40 years of «WE CARE A LOT» by FAITH NO MORE: Archive interview…

Sometimes, the most valuable documents in musical history remain asleep in digital archives, waiting for the right moment to rise to the surface. This essay is built on the basis of interviews that I originally conducted in 2016 on the occasion of the remastered reissue of We Care a Lot, the debut album by FAITH NO MORE. Bill Gould (bassist), Mike Bordin (drummer), Chuck Mosley (vocalist, who would pass away in 2017), and Matt Wallace (sound engineer) were interviewed, each one contributing fragments of memory that, assembled together, reveal the complexity of a work that transcended the intentions of its creators.

The circumstances of life, those unpredictable forces that determine when certain texts come to light, made the publication of these conversations take longer. Perhaps more time needed to pass, for the historical perspective to settle, so that these words could acquire their true testimonial weight. Today, almost a decade after those conversations, this historical document is finally available, not only as a chronicle of the past, but as a reflection on how certain albums transcend their time to become cornerstones of cultural movements that their authors barely intuited.

1985, A Different World

In 2016, upon commemorating the 31 years of «We Care a Lot» with a remastered reissue, FAITH NO MORE reflected on the origins of an album that we now recognize as foundational to alternative rock. As Bill Gould reflects in these retrospective interviews, “1985… it seems like a totally different world.” And he was right. At that time, the band navigated between the need to “work as little as possible, but enough to pay the rent and allow for alcohol and marijuana,” while gestating a musical proposal that decades later would be recognized as pioneering in alternative rock.

Social Context and Irony as an Answer

The song that gives the album its title emerges in a specific context: 1984, with Ronald Reagan as president and a culture of celebrities committed to social causes that was beginning to saturate the media landscape. As Gould explains, “there was a lot happening in this sense, and we tried to put a bit of humor into it.” The proposal was not nihilistic, but rather an ironic response to the fatigue generated by “celebrities trying to sell themselves in the name of honest causes.”

Chuck Mosley, the original vocalist, provides an interesting perspective on the lyrical genesis: “Roddy (Bottum, keyboardist) really came up with the title and the choruses like ‘we care a lot’ and wrote many of the lyrics of the first album.” This creative collaboration reflects the collective nature of the project, where ideas flowed organically between the members.

The Technical Revolution: Limitations as Creative Catalyst

The recording process of We Care a Lot is essential to understanding both the music and the artistic evolution of the band. Matt Wallace, the engineer who worked with them, describes the technical limitations of the time: “recording studios cost a lot of money, and you couldn’t try to correct what they played like you can now… which means you had to know the material perfectly before going in, in order to do it correctly and have it sound good.”

This technical restriction generated a working methodology that would forever mark FAITH NO MORE’s approach to recording. As Gould says, “we spent a lot of time in pre-production, preparing for the recording session, so we could simply go in and make the most of our time. This was really a good approach that fortunately shaped our attitude toward recording for the better.”

Mike Bordin summarizes the experience with his characteristic conciseness: “We had very little time, a lot to do… and a lot of incense smoke.”

The Metamorphosis of Bill Gould: From Bassist to Visionary

One of the most fascinating narratives that emerges from these interviews is the transformation of Bill Gould from a bassist-composer into the true creative engine of the band. Matt Wallace offers a privileged perspective of this evolution: “Bill has always been the ‘engine’ in FAITH NO MORE… after [We Care a Lot] he really began to get more involved.”

This transformation was not accidental. Gould developed an engineer’s perspective that would profoundly influence the arrangements: “when I wrote parts, I made sure that the instruments didn’t clash in the arrangements… making sure that each part occupied its own space. I still feel that a solid approach to a mix is part of the arrangement.”

Wallace confirms this evolution: “Bill learned and matured over a period of 30 years, beginning as a bassist/co-composer and eventually becoming an engineer, producer, co-mixer, entertainer, and more visionary.

The Forgotten Songs: Youth and Artistic Maturity

The album contains tracks that the band today considers too youthful to be performed live. As Gould explains about “The Jungle,” “Arabian Disco” and “New Beginnings”: “The easiest way to say it is: these three songs feel a little bit juvenile for us to play live. We actually did play them, yes, but each time we would laugh and say… forget it!”

This reflection reveals a band conscious of its artistic evolution, capable of contextualizing its early work without rejecting it, but recognizing the limitations inherent to creative youth.

Chuck Mosley: The Perfect Punk

Chuck Mosley’s perspective on those years reveals the economic and creative tensions that surrounded the band. His experience illustrates the precariousness of the independent musician in the ‘80s: “it actually was later [when they started living off music]. In fact, that’s probably one of the reasons they fired me because I was always complaining about not getting paid.”

His approach to lyric composition is particularly revealing: “I use the voice as an instrument, so it’s not really about what the lyrics say, but rather how they fit into the song.” This philosophy, almost instrumental in regard to singing, anticipated developments that would become central in later alternative rock; in fact, Jonathan Davis of KORN collaborated with him on Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food (2009).

The Technical Legacy: Remastering and Rediscovery in 2016

he remastering process of We Care a Lot carried out in 2016, three decades after the original release, offers a particular perspective on technical and artistic evolution. As Gould explains in these interviews: “the multitracks were taken directly from the reel… Matt Wallace mixed it again… but more than anything, this was an experiment to see what the same ears would do differently, after 30 years of experience.”

This decision was not merely nostalgic, but strategic: “many people, especially younger ones who like the band, actually have no idea where we come from, and for me, I think it is important to see the later material in the context of the earlier material.”

The Album As A Historical Document

The interviews conducted in 2016 for the remastered reissue reveal how We Care a Lot functions today as a multilayered historical document. It is simultaneously a portrait of the musical culture of the mid-80s, a testimony to the technical limitations that paradoxically enhanced creativity, and the genesis of a band that would profoundly influence the development of alternative rock.

The importance of the album does not lie solely in its intrinsic musical value, but in its ability to illustrate a moment of transition in American popular music. FAITH NO MORE, unknowingly, was building the bridge between 70s punk, 80s metal, and the alternative rock that would dominate the 90s.

As Gould reflects on the relationship between We Care a Lot and Sol Invictus (2015): “it is a good presentation of two extremes, and I like how they complement and contrast with one another.” This observation captures the essence of the album’s enduring legacy: not as a relic of the past, but as an essential reference point to understand the evolution of one of the most influential bands in alternative rock.

The 2016 interviews acquire a particular testimonial value considering that barely a year later, in November 2017, Chuck Mosley would pass away, turning his reflections on We Care a Lot into one of his last extensive statements about his time with FAITH NO MORE. His words on the cultural impact of the album (“a bunch of bands like KORN, DISTURBED and stuff like that always told me that if I had never been born they wouldn’t exist as a band”) now resonate with the authority of someone who fully understood his place in the history of alternative rock.

Forty years after ,We Care a Lot, and in memory of Chuck Mosley, the album remains as testimony that great musical revolutions are often born from necessity, technical limitations, and the ability to find humor and irony in the midst of cultural seriousness. An album that, as he himself recognized with his characteristic mix of pride and humor, may not have generated great economic profit for its creators, but whose cultural value has increased exponentially over the decades.

In memory of Chuck Mosley (1959-2017), voice and punk spirit of “We Care a Lot.”