The Special Goodness' unreleased 2005 album

In spring 2005, between recording and post-production work on the Weezer album Make Believe, the Special Goodness recorded, mixed, and mastered a full-length studio album. The album featured Atom Willard on drums and Weezer member Scott Shriner on bass. Late into production it was scrapped in its entirety by Patrick Wilson, citing dissatisfaction with its overall sound. No audio from the album has ever been publicly released.
==Overview==
===Recording===
Work on a fourth Special Goodness album began in June 2004. Around 15 songs were in contention to be worked into album tracks, some of which had been written for consideration as Weezer songs, and others which were borrowed from previous Special Goodness albums and recordings. Joe Barresi, who had worked with the band on their previous album Land Air Sea in 2003, returned to produce the album. Atom Willard, having recently completed a tour with the Offspring, would additionally return on drums and Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, who had played with the Special Goodness live on prior tours, would make his debut appearance on a studio recording with the band.Wilson, Patrick (July 17, 2004). "LATEST!". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004.
In August, the album entered a "new phase of preproduction whittling everything down to guitar and [vocals]."Wilson, Patrick (August 20, 2004). "8.21.2004". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2004. Development continued through November in-between Wilson's work with Weezer finalizing Make Believe, with recording sessions projected for late January or early February 2005.forsberg (November 2, 2004). "Nov 1, 2004 Update...New TSG songs and TSG session next yr!!". The Special Goodness Board. Archived from the original on November 28, 2004. The band began rehearsing album material on November 8.FMGreen Redux (November 8, 2004). "11.07.04 update". The Special Goodness Board. Archived from the original on November 28, 2004. Wilson posted a handful of in-studio photos to the band's official website thespecialgoodness.com.FMGreen Redux (November 15, 2004). "11.14.2004 Update". The Special Goodness Board. Archived from the original on April 21, 2005.
In March 2005, after roughly four months of silence, Wilson provided another update on the album's development: "new cd - 12 songs - a mighty effort to get it on tape (!) by the time all the =w= craziness starts"."welcome to the special goodness". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005. "new cd - 12 songs - a mighty effort to get it on tape (!) by the time all the =w= craziness starts . . . mad pre-production and schedule to record b4 =w= craziness!" The band recorded the album at the Steakhouse Studio in Los Angeles, California throughout the following month. Under the supervision of Barresi, overdubs were recorded and the album was mixed and mastered at two private studios in the city of Sun Valley.Koch, Karl. (2006). "4/05 The Special Goodness Recording Session, The Steakhouse, L.A.". Recording History. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia. On June 16, Wilson shared the album's tracklist online and proposed a potential January 2006 release.FMGreen Redux (June 16, 2005). "June 16, 2005 Update". The Special Goodness Board. Archived from the original on August 25, 2006.
===Delay and ultimate cancellation===
On September 30, Wilson again updated the band website: "After a lengthy review, I've decided to keep working on the cd. The recording sounds great, Joe Barresi did a great job but ultimately I'm unsatisfied with the songs and arrangement . . . rest assured that the result will be more satisfying."funnyboy88 (September 30, 2005). "Pat updated 9-30-05". The Special Goodness Board. Archived from the original on February 20, 2006. Wilson worked to improve the album over the course of the following months, maintaining the goal of eventually releasing some completed version of the album;"the special goodness". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2005. "Is in progress. Takes time. Is fueled by love." in late 2005, an article about the Offspring mentioned that the album, as well as a tour, were planned for the spring of the following year.funnyboy88 (December 24, 2005). "Let the TSG Machine Begin!". The Special Goodness Board. Archived from the original on February 20, 2006.
On January 5, 2006, Wilson wrote a blog post summarizing his experiences over the previous year recording for the Special Goodness and working with Weezer. He explained some criticism he had with the unreleased album: "the songs were basically an excuse to shred on the instruments which ultimately was unsatisfying".Wilson, Patrick (January 5, 2006). "2006! wha wha wha?!?!?!?!". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Having gained new perspective during Weezer's recent touring, Wilson indicated a desire to move the Special Goodness in a new direction. No mention was made of progress on the recorded album's material.
Finally, in a blog post on January 24, Wilson formally announced that the album had been shelved. The post, which also provides some context behind the album's cancellation, reads:
Along with the desire for a change in sound and direction, Karl Koch has suggested that Wilson cancelled the album over "concerns of commercial viability." He later reminisced in 2023, "He's just not satisfied with what it sounded like, even though I remember being in the studio and him, Adam, and Scott were raging and it sounded cool to me. But I think he just wasn't quite pleased with the songs he was writing. Pat's got this thing where it has to be, like, a vibe . . . he's not too concerned about the song being, like, a tight pop song, he really doesn't like that. So whenever you try to get him to bend something into a pop song, he always kinda feels like that's when we're losing the magic."Koch, Karl (August 18, 2023). "Weezerpedia interview with Karl Koch - 2023" (Interview). Interviewed by Burnst Jamp; Moonbritches. Weezerpedia.
===Afterwards===
Wilson began to share progress on new and revised album material starting on July 12, 2006.Wilson, Patrick (July 12, 2006). "Hi!". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. On August 13, he said he'd "like to release something in the spring but [will] sell no wine before it's time."Wilson, Patrick (August 13, 2006). "Hiatus". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. On February 15, 2007, he wrote: "Lots of new songs have been written and I think an album will be released this year."Wilson, Patrick (February 15, 2007). "All right then.". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. New recording sessions were slated to begin on November 19,Wilson, Patrick (October 31, 2007. "New Recording". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. but delayed until 2008 because Wilson was expecting a child.Wilson, Patrick (November 19, 2007). "voodoo child (slight delay)". thespecialgoodness.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. After this, work on the album was abandoned without further announcement. Dissimilar to the 2005 material, nothing is known of the songs from this period.
The Special Goodness would eventually release a fourth album, Natural, in 2012. It was recorded and produced by Wilson alone and exists divorced from the 2005 album or its subsequent songwriting efforts.
==Track listing==
==Personnel==
Although official credits for the unreleased album do not exist, the following roles are known:
*Patrick Wilson – lead guitar, lead vocals
*Atom Willard – drums
*Scott Shriner – bass guitar
*Joe Barresi – engineer, production
==See also==
*Songs from the Black Hole
*Natural
*List of Patrick Wilson songs
==References==
Category:Patrick Wilson Category:Scott Shriner Category:Atom Willard Category:The Special Goodness Category:The Special Goodness albums Category:Music produced by Joe Barresi Category:Unfinished/unreleased Weezer projects