonder Years forced to cancel Australian tour". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  34. Kraus, Brian (August 3, 2014). "The Wonder Years announce fall tour with The Story So Far, Modern Baseball and Gnarwolves". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
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  36. "The Greatest Generation - The Wonder Years". Absolutepunk.net. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  37. Heaney, Gregory. "The Greatest Generation - The Wonder Years". Allmusic.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  38. Mair, Rob (May 15, 2013). "The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation". Big Cheese. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  39. 4 May 2013, p.52
  40. "The Greatest Generation Reviews". Punknews. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  41. https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/56801/The-Wonder-Years-The-Greatest-Generation/
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  43. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015.
  44. McMahon, ed. 2014, p. 42
  45. "The 50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  46. The Greatest Generation (Digital booklet). The Wonder Years. Hopeless. 2013. p. 7.CS1 maint: others (link)
  47. "The Wonder Years - Chart history (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  48. "The Wonder Years - Chart history (Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  49. "The Wonder Years - Chart history (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  50. "The Wonder Years - Chart history (Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  51. "The Wonder Years - Chart history (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  52. "The Wonder Years - Chart history (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  53. "Vinyl Albums : June 1, 2013". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
Sources
  • Biddulph, Andy (September 2015). Bird, Ryan (ed.). "What Are You So Scared Of?". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (204). ISSN 1465-0185.
  • McMahon, James, ed. (September 13, 2014). "Pop-Punk's Not Bread". Kerrang!. London: Bauer Media Group (1534). ISSN 0262-6624.
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