Beneath Medicine Tree

Copeland | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: March 25, 2003
• Label: The Militia Group
• Copyright: 2003 The Militia Group
• Total Length: 44:14
• Genres:
• ASIN: B0011Y4N5W
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,067 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beneath Medecine Tree touched listeners at a emotional level, November 15, 2003

By 

R. Polei "in10city" (San Luis Obispo, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beneath Medicine Tree (Audio CD)

While most bands touch on break ups, parties, and scoring big with someone, it is nice to see a band take a break from the norm and branch out with something individual and personal. Copeland, based out of Florida, succeeds in doing this on their latest release, Beneath Medicine Tree. The subject matter of the CD deals with the pain of losing loved ones, and personal feeling felt when someone close to you is not in good condition.
Beneath Medicine Tree has two different stories behind the songs on the album. Lead singer Aaron Marsh has dealt with a lot of pain in his life. Towards the beginning of the writing for the album, his grandmother became sick. He was very close to his grandmother, and spent a lot of time in the hospital taking care of her. She died after some time in the hospital. He wrote and performed the song "Priceless" for her funeral, and the song was included in the album. At the same time though as his grandmother had passed away, his girlfriend had been diagnosed with Lupus, a immune system disease in which the body attacks healthy tissue. She was in and out of the hosptal a lot, and ended up in a hospital in California to get Kemo Therapy. The nature of the disease caused a lot of stress on her, and the long distance relationship between her and Aaron tore them apart. So the CD subject matter touches a lot on dealing with a sick or dying loved one.
Though it would seem that the subject matter would put a depressing tone to the CD, Copeland is able to portray these subjects in a optimistic tone. The album opens up with an acoustic/piano song, and the album continues with progressively upbeat songs. The album starts out with the hurtful songs, and progresses to the more hopeful songs towards the end. The vocals on the CD are amazing, especially when Aaron hits falsetto notes in key moments on the song. The tracks are charged with emotion and energy, that surge from the listeners stereo system right into their hearts. You can feel the passion from the band in each and every song, and find yourself vicariously experiencing Aaron's pain and loss through the album, while also reflecting with him on past memories. The band is composed of Christians, and Aaron's faith as well as the bands comes out through the lyrics in some of the songs.
The songs are catchy and seem to never get old, no matter how many times you listen to the album. I so far have spent hours with the album, and have not found a flaw or discrepancy with it. I enjoy it thoroughly, and find myself listening to it on any occasion, whether it is taking me to school in the morning, or putting me to sleep. Another notable feature of the CD is the artwork and design in the CD booklet. The pages contain well photographed pictures from the inside of a hospital, and are divided by opaque sheets of paper with artwork of different anatomical situations of injuries. The artwork and layout design of the CD set the stage for the album, and help the listener set themselves for the mood of the album.
While Copeland could be defined as rock, they are definitely a lighter side of rock, with their melodically slow songs, beautifully crafted guitar work, and passionate vocals. The CD can be enjoyed by almost anyone, and is a perfect one to listen to when you need to unwind and relax. The songs can be interpreted to relate to many different situations, and I believe that listeners will be drawn and stuck to this band after checking them out.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What More Can Be Said? (I'm not a kid by the way!), January 25, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Beneath Medicine Tree (Audio CD)

Well, what more can be said than what these other reviews have explained already. All I can say is believe the hype that everyone puts forth for them. This band, you can tell, definatly knows what they are doing as far as writing songs goes. You can tell that when they set out to get a certain sound for a song, they execute. They aren't like many of the other bands nowadays where they just get lucky while messing around with your basic power chords. That is another thing that sets these guys apart, they all actually have talent. Copeland has extremely sad and heartfelt lyrics and you can't help but to feel sad right along with them. They aren't like most of the bands that you hear on the radio, they show emotion and are so good at executing it that there must be something wrong with you if you don't want to shed a tear during "Priceless" or you don't get the chorus for "Walking Downtown" stuck in your head for hours after listening to it. I only wish that more of this kind of music was played on the radio. Then 3 Days Grace wouldn't be on the radio, Simple Plan would not sell 4 million records, and we wouldn't have to hear about Ashlee Simpson's acid reflux disease. This is an example of making music from the heart, not so you can get radio airplay. And now, on to my drawn out song by song review of this CD:

