Beautiful Midnight

Beautiful Midnight
Studio album by Matthew Good Band
Released September 14, 1999
Recorded February - April 1999; Greenhouse Studios, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Genre Alternative rock
Length 65:15
Label Universal (Canada)
Atlantic Records (US)
Producer Warne Livesey
Matthew Good Band chronology

Lo-Fi B-Sides (EP)
(1998)		 Beautiful Midnight
(1999)		 The Audio of Being
(2001)
Singles from Beautiful Midnight
  1. "Hello Time Bomb"
    Released: August 1999
  2. "Load Me Up"
    Released: December 1999
  3. "Strange Days"
    Released: March 2000
  4. "The Future Is X-Rated"
    Released: June 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Sputnikmusic [2]
Punknews.org [3]

Beautiful Midnight is the third album released by the Matthew Good Band and the follow-up to the band's 1997 album, Underdogs.

The album produced four successful singles and music videos, "Hello Time Bomb", "Load Me Up", "Strange Days", and "The Future is X-Rated". The success of Beautiful Midnight propelled Good to a celebrity status in Canada he eventually grew to loathe, and his interactions with the media throughout the promotional cycle for the record were often strained and unpleasant. The album was re-released in 2001 in the United States on Atlantic Records with an altered tracklisting with remixed songs from Underdogs. Good has referred to it as something of a greatest hits. The album did not achieve the kind of success in America as it did in Canada due to Good intentionally sabotaging the band's career stateside by refusing to play along with the media and music industry in the country and the band's reluctance to commit extensively touring the country.

A number of songs considered for inclusion on Beautiful Midnight were relegated to b-side or unreleased status. "Flashdance II" was eventually released on Loser Anthems, while "Pony Boy", which was recorded for the subsequent album The Audio of Being, remained unreleased until In a Coma in 2005.


Commercial performance

Beautiful Midnight debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart,[4] selling approximately 25,000 copies in its first week.[5] It would go on to become the band's most successful album, being certified Platinum in Canada two months after its release and 2x Platinum on September 7, 2000.[6] By March 2003, the album had sold 270,000 units in Canada.[7]

Track listing

All tracks written by Matthew Good and Dave Genn, except where noted.

In the fashion of a concept album, the track listing uses the conceit that the album represents one night, with each song corresponding to a one-hour period leading from "05:00 pm" ("Giant") through midnight ("Let's Get It On") and ending with "Sunup" ("Running For Home").

  1. "Giant" – 6:10
  2. "Hello Time Bomb" – 3:58
  3. "Strange Days" – 4:25
  4. "I Miss New Wave" – 5:04
  5. "Load Me Up" – 3:40 (Good, Genn, Priske, Browne)
  6. "Failing the Rorschach Test" – 4:45
  7. "Suburbia" – 5:26
  8. "Let’s Get It On" – 4:16
  9. "Jenni's Song" – 4:00
  10. "Going All The Way" – 4:17
  11. "A Boy and His Machine Gun" – 5:02
  12. "The Future Is X-Rated" – 3:47
  13. "Born to Kill" – 5:42
  14. "Running for Home" – 4:38

US track listing

(Titles were altered by Atlantic Records)

  1. Giant
  2. Hello Time Bomb
  3. Strange Days
  4. Deep 6ix
  5. Load Me Up
  6. Failing the Rorschach Test
  7. Suburbia
  8. Apparitions
  9. Jenni's Song
  10. Boy and His ------- ---
  11. The Future Is X-Rated
  12. Everything Is Automatic
  13. Born to ----
  14. Running for Home

("Hello Time Bomb", "Strange Days", "Deep 6ix", "Load Me Up", and "Everything Is Automatic" were remixed by Chris Lord-Alge. "Deep Six", "Apparitions", and "Everything Is Automatic" originally appeared on Underdogs.)

Credits

Note: Todd Kerns performs backing vocals on "Hello Time Bomb" and "Born To Kill" (not part of MGB)

References

  1. ↑ Sammy Younan. "Beautiful Midnight". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  2. ↑ "Matthew Good Band - Beautiful Midnight (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  3. ↑ "Matthew Good Band - Beautiful Midnight". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  4. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 69, No. 23, September 27, 1999". RPM. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  5. ↑ "CANOE - JAM! Music - Artists - Our Lady Peace : Our Lady Peace skyrocket up the Cdn. charts". Jam.canoe.ca. 1999-09-30. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  6. ↑ "Gold Platinum Database: Beautiful Midnight - Matthew Good Band". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  7. ↑ "Good Unleashes 'Avalanche In Canada". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2014.