Good Riddance – Remain in Memory – The Final Show

Good Riddance – Remain in Memory – The Final Show / 2008 Fat Wreck / 31 Tracks / http://www.fatwreck.com /

I had no idea that Good Riddance had been around since 1990. Of course, their stint on Fat Wreck began with 1994’s “Decoy” and “Remain in Memory” marks their last album (2006’s “My Republic” was their last studio album). “Remain in Memory” is a live recording of Good Riddance’s May 27, 2007’s last show. The track list has a number of major hits for the band – “More Depalma, Less Fellini”, “One For The Braves’, and “Libertine”, as well as countless other cuts from their previous recordings.

Where there have been problems with a number of punk band’s live show, going all the way back to the earliest live recordings of acts like the Dead Kennedys up to Bad Religion and beyond, Good Riddance (and Fat Wreck) have pulled out all stops to ensure that this recording is as close to studio quality as they could conceivably make it.  The 31 tracks that are present on this album show that Good Riddance really want to go forth and create something memorable for all of the fans that stuck with the act for the last seventeen years. When the band plays one of the tracks that everyone remembers – such as those previously listed – they put a number of tracks that have been forgotten. This allows individuals to really go forth and find some gems that even longtime fans may have forgotten. What would have been even better for Fat Wreck to do would be to have a companion DVD or a CD of each of the tracks done in a studio format, showing how the band has progressed in the years since they first committed these tracks.

Barring that, what Fat Wreck has done with “Remain in Memory” is create a damn fine tribute to one of the most underappreciated punk bands of the last thirty years. The band plugged away for so many years, and they seemed to always be ignored for whatever the big “punk” band was of the day, be it Green Day, Rancid, or the like. Few bands, especially punk bands, have the foresight to give their fans such a great memorial to their act – they break up, create new bands, die, or do other things that tarnish their legacy. However, Good Riddance put forth “Remain in Memory”, and make sure that individuals will remember a great live show. Pick this, and Good Riddance’s earlier albums, up now.

Top Tracks: Salt, Yesterday’s Headlines

Rating: 7.8/10

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