Elva (album)

Elva
Studio album by Unwritten Law
Released	January 29, 2002
Recorded	2001 at Total Access Recording, Redondo Beach, California
Genre	Pop punk post-grunge alternative rock
Length	50:13
Label	Interscope
Producer	John Shanks Josh Abraham Miguel Unwritten Law
Unwritten Law chronology
Unwritten Law (1998) Elva (2002) Here's to the Mourning (2005)

Elva is the fourth album by the San Diego-based rock band Unwritten Law, released in 2002 by Interscope Records. With it the band moved away from their previously established punk rock formula and towards a more accessible hard rock sound. The band found success with the song "Seein' Red", which reached #1 on US modern rock charts it was their last studio album to feature founding drummer Wade Youman who left the band in 2003 though he return to the fold in 2013 and quit for second time in 2019

Elva features guest appearances by Tony Kanal of No Doubt, Josh Freese of The Vandals, and Neville Staple of The Specials. The two "Raleigh Soliloquy" tracks are recordings of the rants of Raleigh Theodore Sakers. Previous recordings of his rants numbered soliloquies I-III had appeared on the Sublime album Robbin' the Hood. After the closing track "Evolution" there is a phone message to singer Scott Russo from Blink-182 singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge, a close friend of the band who had grown up with them in their home town of Poway.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Popmatters	Unfavorable link
Punknews	link
Rolling Stone	link

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Scott Russo, except where noted

No.	Title	Music	Producer	Length
1.	"Mean Girl" (lyrics: Ben Rosen, Russo)	Ben Rosen	John Shanks	3:06
2.	"Up All Night"	Scott Russo	Michael Happoldt, Unwritten Law	3:03
3.	"Sound Siren"	Russo	Shanks	2:50
4.	"How You Feel"	Russo	Happoldt, Unwritten Law	2:45
5.	"Blame It on Me"	Rob Brewer, Russo, Wade Youman	Shanks	2:36
6.	"Seein' Red"	Russo	Happoldt, Unwritten Law	3:47
7.	"Nick and Phil" (no music; spoken word by Nicholas Wright and Phil Jamieson)			0:38
8.	"Hellborn"	Youman, Russo	Shanks	3:19
9.	"Geronimo"	Russo, Steve Morris, Youman, Brewer, Pat Kim	Shanks	3:29
10.	"Rescue Me"	Russo	Happoldt, Unwritten Law	4:01
11.	"Actress, Model..." (lyrics: John Brinton Hogan, Russo)	John Brinton Hogan	Shanks	3:09
12.	"Raleigh (Soliloquy, Pt. V)" (no music; spoken word by Raleigh Theodore Sakers)			0:14
13.	"Babalon"	Russo	Happoldt, Unwritten Law	4:08
14.	"Raleigh (Soliloquy, Pt. VI)" (no music; spoken word by Sakers)			0:42
15.	"Rest of My Life"	Russo	Josh Abraham	2:43
16.	"Elva"	Russo, Nicholas Wright, Phil Jamieson	Happoldt, Unwritten Law	4:08
17.	"Evolution"	Russo, Morris, Youman, Brewer, Kim	Shanks	5:35
Total length:				50:13

Personnel

Unwritten Law

• Scott Russo – Lead vocals
• Steve Morris – Lead guitar, Backing vocals
• Rob Brewer – Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals
• Pat "PK" Kim – Bass guitar
• Wade Youman – Drums

Additional musicians

• Nicholas Wright – Guitar on "Elva"
• Josh Freese – drums on "Up All Night"
• John Shanks – additional guitar on "Sound Siren," slide guitar on "Actress, Model..."
• Miguel – upbeat guitar on "How You Feel," lead guitar on "Seein' Red"
• Marshall Goodman – percussion on "Up All Night" and "Hellborn"
• Michael Fisher – Indian percussion on "Babalon"
• The Allday Singers – group vocals on "Babalon"
• Tony Kanal – bass guitar on "Rest of My Life"
• Neville Staples – DJ vocal on "Evolution"
• Raleigh Theodore Sakers – spoken vocals on tracks 12 & 14

Artwork

• Steven R. Gilmore – Sleeve design, layout, art direction, line drawings (based on original drawings by Wade Youman)
• Wade Youman and Marc B. – Art direction
• Mark Baldswin – Cover paintings
• Dean Karr – Photography

Production

• John Shanks and Miguel – Producers
• Josh Abraham – producer and mixing of "Rest of My Life"
• Mark DeSisto and Tobias Miller – engineers
• Dan Chase, Tal Herzberg, and Baraka – Pro Tools
• Eddie Ashworth – additional engineering
• Mike McMullen and Jerry Moss – assistant engineers
• David J. Holman – mixing
• Mixed at Cactus Studio Hollywwod
• Brian Gardner – mastering

Management

• Bill Silva, Les Borsai – Managers for Bill Silva Management
• Andy Somers, Val Wolfe & Melody King – Booking Agents for The Agency Group
• Mark Williams & Tom Whalley – A&R
• John Branca, Mitch Tenzer & Heather Hathwell-Ziffren – Legal for Britteham, Branca & Fischer, LLP

Charts

Album

Chart (2002)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	69

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2002	"Seein' Red"	US Modern Rock Tracks	1
		Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles	105
		Australian Singles Chart	73
	"Up All Night"	US Modern Rock Tracks	14
		Australian Singles Chart	71

References