Unwritten Law (album)

Unwritten Law is the third album by the San Diego, California punk rock band Unwritten Law, released in 1998 by Interscope Records. It gained the band international attention with the success of singles "Lonesome" and "Cailin." Due to the departure of original bassist John Bell the previous year, Micah Albao filled in with the band on bass for the recording of the album. Shortly after its recording Pat "PK" Kim joined the band as their new permanent bass player.

The song "Cailin" was written for singer Scott Russo's daughter and is named after her. Beginning with the supporting tours for the album it became common for Russo to bring her onstage and sing the song directly to her, especially at the band's shows in San Diego where Russo and his family live. The song "418" is a "hidden track" that, although it is listed on the album sleeve, has no track separator to separate it from the preceding song "Genocide." It is named because it appears 4 minutes and 18 seconds into the playing time of track 12. The song features a guest appearance by Brandon Boyd of Incubus.

[edit] Track listing

All music by Unwritten Law. All lyrics by Russo except where indicated

"Harmonic" (Russo/Brewer)
"Teenage Suicide"
"Sorry"
"California Sky" (Russo/Youman)
"Cailin"
"Lonesome"
"Coffin Text"
"Holiday"
"Underground" (Russo/Youman/Brewer)
"Close Your Eyes"
"Before I Go" (Russo/Youman/Morris)
"Genocide" / "418" (Russo/Brandon Boyd)

[edit] Performers

Scott Russo - vocals
Steve Morris - guitar
Rob Brewer - guitar
Micah Albao - bass
Wade Youman - drums, percussion
Rick Parashar - piano, keyboards, tambura, percussion
Geoff Turner - DJ
Erik Aho - additional guitar on "Cailin"
Brandon Boyd - spoken vocals and didgeridoo on "418"
Michael Einzinger - additional guitar on "418"
Craig Yarnold - additional backing vocals on "Holiday"

[edit] Album information

Record label: Interscope Records
All music by Unwritten Law
All lyrics by Scott Russo except "Harmonic" by Russo and Rob Brewer, "California Sky" by Russo and Wade Youman, "Underground" by Russo, Youman, and Brewer, "Before I Go" by Russo, Youman, and Steve Morris, and "418" by Russo and Brandon Boyd.
Recorded and mixed at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington July/August 1997
Additional recording on "Holiday" at Studio West in San Diego, California September 1997
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Rick Parashar
"Sorry" mixed by Andy Wallace
Assistant production, engineering, and mixing by Jon Plum
Geoff Ott: second engineer
Additional mixing on "Underground" and "418" by Kelly Gray
"Holiday" engineered by Jon Mathias
Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York, New York
Graphic design by Lorna Turner
Cover illustration used with permission from Random House, UK
Art concepts by Unwritten Law
Photography by Craig Tomkinson and Dave Morris