Good Sounds from the Southtown
This is an awesome CD. I usually listen to punk and plain rock, but when I saw P.O.D on TV, and then heard them at youth group, I knew I had to have their CD. I wasn't disappointed. From "Hollywood" to "Outkast", I loved it all. it was hard hitting, but the instruments were being played with skill, they weren't just loud. The lyrics are great, too. They are hopeful and intelligent, not just pointless and angry. These guys came from a tough upbringing, but instead of using that as "fuel for the fire", they sing about how God got them through, and share the grace they've recieved. My favorite songs were "Southtown", "Bullet the Blue Sky" (that's a cool old U2 song. I want to hear the original), "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)", and "Tribal". I also thought the funky bass on "Hollywood" was cool. Forget Rage and Bizkit and KoRN. That stuff is bad for your mind AND soul. Pick up P.O.D, and you'll like it. Where do you stand in this battle cry, Tribal Soldier? Auf Wiedersehen.
They're getting better..............
This CD has definitely improved from 1994's "Snuff The Punk," but they still could've tuned the guitar better and stuff like that. If you listen to their latest CD "Payable on Death," you'll realize how evolved, and better they've become. Here's my song rating (Songs marked with a * were released as a single):1) Geetings: 9/10
2) Hollywood: 2/10
3) Southtown*: 10/10
4) Checkin' Levels: 10/10
5) Rock The Party (Off The Hook)*: 9/10
6) Lie Down: 8/10
7) Set Your Eyes To Zion: 7/10
8) Lo Siento: 7/10
9) Bullet The Blue Sky: 9/10
10) Psalm 150: 6/10
11) Image: 10/10
12) Shouts: 7/10
13) Tribal: 6/10
14) Freestyle: 10/10
15) Follow Me: 8/10
16) Outcast: 1/10
In Total - 119/160=74% - If you're looking for a P.O.D. album, I really wouldn't recommend this unless you already have "Satellite" and "Payable on Death" and you only need this one, "Snuff The Punk" and "Brown," then buy this. $12.99
P.O.D.'s Best!!
When I was 14 I was looking for heavier music and I had heard P.O.D. was the hot band to watch and so I did for a while and when I got ahold of Fundamentals I was AMAZED! The effort the passion THIS CD IS RAW!! I LOVE RAW!! When you hear any of this live your amazed that it sounds so good! Awesome bass, guiter, and the drums rock. Sonny does a nice job of singing/screaming. The only thing not likeable on this cd is those stupid little intros the only cool one is Pslam 150 I thought it was descent. The best tracks on this cd are 2,3,5,6,7(its not to bad),13,14(ya not to bad),15(love the lyrics),and 16 This is in my opinion one of P.O.D.'s best songs ever written and played live! Now that I'm almost 17 and this is still one of my fav cds all time to play on my stearo! Note: This cd is best heard LOUD!! So crank it up when you buy this! Get this rockin cd today!! If you liked the self-titled cd then you'll love this one! P.O.D. out did themselves on this cd!
Good disc... after listening to it a few times.
Nothing to say, so let's get right into the songs.
Greetings - Nice intro. "Jah people ride on."
Hollywood - Good song about the "glamour life" of Hollywood.
Southtown - Best song on the entire album; about the community of San Ysidro, California.
Checkin' Levels - Cool intro to Rock the Party.
Rock the Party (Off the Hook) - "We came to rock the party all night long!"
Lie Down - 5 minutes of screaming...
Set Your Eyes to Zion - "Jah Jah people ride on..." Guitar-driven reggae.
Lo Siento - Filler.
Bullet the Blue Sky - Best cover song ever.
Psalm 150 - Filler.
Image - I like the guitar in this song.
Shouts - Filler.
Tribal - "I and I Jah Jah Warrior!"
Freestyle - Exactly what it says.
Follow Me - "Almighty Reign! Almighty I!"
Outkast - "I'm an outkast, but don't count me out."
FLOSS YOUR STYLE WIT P.O.D.
Possibly the best P.O.D. album ever made, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown remains a fun, heavy, and non-played out cd. The first cd i have ever got by P.O.D., with the smash hit "Rock The Party (Off the Hook)" i still listen to this cd although not as often. This is P.O.D.s first main stream cd. I love it and you'll love it, especially to those Satelite fans. And if you are a baby about rap and won't buy this cd because there is a lot of freestyling on it, then you HATE great music. Get this disc!
With their aggro music, tattoos, piercings, and dreadlocks, P.O.D. (Payable on Death) might be conveniently filed next to Deftones or Rage Against the Machine. However, like U2, whose "Bullet the Blue Sky" they cover, P.O.D. are actually a Christian-based rock band, though not overtly religious enough to scare nonbelieving music fans away. This multiethnic quartet from the Southtown area of San Diego purveys an amalgam of modern music; elements of rap, metal, reggae, and hip-hop permeate this 16-track debut. P.O.D. doesn't bring much new to their hybrid style on The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, but what they do, they do well. From the gentle, reggae-tinged "Set Your Eyes to Zion" to the heavy grind of "Hollywood" and the rap-metal of "Lie Down," P.O.D.'s diverse and rockin' musical messages of positivism should make the foursome, already well known on the Christian rock circuit, a band to reckon with in secular circles. --Katherine Turman
