''Project 1950'' is the sixth studio album by the American

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered b ...

band the

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

, released in 2003. It consists of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

songs from the 1950s and 1960s and marks bassist

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup. Bio ...

's debut as the Misfits' lead singer. Except for Only, no members of the band from their previous album returned for ''Project 1950''. The album cover artwork was done by

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

artist Tony Squindo. The

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

include explanations from the band members about why they chose each particular song. Receiving generally positive critical reviews from publications such as

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, the album became a commercial success and hit the #2 slot on ''

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' '

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

' chart as well as #5 on its '

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard'' magaz ...

' chart.

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". Ronnie formed the ...

guest starred as a backing vocalist on two tracks. Other members of the band at that point had also previously been associated with famous groups, with the album also including work from punk rockers

Marky Ramone Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...

of the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

and

Dez Cadena Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, init ...

of Black Flag. In October 2014, the band released an expanded edition of the album, adding three new tracks with current drummer Eric "Chupacabra" Arce performing on the new tracks. A limited picture disc LP of the expanded album was also released with new artwork by Tom Whalen

Reception

The album received positive reviews.

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

ran a supportive review by critic Johnny Loftus, who stated that "it's good to hear their excitement in the recordings, which crackle with enthusiasm" and called the album "really enjoyable in a nostalgia sort of way". Reviewing the Expanded Edition of the album Ken Pierce, of Piercing Metal stated "Overall the tunes retain a large part of their original sound but with there being renditions by The Misfits they are faster and quicker to finish when it all comes down to it." rating the album 4 out of 5.

Track listing

Chart positions

Bonus DVD

# "This Magic Moment" # "Dream Lover" # "Diana" # "Donna" # "Runaway" *Tracks 1-4, recorded at the Phillips US Open

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

Championships *Track 5, recorded live, at The World in NYC Bonus material *Day the Earth Caught Fire: Live in NYC- Misfits with Balzac *The Haunting/Don't Open 'Till Doomsday: Live in Japan- Balzac with Misfits *Day the Earth Caught Fire: Live in Japan- Balzac with Misfits *The Haunting/Don't Open 'Till Doomsday- Balzac *Out of the Blue- Balzac

Personnel

– bass, lead vocals *

– drums, percussion *

– guitars *

John Cafiero John Cafiero is an American punk rock musician and filmmaker. He is best known as the frontman for the punk supergroup Osaka Popstar, whose debut album was released the summer 2006. The full album lineup toured the UK in September 2006, followe ...

– background vocals on "Dream Lover", "Monster Mash" and "Runaway" *

– background vocals on "This Magic Moment" and "You Belong to Me" * Jimmy Destri – keyboards on "Runaway" and "Great Balls of Fire" *

Ed Manion Ed Manion (born February 28, 1952), also known as Eddie "Kingfish" Manion, is an American saxophonist, who plays both tenor and baritone sax. As a solo artist, he released his own instrumental album titled Nightlife in 2015. Manion is currently a ...

– saxophone on "Diana" and "Runaway" *Eric "Chupacabra" Arce – drums, percussion on "Witchcraft", "Daughter of Darkness" and "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"

References

{{Authority control Misfits (band) albums 2003 albums Covers albums Rykodisc albums