The band Saving Abel have been fairly solid so far in their short career of three albums. The first single and title track is an OK song nothing to write home about but listenable for sure. The song that follows it titled "Michael Jackson's Jacket" annoyed me before the song even started and I still don't care for it. It's once again not awful just not very good either. The album doesn't really begin until track three "Amazing" which is a good song and more of what I was expecting from the radio rockers.
As always with this band their production is high end and the musicianship is also top notch. They don't rip it up with all kinds of solo's and brilliant melodic passages but they play well and sing well and write mostly decent material. The albums best song and the direction this band needs to dive head-first into is "You Make Me Sick" which is on par with the awesome "The Sex Is Good" from their last album Miss America. I really like the swampy southern rock aspect to their repertoire and wish they sit deeper in this pocket because the band write better songs when they embrace their more groovy deep south old school rock n' roll influences.
The album does have a few more songs that stand up to be counted and are really strong tunes like "Pictures Of Elvis" and the excellent "Me & You" but the album does run into a lot of trouble with filler material and once you have heard the best it has to offer the filler becomes even more noticeable. Even the Beatles stomping influenced "New Loser" which is a good song pales just a little after following two very excellent tracks in a row. The song is akin to the poppier side of Theory Of A Deadman but seems to have more depth musically. I love the drum sound on some of the songs where the kick is so snotty and in your face.
I'm pretty sure that "Me & You" will be a single and a hit at some here and if the label has any sort of brains firing properly the A&R department will get on releasing it as the second single to compete with the likes of Shinedown, Nickelback and so forth who are dominating the rock format right now. Nickelback who doesn't have a song this good on their current album have no chance to compete so really Shinedown who has more than enough will be the songs only real competition in the rotation slot. Saving Abel work their wheelhouse to great effect on "I'd Do It Again" that sounds like it could have been written in the seventies.
But you do get a song that derails the album and is bloody awful and that POS is titled "Bittersweet" it is an emo-tinged power ballad that is painful from the verses of mediocrity to the chorus that the overrated Daughtry might be responsible for to the ridiculously bad breakdown and bridge that makes me wince when it plays. It is a total mess this song but it gives way to "Those Who Wait" that does help relieve the pain of that holly terror mistake "Bittersweet" is at its core.
The song was so bad I think that is why I was left with a bad taste after the albums completion. The overtly religious CCM bullshit song "Parachute" is vomit worthy. I am just so sick of this topic of bullshit invading everything unnecessarily. There really is no reason for a band of mainstream aspirations to include these praise music songs in my opinion. I can get by with a nice uplifting gospel tune once in awhile because the powerful music and those huge choirs ripping it up sounds great lyrics aside but Saving Abel don't do that sort of gospel they write boring mediocre praise music that has no place in my world of music and that is party why this album derailed finishing on a sour note for me. If you stop listening at track nine the album is pretty decent but for garbage throwaways even without the praise lyrics and jesus blasting these songs would stink. Better lyrics couldn't fix them no way no how dull and boring would still be dull and boring.
The Best Buy bonus tracks are all garbage and might even be worse than the last quarter of the album. "Love Sadistic" is complete cheese and forgettable actually don't even bother listening to it in the first place you already have something better in your collection. The other two obviously weren't good enough to make the original albums cut, so as bonus tracks they don't improve this package at all. If you are a fan of this band you will find lots to enjoy for sure and if you are of the indoctrinated faithful you will probably like the vanilla crap that permeates the latter portion of the album as well. Saving Abel don't embarrass themselves with Bringing Down The Giant and that's about all. A mediocre album in a sea of elite music that is currently available right now.
Sunday 5 August 2012
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