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| | Burning the Days | | | Music Artist : | | Vertical Horizon | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Outfall Records | | Release Date : | | 2009-09-22 | | Store Price : | | $11.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $10.99 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. All Is Said and Done
2. The Lucky One
3. The Middle Ground
4. I Believe in You
5. Save Me from Myself
6. Carrying On
7. Back to You
8. Can You Help Me
9. Afterglow
10. Here
11. Welcome to the Bottom
12. Even Now
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Unexpected but outstanding
Submitted on: 2009-11-17 |
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I discovered VH through hearing (watching?) "Everything You Want" on MTV, then went out and bought their entire back catalog, and liked it all. It's been a long wait since "Go", and I was eager to hear the new CD. It was not what I expected. The harder rock edge of "Go" has changed. Now there's less distortion in the guitars but more time-based effects, which creates a janglier sound. Meanwhile, the tone of the lyrics has darkened substantially. The songs on "Go" were often about looking for, holding on to, or protecting relationships, while "Burning The Days" wants to punctuate and end them. I'm not sure what it all says about Matt's personal life, but I hope the man's doing OK.
I have to echo the question asked by so many reviewers - where's Keith in all this? Having one primary voice for the entire album gives it a unified feel that the older releases sometimes lacked, but it also reduces the variety of the tracks on the disc. Hopefully we hear more from him on the next release, and hear it soon.
Meanwhile I've had "Burning the Days" on continuous play for a week now, and it's got plenty of reps left to go. |
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 Where's Keith Kane's voice?
Submitted on: 2009-11-14 |
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| Excited to hear of their new album. Some nice songs but many sound like a weaker version of VH without Kane's harmony. The unique combination of Scannell and Kane IS Vertical Horizon. That sound hits deep and true - and it's what sets them apart from the many other similar bands. Bring back the harmony! |
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Get's better with each listen...
Submitted on: 2009-11-12 |
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I can't take this disc out of my player. Each time I listen, it gets better. Awesome production, thought provoking lyrics...not a bad track on the disc. Great driving music!
My personal faves include "All Is Said and Done", "The Middle Ground", "Save Me From Myself", "Welcome to The Bottom" and "Even Now" is a great way to close out the album.
Overall, one of (if not my) favorite VH releases. Highly recommend...listen loudly!!! |
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BEEN WAY TOO LONG!
Submitted on: 2009-11-11 |
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I love vertical horizon,
ever since i heard everything you want in summer 2000 on the radio, i bought that album and loved it, it was such a perfect pop/rock album..., you could imagine so many songs from it as hit singles...
then, go was another fine album in autumn 2003, that too had so many catchy radio- friendly songs... i never understood how it was not more of a hit... i guess RCA just didn;t back the guys well enough... that record had lots of potential hits
I still listen to those albums tons...
Now, six years (!) on, we get the much delayed and eagerly awaited new album... what can i say, i love it, it's everything i expected it to be...
Thye havent really progressed or changed their sound much, but their songs are still very catchy and well crafted... if you loved the last two albums, this is for you...
I guess the main changes are the songs are more polished up- i guess the guys did this in the hope of getting more radio play and being more commercially successful... me, it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the songs, i know some think the songs sound less rocky or raw but i'm fine with it...
The album is not as rocky as the previous albums as a result... but these are still very strong songs that are catchy and its great to have some new material at last....
My faves:
I love I believe in you, it starts slowly but builds to a strong finish..
Carrying on is a great track too, it's another one that starts low but builds to the rocky finish we know and love the guys for...
save me from myself, is probably the rockiest track on the album... i love the middle of the song and the great guitar riffs... they certainly haven't lost it...
The lucky one and a few other tracks introduce piano to the vertical horizon sound and these tracks are well executed too, a little middle of the road in ways cause they start softly but always build to a strong chorus and finish..
I also love welcome to the bottom, the soft piano/ organ opening is so catchy and again the track builds to a rocking finish...
I think if you liked Go, then you will like this too.
It's a fine collection of songs, a welcome return from a great band and i wish them all the best with this one, i hope they can get more radio play and are more successful... they deserve it... and let's hope the next album won't be quite as long a wait! |
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 Overproduced Snoozer
Submitted on: 2009-11-06 |
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This is my first real foray into Vertical Horizon's music, and I am targeting the first time listener rather than the longtime fan. I've you've listened to and loved Vertical Horizon for years, there are other reviews written more for your perspective.
If you are still reading, here are my thoughts on Burning the Days. I bought the CD after listening to the online samples (including the full length of "All Is Said And Done") which I thought sounded pretty good. I was disappointed when this didn't translate for me when listening to the entire songs/CD. This is probably because I get more immersed in the music when I am listening to in on my mp3 player or in the car.
I have three main issues with Burning the Days. First, the songs are way over produced. While each song has some layer on top of the base instrumentation and vocals, this stood out to me the most on "Welcome To The Bottom". If you listen to the beginning of the song without knowing who it is, you might guess that it is a Dido (who I love BTW) song. The reason this doesn't work on Burning the Days is that Vertical Horizon is supposed to be a rock band not a pop/dance music artist.
Next, the vocal delivery/rhythm ranges from dull to bad. Matt Scannell doesn't have a hook or emotionally inflected delivery, and the rhythm on the chorus of "Back To You" and "Can You Help" me make me reach for the skip button to begin the next song. I prefer someone who mixes up their vocal style more. Thinking about bands that would be considered peers to Vertical Horizon, Ed Rolland of Collective Soul is a contrasting example that fits more of what I'm talking about.
Finally, I don't think that Scannell writes very good lyrics. Even though "All Is Said And Done" is the song that I like the best on the CD, the chorus is way to choppy - "Are you tired/Of holding up the sky/Teaching birds to fly/You've done it all your life/Oh baby are you sad/When you see the sun/`Cause then you're not the brightest one/When all is said and done/And honey all is said and done". Perhaps you aren't supposed to care about the lyrics with Vertical Horizon, but this just doesn't work for me. Other things I found odd were that the title phrase 'Burning the Days' is found both "I Believe In You" and "Carrying On". Yet it does not provide a real unifying theme for the CD such that it bears repeating across songs. Lastly, I thought that the dual meaning on "Even Now" (both temporal and in terms of balance/justice) was a failed attempt at being clever.
Overall, I couldn't find a lot to like in Burning the Days. If you are a longtime fan, this might be exactly what you are looking for. However, for the new listener I would suggest trying to listen to a good sample of full length tracks before jumping in. If you are looking for something in the rock genre that you might find a little more satisfying, check out something from Collective Soul.
Download this: All Is Said And Done |
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