1)Brightest- OK, how many bands actually start out with a piano ballad for their first song on their debut album? Not many. This band does, and it sounds awesome. 5/5

2)Testing the Strong Ones- At first listen, this one seemed sub-par to me next to all of the other songs on the CD. But this one is very good after about the third time you've heard it. 4/5

3)Priceless- Wow! Is all that I have to say about this one. I do believe that this song was written about when Marsh's girlfriend became sick with a disease and then she later died from it. This seems kind of like a bunch of memories that he has of her starting from when they were in love, to when she was in the hospital, to present day when they became seperated. A definite tear jerker. 5/5

4)Take Care- Great beat to start off the song with and an equally great chorus. 5/5

5)When Paula Sparks- Another song that took some getting used to, but now I absolutely love it. 5/5

6)California- I love the way that "When Paula Sparks" so smoothly changes in to this song. This is yet another absolutely beautiful song on this CD. It's about being far away from one of your loved ones and wishing that they would come back. I love how in the middle of the song when you think it's going to be a soft song the whole time, all of a sudden the drums come in and so do the distorted guitars. This song will blow your mind. My favorite by far. 5/5

7) She Changes Your Mind- Very good, only it seems worse than it really is being right next to California. 4/5

8)There Cannot Be A Close Second- Catchy as hell is all that I have to say about this one, from the intro to the final note, this song will have you bobbing your head like crazy. 5/5

9)Coffee- Seems like a kind of chilled out- laid back song, but it's extremely good and the chorus is original, you'll have to hear it to know what I mean. 5/5

10)Walking Downtown- Ahhh, yet another catchy one, like I said, it is IMPOSSIBLE to not have this song stuck in your head after listening to it. 5/5

11)When Finally Set Free- Nice way to close this beautiful CD up, it seems like it is going to be an instrumental, but about half way through he starts singing and it makes the song that much better. 5/5

So, overall this CD gets a 53/55 total rating.
I dare you to find me a CD that gets a better rating than that!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As close to perfect as perfect can get, January 20, 2006

By 

Nathan Knapp_Voronwë (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath Medicine Tree (Audio CD)

I would've been perfectly happy with this album even if I'd paid thirty bucks for it. It's the type of album that music fans spend dozens of purchases looking for: something with unbridled emotion, heartfelt lyrics, and well-done instrumentation. Well folks, this is it. Beneath Medicine Tree has all of those traits and more. Nearly every song borders on perfection, every one could be your favorite because they're all so good.

1. Brightest 10/10... Most albums start out with something fast or at least upbeat, but this song would've been just as good as an ender. The slow, relaxed piano, and Aaron's beautiful falsetto draw you in like a good painting. "I just know that she knows my faults, and she said that I was the favorite little firefly in her jar."

2. Testing the Strong Ones 9/10... Another great song... more upbeat.

3. Priceless 10/10... An awesome song, anybody can relate to the message it conveys. Don't take life for granted. One of these days those you love will be gone. Beautiful.

4. Take Care 10/10... Fast, upbeat, and beautiful. The solo's really cool.

5. When Paula Sparks 10/10... This song along with the next one are worth the price of the CD by themselves. You feel the emotion flooding from every note of Aaron's voice.

6. California 10/10... My favorite song, pleading, emotional. Really great ending.

7. She Changes Your Mind 10/10... Fast, some Aaron's best vocals... "it makes you feel, it makes you feel..."

8. There Cannot be a Close Second 10/10... A song for anyone in love.

9. Coffee 10/10... The most mellow song. Really slows it down nice and easy like some smooooooth coffee.

10. Walking Downtown 9/10... picks the pace back up nicely

11. When Finally Set Free 10/10... Soft, ending with the same feeling that Brightest gives at the beginning.

This is an album for those whose hearts are full, broken, and even just plain indifferent, because Aaron's gonna break your heart anyway. :-) Romantics should go out and buy this NOW. And after that, buy their newest album, In Motion. It won't disappoint, either.