It must’ve been tough to be in Chad Kroeger’s shoes when he was
writing this release. Not only did he have to follow the success of
Silver Side Up, a radio-hit heavy release that put their
name on the radar of rock radio stations, but he also had teamed up
with Saliva to have a huge hit “Hero” for the
Spider-Man soundtrack. Like any band that attempts to carry
on the success of a blockbuster release, Nickelback have a lot
riding on this release.
First track “Flat on the Floor” is a 2:02 fast-paced
kick-in-the-face track that sets the tone of the release. Driving
drums and Kroeger’s vocals propel this song to make it one of the
best lead-off tracks to come from a successful band, unlike bands
that start out their releases with a slow drippy ballad (I’m
thinking of Tesla’s “Caught in a Dream” from their
Into the Now release). “Flat on the Floor” definitely starts
the release on the right foot.
Unfortunately, I don’t understand why the band chose to place
“Do this Anymore” as the second track. This track starts out slow
before transforming into a good rock song. This is followed by the
radio single “Someday,” a song that has successfully been
repackaged as a track on one of those Kid Bop releases that get
advertised on cable TV. I think the fourth track “Believe it Or
Not” should have been track two so the momentum didn’t slip with
the intro to “Do this Anymore.”
It’s interesting to take note of how a songwriter writes their
material. A typical Nickelback song is a verse, a chorus, repeat
the verse, repeat the chorus. Kroeger follows this pattern on
“Someday” and others here. As chief lyricist, Kroeger paints a
world of chaos. The morning after a drunken fight soliloquy “Should
have Listened” causes sympathy for Kroeger as he sings, “There’s
three new holes on the wall / Where the hell’s my credit cards?
Why’s my wallet in the yard? . . . I should’ve listened / when you
said you’d had enough / a little trick I picked up from my father.”
I could relate to the ideas Kroeger is singing about, even though I
haven’t had a night like that since the early 90s.
“Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good” is another example of the chaotic
world Kroeger inhabits. He invites his woman to join him, but
spends the time together worrying about “Something’s gotta go wrong
/ Cause I’m feelin’ way too damn good.” The subject of the sexually
overtoned “Figured You Out” is another example of the chaotic
relationships in the speaker’s life. “I love your lack of
self-respect / while you’re passed out on the deck.”
Another theme is faith in a higher being. In “Throw Yourself
Away,” Kroeger addresses God and asks the subject, a mother that
gives birth to a baby on a bathroom floor, “You notice how God
ain’t even helping you.” In “Believe it Or Not,” these lyrics
address a higher being as Kroeger sings, “Could someone deliver us
/ Just send us some kind of sign / so close to giving up / ‘Cause
faith is so hard to find.”
In the end, the band sorrowfully closes this chapter in their
history with a sappy homage-to-the-fans. Kroeger sings, “If you
don’t come, we’ll never know.” He sings about “After hours and
alcohol / Every club, we’ve seen ’em all / We’ll go out on the town
/ and light it up till we burn it down.” I really wish they would
have left this track on the cutting room floor. I understand the
band’s “need” to have a lighter raiser at their concerts, but the
song immediately preceeding this one “Another Hole in the Head”
would have been a better end to this chapter.
In the end, Nickelback have already gotten some singles from
this release. There are probably a couple more that you will hear
on the radio before the band stops touring and prepares their next
release. “Should’ve Listened” and “Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good” are
my picks.
I liked this release. The band sounds good and I listen to this
release a lot. If you like their songs on the radio, this CD will
probably live in your CD player. It’s not perfect, but it’s
reasonably good.
