''Birth, School, Work, Death'' is the second studio album by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

the Godfathers The Godfathers are an English rock band from London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

, released in February 1988 by Epic. It peaked at number 80 in the

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in February 1988. ''Birth, School, Work, Death'' was reissued in 2011 by Cherry Red Records

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Lemon Recordings in an expanded edition.

Critical reception

Michael Sutton, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, called the band's sound "tough," describing it as "brass-knuckled punches in the form of menacing, explosive riffs; venom-spewing, nihilistic vocals; body-slamming percussion." He added, "Yet the Godfathers never forget the importance of the hook." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' concurred, feeling that the album "seethes with the anger and aggression that seems to have all but gone out of non-hardcore British post-punk rock."

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Godfathers, except where noted. #"Birth, School, Work, Death" – 4:08 #"If I Only Had Time" – 2:29 #"Tell Me Why" – 2:50 #"It's So Hard" – 3:39 #"When Am I Coming Down" – 4:55 #"Cause I Said So" – 2:46 #"The Strangest Boy" – 3:58 #"S.T.B." – 2:32 #"Just Like You" – 3:10 #"Obsession" – 3:48 #"Love Is Dead" – 2:42 ;Note *"Love Is Dead" is a re-recording of the band's 1987 single. ;2011 expanded edition bonus tracks #

"Miss That Girl" (B-Side of "Birth, School, Work, Death") – 2:50 #"I Can Only Give You Everything" (

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

, Tommy Scott) (B-Side of "Cause I Said So") – 3:03 #"When Am I Coming Down" (live) (B-Side of "Cause I Said So") – 4:19 #"

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" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

) (live) (B-Side of "Cause I Said So") – 4:28 #"Those Days Are Over" (live) (B-Side of "Love Is Dead") – 3:32 #"I'm Unsatisfied" (live) (B-Side of "Love Is Dead") – 3:18 *Tracks 14-17 recorded live at

Cabaret Metro Metro (formerly the Stages Music Hall and Cabaret Metro) is a concert hall in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in 1982. Th ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, March 26, 1988. Recorded and mixed by Timothy R. Powell, except 16 and 17 mixed by Vic Maile.

Personnel

;The Godfathers *Chris Coyne – bass, vocals *Peter Coyne – vocals *

Kris Dollimore Kris Dollimore (born 2 January 1966) is an English rock guitarist, who is best known for being a founding member of the Godfathers as well as a member of the Damned and Del Amitri. He also performs and records as a solo artist. Biography Kr ...

– guitar, vocals *Michael Gibson – guitar, vocals *George Mazur – drums, percussion, vocals ;Additional musicians * Bobby Valentino – violin (track 4) ;Technical *

Vic Maile Vic Maile (1943 – 11 July 1989) was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for the Animals on their song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in th ...

– producer, mixing (track 5) *Harold Burgon – recording engineer * Ron St. Germain – mixing (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, 10) *Steve Brown – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11) *Jean Luke Epstein – sleeve design *Kevin Davies – back cover photography

Cover versions

The

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band Supernaut covered the song "If I Only Had Time" with lyrics in

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and K ...

entitled "Zločin" ("Crime") on their 2006 album ''

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''. Manhead covered the song "Birth, School, Work, Death" in 2004.

Local H Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and found ...

covered the song "Birth, School, Work, Death" in 2003 and it appears on '' The No Fun EP''.

Charts

;Chart performance for ''Birth, School, Work, Death''

References

1988 albums Albums produced by Vic Maile Epic Records albums The Godfathers albums {{1980s-alt-rock-album-stub