About Time is the third studio album by American punk rock band Pennywise, released on June 13, 1995.
| About Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 13, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | December 1994–March 1995 | |||
| Studio | Total Access Recording (Redondo Beach, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:07 | |||
| Label | Epitaph | |||
| Producer | Jerry Finn, Brett Gurewitz | |||
| Pennywise chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from About Time | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Melody Maker | (favorable)[3] |
| Robert Christgau |  [4] |
| Punknews.org | [2] |
| The San Diego Union-Tribune |  [5] |
It is widely considered to be one of Pennywise's best releases,[citation needed] and it includes their concert staples "Peaceful Day", "Perfect People", "Every Single Day", and "Same Old Story". About Time was also the first Pennywise album to chart in Billboard; the release peaked at number 96. Most of the album follows the theme of problems with time: fear of it passing, controlling it and accepting it.
About Time is the final Pennywise album to feature bass player Jason Thirsk, who committed suicide on July 29, 1996. After debating whether to break up, or to move on with a new bass player, Pennywise decided to hire a new bassist, Randy Bradbury, who would stay with the band permanently.
Background and recording
editFrontman Jim Lindberg rejoined Pennywise in 1992, after a temporary hiatus, releasing the second album Unknown Road in 1993. Although Unknown Road failed to chart in Billboard, the band enjoyed moderate success and gained supporting slots on national and world tours with bands such as The Offspring. Due to constant touring and appearances on snowboarding and surfing videos, the album sold around 200,000 copies. In the latter part of 1994, Pennywise began writing and recording their third album, entitled About Time. They entered Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach that December and recorded their new album over a three-month period. When they were in the midst of recording About Time, Pennywise was courted by several major labels, who approached the band following the unexpected multi-platinum breakthrough success of Green Day and The Offspring, but Pennywise rejected the idea of signing to a major label and decided to stay with Epitaph.
About Time was the final Pennywise studio album to feature bassist Jason Thirsk; however, it was not their last album to contain songs written by him. Thirsk was still alive when writing for Full Circle began, and co-wrote some previously unreleased songs that would eventually appear on the band's 2014 album Yesterdays.
Reception
editThe AllMusic review by Paul Henderson awards the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and states: "The band's fourth release in as many years finds it functioning as a full-strength unit, cranking out searing hardcore laced with positive but leery messages and ideals. While the music and message remain essentially the same as their previous releases, increasing depth and maturity begin to take hold in both these areas."[1]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Peaceful Day" | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Waste of Time" | 2:18 |
| 3. | "Perfect People" | 3:04 |
| 4. | "Every Single Day" | 2:39 |
| 5. | "Searching" | 2:55 |
| 6. | "Not Far Away" | 2:52 |
| 7. | "Freebase" | 2:41 |
| 8. | "It's What You Do with It" | 2:25 |
| 9. | "Try" | 2:32 |
| 10. | "Same Old Story" | 2:42 |
| 11. | "I Won't Have It" | 2:30 |
| 12. | "Killing Time" | 2:37 |
Personnel
edit- Jim Lindberg – lead vocals
- Fletcher Dragge – guitar
- Jason Thirsk – bass
- Byron McMackin – drums
- Eddie Ashworth – assistant engineer
- Jerry Finn – producer, engineer
- Brett Gurewitz – producer
- Fred Hidalgo – Album Art
Charts
edit| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] | 55 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] | 84 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] | 24 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] | 76 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] | 28 |
| US Billboard 200[11] | 96 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[12] | Gold | 35,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c d Paul Henderson. "Review for About Time". Allmusic.com. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ a b c Mitchell T (May 26, 2015). "Pennywise - About Time". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ^ Robb, John (August 12, 1995). "Pennywise - About Time". Melody Maker. Vol. 72, no. 32. p. 34. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: pennywise". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Niesel, Jeff (June 15, 1995). "Album Reviews - Punk". The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Access World News.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 215.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pennywise – About Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "Pennywise: About Time" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pennywise – About Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pennywise – About Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "Pennywise Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
External links
edit- About Time at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)