'How You Remind Me' Of The Same Old Same Old. (All The Right Reasons - Nickelback)

Member Name: ManUtdBoi

Product:	All The Right Reasons - Nickelback
Date:	07/01/06 (991 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: -

Disadvantages: -

Since 2001 and the release of the bands third studio album, post-grunge outfit Nickelback have fallen relatively flat. Sales of the bands latest disc, aptly titled 'The Long Road' (to failure some may say) sunk below the expected mark and left the band with a reputation for simply being an early 90's imitation. The band have taken their fair share of criticism since hitting the scene with the massive, yet overplayed 'How You Remind Me', a track which gained number 1 status in the UK singles chart, a rare feat for any rock band - and despite said criticism, the Canadian rockers have chosen to change very little; a move which is likely to gain them few new fans.

Working in the bands favour is the late addition of Daniel Adair; the former 3 Doors Down drummer adds an entirely different dimension to the bands sound, resulting in one of the few positives to come from a fairly stale record. Having decided to move home to his native Canada, Adair had to depart his former band mates, and with Nickelback coincidentally enough searching for a new drummer, the timing was perfect for both parties. Aside from Adair, the band have altered very little, if any. The bands chief guitarist produces chords that a trained chimp could play, whilst Kroeger himself still sings as though he's suffering some sort of internal injury.

The albums' first single sets the tone for the majority of the album. A slow acoustic number, 'Photograph' sees Kroeger flipping through some old pictures, recalling memories of times gone by. Whilst it's easily labelled with the 'been there, done that' tag, it's a decent representation of the record as a whole, thus a recommended choice as the first single ("Every memory of lookin' out the back door, I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor. It's hard to say it, time to say it, Goodbye, goodbye"). Where Nickelback falter is in their failure to build on a good song; if anything, Photograph sits on the middle ground, whilst the majority of the record either kicks it's teeth in, or puts it to sleep.

Openers 'Follow You Home' and 'Fight For All The Wrong Reasons' fall into the former; a couple of brooding rock monsters, they're let down by Kroegers' inability to form constructive sentence; "Cause you're my Mississippi Princess, You're my California Queen. Like the Duchess of Detroit, And every city in between" - whilst the evident improvement in the bands sound shines through, thanks to the superb production values of one Joey Moi the lyrics, at times, are utter nonsense - Kroeger, a man into his thirties I believe, writes from the perspective of a 15 year old, pining for a previous love. Something else that provides something of a bug-bear for many people I've spoken to, is the inclusion of five ballads on an album that tallies up to a mere eleven tracks.

Sadly for Kroeger, he fails to show himself even here, opting for five songs of relatively similar structure, four of which break no boundaries and provide very little. Of course, there's an exception to all rules, thusly 'If Everyone Cared' is the albums centrepiece. A slow melodic number, it gives the first impression that Kroeger may well have a few more years on him than the 15 you could previously count. ("If everyone cared and nobody cried, If everyone loved and nobody lied. If everyone shared and swallowed their pride, We'd see the day when nobody died"); despite not touching any new ground once again, it's a nice gentle number that contradicts the overly-heavy likes of 'Animals' and shows that maybe our Chad has a heart after all.

Nickelback's problem, as a band, is there's nothing new here; in fact, they've never produced anything remotely original. The accusations of being nothing more than a Pearl Jam rip off are, in some areas, well justified. The chords are borrowed, regurgitated and repeated over and over, on almost every song on the album. It leaves 'All The Right Reasons' lacking any originality, and if anything, giving 'all the right reasons' to dislike the makers of such a poor quality disc. There's the stand out moments, don't get me wrong; Photograph is a promising first single, If Everyone Cared provides the albums lighter moment, and Someone That You're With provides probably the most solid of the albums proper 'rock' songs - but the highlights are sparse.

That aside, whoever decided to end the album with the intentionally sarcastic 'Rockstar' deserves a smack; whilst it's obviously an attempt to show that Kroeger does indeed have some inkling of humour in his bones, it's an atrocious song with lyrics right out of a Tweenies episode ("I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs"). Rather ironic that, as Kroeger asks for the former, that I read how the band recorded this very release in his personal (in-house) studio. Don't ya think. You can't help but feel that Nickelback, as an overall outfit, would be better off minus Kroeger. Whilst his vocals show some attempt at progression, on the whole it's the same drained tone over and over, song after song; whilst the responsibility of writing the albums lyrics may well have been better placed in the hands of Kermit the Frog….after all, Nickelback do come across as the Muppets at times.

Incidentally, the band dedicate 'Side Of A Bullet' to the late Dimebag Darrell, the former Pantera guitarist who was shot dead on stage last year. ("How could you let him do it? How could you put us through it? His brother watched him do it"); and despite a previously unheard solo from the man himself being dubbed into the track, it does little to prevent it being another failure. I won't go as far as to say he must be spinning in his grave, but it has to have made him flinch….

Recommended - No

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Repeat - Follow You Home, Photograph, Savin' Me, If Everyone Cared, Someone That You're With.

Skip - Fight For All The Wrong Reasons. Animals, Far Away, Next Contestant, Side Of A Bullet, Rockstar.

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Thank You

Summary: Nickelback continue to deliver very little.