So Far, So Good... So What!
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| So Far, So Good… So What! | |||||
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| Studio album by Megadeth | |||||
| Released | January 19, 1988 | ||||
| Recorded | 1987 | ||||
| Genre | Thrash metal | ||||
| Length | 34:23 (Original) 54:01 (Remaster) |
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| Label | Combat Records Capitol Records |
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| Producer | Dave Mustaine Paul Lani |
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| Megadeth chronology | |||||
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So Far, So Good… So What! is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released by Capitol Records in 1988 (see 1988 in music). A remixed and remastered version, with vastly improved sound quality and featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004.
"In My Darkest Hour" was written by Dave Mustaine shortly after Cliff Burton's death. Burton was the bassist for Metallica, which Mustaine was a part of in the early 1980s.
"Anarchy in the U.K." is a cover version of a Sex Pistols song with alternate lyrics. This cover also features Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Into the Lungs of Hell" [Instrumental] (Dave Mustaine) – 3:22
- "Set the World Afire" (Mustaine) – 5:48
- "Anarchy in the UK" (Sex Pistols Cover) (Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Paul Cook) – 3:01
- "Mary Jane" (Mustaine, David Ellefson) – 4:25
- "502" (Mustaine) – 3:29
- "In My Darkest Hour" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 6:16
- "Liar" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 3:20
- "Hook In Mouth" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 4:39
[edit] 2004 Bonus Tracks
- "Into the Lungs of Hell (Paul Lani Mix)" (Mustaine) – 3:31
- "Set the World Afire (Paul Lani Mix)" (Mustaine) – 5:52
- "Mary Jane (Paul Lani Mix)" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 4:08
- "In My Darkest Hour (Paul Lani Mix)" (Mustaine, Ellefson) – 6:11
[edit] Song Notes
- "Into the Lungs of Hell" is an instrumental; the title is a Biblical reference to the angel Michael's assault on hell after Lucifer's fall. The music is based on the feel of the poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," which also influenced one of Dave's favourite songs, "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden, one of Megadeth's major influences[citation needed].
- "Set the World Afire" was originally titled "Megadeath", but was changed to "Burnt Offerings" after Mustaine decided to call the band Megadeth. Megadeth played "Burnt Offerings" under that name at their first show[citation needed], but never recorded it for Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! or Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?. When they finally decided to record it, they changed the name due to the fact that Testament had released a song by the same name on their album, The Legacy, a year earlier. It is about the post-apocalyptic future. This was the first song that Mustaine wrote after he left Metallica, musically and lyrically. The actual song is preceded by a fragment of the song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by the Ink Spots.
- "Anarchy in the U.K." is a Sex Pistols cover with incorrect lyrics; Mustaine has stated that he could not understand Johnny Rotten's singing, so he made up the parts he could not understand. The song's music video is a simply-styled cartoon featuring political figures. Steve Jones played second solo of this song.
- "Mary Jane" is not about marijuana, as is commonly thought; it is actually about a girl who takes up witchcraft, and seeks forgiveness from her father only to be buried alive as punishment. Most of the lyrics refer to a man being haunted by the girl.[1] Ironically, or perhaps intentionally, the song's last beat is on 4:20, a reference to marijuana. Mustaine and Elefson confirmed in 1994 at a show close to where Elefson grew up that the song was about the "witch's grave", a local Iowa/Minnesota legend about a grave in Loon Lake Cemetery, Near Jackson, MN, where a witch was buried and that if disturbed, the person who disturbed it would die within a year. It is also claimed to be about taboos in culture; at a live performance, Dave Mustaine claimed that the song is about a girl who is caught masturbating by her father, who then kills her.[citation needed]
- "502" is the Los Angeles police traffic code for impaired driving, for which Mustaine would later be arrested in 1989.
- "In My Darkest Hour" was written in mourning of Cliff Burton, Metallica's second bassist. The music was written the day Mustaine heard the news, but the lyrics (which do not refer to Burton, and are actually about Mustaine's ex-wife) were added after.[2]
- "Liar" was written about former band member Chris Poland, who Dave Mustaine accuses of selling Megadeth's band equipment (especially guitars) for funding towards his buying of drugs.
- "Hook in Mouth" was written about music censorship in the United States and mentions the PMRC [3]. It also contain's references to George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. One of the lines from The Star-Spangled Banner is used in the chorus of the song.
[edit] Personnel
- Dave Mustaine - guitar, lead vocals
- Jeff Young - guitar
- David Ellefson - bass, backing vocals
- Chuck Behler - drums
[edit] Additional musicians
- Steve Jones (of the Sex Pistols) - guitar solo on the "Anarchy in the U.K." cover
[edit] Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Billboard 200 | 28 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Review by Jim Farber, Rolling Stone
