Customer Reviews

Based on a True Story

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Yeah so this album isn't as instant as the older one but it really has a sound of a band who finally know what they wan't to sound like,before they could have just been tossed away into the pile of pop punk contempories but with this album i think they have shown a growth. Sure they havent exactly gone full circle and changed their sound but they have a lot more songs which require a little more thought that just catchness 'Photography' is the sort of song that would't go amiss on a Coldplay cd and 'Ready' has a dark broodyness to it that you would not associate with the Starting Line. But where they have mature songs thay also haven't lost their roots. 'Bedroom Talk' is a classic pop song as is 'The World'. Lyrically superior,musically superior and a very very underrated album.

From seeing The Starting Line at Skate and Surf Festival about 5 years ago to watching them perform on their headlining "Screaming is for Babies Tour," I have seen this amazingly talented and young group of individuals rise to be one of the most genuine rock bands of the decade. "Based on a True Story," their latest effort, has proved yet again that The Starting Line has what it takes to make the body move. And that is all you will do once you pop in this masterpiece of a compact disc. As a true TSL fan, I must be honest and admit that there is not one song on this cd that is not great. This band puts their heart, soul, and balls into making good music and BOATS proves just that. IF you don't believe me, just listen to "surprise, surprise" or "artistic license," a song that showcases Kenny's untouchable vocal range. No matter what, the bottom line is that The Starting Line have made a great album that everyone can love. Even with a huge corporate record label breathing down their neck, they have still managed to put out an album that expresses who they are and what they are all about. So with that said, there is nothing left to say except: If you don't already own this cd, add it to your shopping cart. Listening to it alone will make sitting in traffic seem unusally pleasant.

Where to start...? Based on a True Story... an album that was obviously not written for the fans, or anyone for that matter. I understand TSL they wanted to show a more mature side, show that they've grown up and all, but usually a band does that with their music; the lyrics and the music in Based on a True Story are lacking to say the least, the songs are somewhat catchy but not the stuck-in-your-head type that previous TSL CD's had with abundance, and the CD isn't really "about" anything. Past songs were about love and friendships... some of the songs on Based on a True Story are about sex, but the rest of it just leaves you trying to figure out what the song is about in the grand scheme of things, and a general feeling of "what's the point?" The lyrics are just not something that a listener would care about, they probably don't even mean anything to the people that wrote them!

And I'm not trying to say that this CD doesn't have good poins. The song "Photography" could be a really amazing song. The music itself is amazing, I love the lyrics for the most part, and it creates an amazing visual image... however, in the middle of it you get lyrics like "i'll swing from a streetlight and sing oh oh oh" Which pretty much ruins the image the song was creating, and makes you wonder what they're trying to get at. "Suprise, Suprise" is one song that gets back to their roots, and it's one of the best songs on the CD, however it sounds a lot like many songs from Say Anything... "Cut! Print It" sounds hauntingly like it was taken from a Bayside CD. However, these are my favorite songs, and they're quite good songs. It just doesn't bode well for an artist when the best songs on a CD remind the listener of OTHER bands... The CD and songs are just not memorable the way songs and past CD's from TSL were.

Bottom line, die hard fans of TSL will give this CD a 5 star review and think it's the best CD since the last TSL one to come out (and they'll do the same thing when a new CD comes out). For everyone else the CD will be just okay. Perhaps not worth 13 bucks, but if you can find it for 7-9 i woudln't shy away from it. A lot of reviews would say it's a one month listen, but i think this CD could have some shelf life... you'll probably pull it out and listen to it once, remember why you had put it away the first place, and put it back on the shelf just to repeat the process next month. And there's nothing wrong with that, a lot of CD are like that... I was just expecting more from a band whose previous CD's could be played for days at a time and not get old or boring.

This CD is the best CD ever!! I cannot explain to you in enough words how great this CD is. The songs on this album really touched me in a way that whenever a song plays, it somehow relates to my life in someway. "Bedroom Talk" is the greatest insight to all the things that go on in a teenager's mind when thinking about sex. The emotions and the feelings toward this topic are so on point that you feel like Kenny is singing for you. Number 7 and 11 on this CD are very good as well. In fact, I'm using track 11 on our senior powerpoint presentation since it's a song about being one and together accomplishing something. Go out and buy this album!!

This album does a great job at mixing things up throughout, it is a lot older and more multi dimensional than Say It Like You Mean It. I adore every one of those songs but, they all originate from a similar mold, they all have powerful choruses and slower stuff in between, this album is much less predictable.

