The great story teller album
It's a smahe that this Cd didn't live up to Villains in the sales department. Although it is a slightly different sound, it is an amazing CD. This self entitled Cd is really a book put to music, telling the stories of The Verve Pipe and of life. I absolutely loved this CD. It starts off with the amazing supergig which is one of my favorite songs out there, and it leads right into She Loves Everyone, another gem where Vander Ark gets to show listeners his amazing vocal abilities. The only reason I gave this CD 4 stars was because the two ballads Kiss Me Idle and Half a Mind failed to do anything for me. I enjoyed She has faces, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt love the other two. the lyrics and stories are still great, but i guess the music could be a little better. However, the rest of the Cd is fantastic. Hero and Television are really good, and the catchy chorus of Inbetween is good too. Headlines and The F word are both great as well, and only get better with each listening. Generations is a higlight for me, with a great story of teen angst and the want to be independant, wishing to escape the empty threats of parents. The chorus is amazing and the entire song is just great. Words can't describe it. La La finishes pretty strong, and then you get toreturn to Supergig and the rest. With a mere two exceptions, I thought this CD was fantastic. For those who didn't like it, try listening to the stories behind the music. The real Verve Pipe fans will enjoy this. I feel they pulled off another masterpiece in this CD. Its the thrid one I have bought, and I can't wait to hear the rest. They are the real deal, phenomenal!
If you like this band, this is a must have.
Brian Vander Ark says it best..."I'm changing my direction"...because that is exactly what the Verve Pipe does on this album. It's a little harder, edgy and electronically inclined. But the fact is that, if you like this band, this is an absolute must have. The record is amazing. Brian Vander Ark has come a long way with lyrics (as well as wonderful writing by Donny Brown and AJ Dunning) and, although he did a great job on Villains, this album's stories are worded so well. Vander Ark does exactly what he set out to do which he describes oh the Verve Pipe's webpage...he says more with fewer words. The majority of the songs tend to be pretty melancholy, often about bad relationships, but it doesn't matter because the lyrics are that good. What is even more amazing is the music that empowers the lyrics. With a span of style of songs (Beatle-esque rock ballads, industrial sounding power rock, etc.) their own sound has evolved into something you can't describe, you just have to hear. The first song that struck me was their first song Hero mostly because of the amazing harmonies that I have come to love and associate with this band (ever since I heard 'What You Wanted' off of Pop Smear). It has a very distinctive sound to it that pushes categorizing music to a new level. The song following directly after 'Television' starts out with a My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult (industrial) feel and, again, breaks the barriers of category. All of the songs are layered so well putting voices in the front, then layering the mid-ground with instruments and finally pushing secondary vocals in the background. For the most part the album is layered this well throughout. It is this kind of dynamic style combined with wonderful arrangements and lyrics that have led me to put this band in the top ten of favorite bands. So as I said before, if you like this band, this is a must have album.
3 stars compared to most, 2 stars compared to other TVP CDs
My review title pretty much says it all. Compared to the three set of Villains/Pop Smear/I've Suffered A Head Injury, this is a very disappointing CD and certainly marked the beginning of the slide into oblivion that now has Brian Vander Ark out soloing. What I really wonder is what has happened to Donny Brown, as I have always thought his fabulous drumming and percussion was as or more important than Brian's vocals and guitar (although I seem to be the only one that feels that way). Anyway, this album appears to be a standard issue, just going through the motions. A few notable tracks, but nowhere close to the consistency of previous efforts. Before I read the reviews indicating the distortion/sound quality, I was wondering if it was just my car's CD player - I'll play it on my perfectly amped and speakered SUV system, and will come back and edit this review if the distortion isn't there, but I suspect it is. Crazy that the production crew, and the band itself, didn't note it. As carefully crafted as previous works have been, you almost wonder if it might be intentional - TVP letting us know that they know their sound was going, going.... Easy to say in 2003 that this was the beginning of the band's slide, but it appears that way. Even the fact that all of the song's lyrics aren't clearly printed as on the 3 prior works makes you wonder - again, intentionally trying to make us work to figure out how good the album is? or recognizing that the brilliance of previous efforts just wasn'there? I will continue to give the album additional listens, and it is a good album, just disappointing when you have gotten used to fabulous.
TVP's most honest-sounding release to date.
In the tradition of albums such as Weezers' 1996 release "Pinkerton," The Verve Pipe's 1999 self-titled album was, for the most part, overlooked and underrated. People who couldn't get enough of the poppy, formulaic-sounding tracks off of their earlier releases found themselves disinterested with the band's new sound, complete with heavier and more distorted guitars, use of electronic devices, and comparatively vulgar references to sex and alcohol. These are the same people who welcomed the band's most recent radio-friendly release "Underneath" with open arms. The truth is that this quintet from Michigan will probably never release an album that surpasses this particular album in its amount of sheer honesty. The Verve Pipe take us through a relatively short, but dynamic spectrum of sounds, past events and emotions, ranging from contempt towards the modern mainstream music audience ("..."), to regretful memories of lost love, ("She Loves Everybody," "In Between,") finally ending in contentment ("She Has Faces," "La-La.") The songs merge into one another, some loud, some more subdued, some short and catchy, others perhaps drawn-out and chaotic.
The bottom line is that giving this album a listen and discarding it, without taking the time to read the lyrics and skipping tracks simply isn't enough. It deserves more, especially from fans who want to discover who The Verve Pipe REALLY are. Like the cover artwork may suggest, this album is an attempt to dissect the music and perhaps find what fuels the band's creativity.
La La Means I Love You
I bought this CD on it's release date-years ago. It was a disappointment to me. However, with a few more plays it won my heart. Yet again, another CD you might want to listen to a few times before you judge it. It isn't something you can always appreciate right away. I personally have found special places for many of the songs on this album.
Please note that this is NOT "THE VERVE"! Reviews relating to Urban Hymns should be disregarded.
The late '90s produced a spate of faceless if hit-making pop-rock bands with names like Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, Dishwalla--and Michigan's Verve Pipe. The quintet's 1996 RCA debut hit with its title track, "Villains," as well as "The Freshman," pushing the LP past platinum. While their self-titled sophomore album boasts songs not nearly as memorable as its predecessor, the Verve Pipe still deliver an impressive-sounding LP with songs both elaborate and unadorned. On "Supergig," singer Brian Vander Ark infuses the tune's jangly yet driving psychedelia with Richard Butler-like vocal inflections, while the more straightforward and peppy "Hero" finds a happy medium among dense, melodramatic pop-rock tunes and several sweet if nondescript ballads. With a few exceptions (the edgy and devil-may-care "The F Word" and "Hero") the dozen tracks populating The Verve Pipe are forgettable if adroit efforts. --Katherine Turman