An interesting aspect of this album, in my opinion is the fact that the songs are songs of themsleves, the album is not really a cohesive effort, all the songs seem to be entirely independent. And I love this, because I am a huge fan of mixes and when you listen to the whole album songs like "stay where I can see you" and "artistic licsence" dont stand out, but, then, you lsiten to them amongst non-starting line songs and they are AMAZING

that might not make sense, but, you should buy this, it is danceable and more hardcore than Say It Like You Mean It, but, its more diverse and lends itself better to excessive repeat listens (and I know all about that when it comes to this band)

The latest from The Starting Line, "Based on a True Story" is a difficult album to rate. From the outset, it has a completly different sound and feel from past albums such as "With Hopes of Starting Over" "Say It Like You Mean It" and even "Make Yourself At Home".

Gone are every single track being about love, whether it be losing it, gaining it, or simply being mad about it. A note that people need to remember is when the band formed some years ago, all the members were still teenagers. Since then, they have matured, which is what this album set out to prove. This CD is about the world you live in and the people that you surrond yourself with... friends and enemies, lovers and fakers.

Don't think that there aren't tracks that don't sound like The Starting Line of old though. #5 "Surprise, Surprise" is a similar ode to ex's cheating ways in relationships and will immedailty remind fans of "Up and Go". Also #12 "Ready" is an anthem of getting over a broken heart, something that previous Starting Line albums have been full of.

The rest of the album has a new sound for the band and it is up to the fan to decide if they feel it is a good one. Personally, I found it refreshing and enjoyable. Tracks of mine that I greatly enjoy are #2 "Making Love to the Camera", #5 "Surprise, Surprise", #6 "Photography", and #11 "The World" (thats not to say I don't like the rest of the CD, those are just my favorites). I would encourage any fan of previous releases of The Starting Line to pick this record up if for no other reason then to give the band a chance to prove that they can grow up and still keep you rocking your head and singing along just like before.

Well this cd was deffinetly....different from the last. It's not bad, just different. After listening to the cd, the songs really haven't sparked anything inside me. I've been a huge tsl fan for a while, and the cd kinda disappointed me. Don't get me wrong, Ready is a great song, and the b-list, and bedroom talk get stuck in my head. I just think some of the lyrics are kinda mediocre. For example: Making love to the camera, is it just me, or do they sound kinda..idk.. in to themselves.

Who knows, but overall the cd is okay. Say it like you mean it was definitley better

It's obvious that this CD is not Say It Like You Mean It, and that the band's sound has changed. I for one love the new stuff, and think that it shows quite a development for the band musically. You can tell they've experienced a lot since they wrote their first record, even their first EP.

For those of you who really liked the old CD, listen to it a couple of times and try to get into some of the songs. Ken's lyrics are satirical half of the time and you have pay attention to catch them. This is a band that is trying to do things their own way, and they're not writing songs for anyone but themselves now.
It really is a good album, i didn't like it all that much when i first listened to it, and now i can't stop listening to it. If it's not your kind of music, that's cool, but recognize that this band hasn't gotten worse, they've just started writing the music that they want to write.

I have been waiting FOREVER for this CD. I was so excited to hear it. When i got it...i was in shock.
The BAD-They changed...not for the better. Say goodbye to the catchy choruses that you can rock out to in your room...say goodbye to the lyrics that make you wanna sing. No, its, "im gonna tear you @$$ up" What the crap is that! But many of the songs dont make sense or are just stupid. "Making Love to the Camera"...who the heck wrote that piece. Many of the songs are also...boring. You dont get the kick like the first album. Photography is almost PAINFUL to listen to. It is six minutes of SLOWNESS.
The Good-The only good thing about this CD is the LAST 5 songs starting with "stay where i can see you". This song ALMOST takes you back to the good days of TSL. CATCHY song. Next is B-List. A GREAT song with so-so lyrics. Next WORLD!!! the BEST song on the CD absolutely great...this songs just makes you happy and makes ya wanna JUMP! Next is Ready...good song, ballad that has some cool fingerpicking guiar and turns into the full band by the end. Finally, Cut!Print It. The second best song on the CD. Once again it goes back to the glory days...show glipses of brilliance.

This is a good cd. Not nearly as good as Say It Like You Mean It. Go out and buy the new Fall Out Boy CD in addition or instead.

It took a while for their new album to drop but in my opinion, it was definitely worth the wait. The sound is much more grown up and the lyrics are very thought provoking. It's a wonderful follow up to "Say It Like You Mean It" and the production was great. The only negative thing about this album is it's length, which is just under an hour. Overall, I would recommend "Based On A True Story" to old and new fans alike.