Customer Reviews

Blind Melon

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I remembering hearing "No Rain" when it first came out on the radio and it instantly became my childhood favorite [I was about 8 at the time]. "No Rain" is a good song and went on to be a decent hit, but unfortunately it turned out to be the only big hit by what turned out to be one of the most underrated bands of the 90's. After seeing the 'Behind The Music' on them I decided to get the cd and it wasn't a dissapointment at all. Sure, No Rain is great but so are "Dear Ol' Dad", "I Wonder", "Drive" and every last one of the songs on this album. There seriously isn't a single bad track [my personal favorite however, besides "No Rain", is "Change"]. If you like Jane's Addiction, The Violent Femmes, or heck, even Green Day then you'll probably like Blind Melon {I mean heck, I usually listen to grunge and hard rock and I still like them]. All of their albums are great and worth buying but their debut, in my opinion, is their best. So do yourself a favor and discover the wonders of Blind Melon!

Many other reviewers have covered my feelings about Shannon Hoon, so I'll just get to the point. I am a young and new fan of Blind Melon. Shannon had already passed on by the time I started getting into music, but I can see why so many people were devestated by the news. Blind Melon is awesome. Anyway, getting to the album, this album is a collection of great songs, with no dud songs. (by dud songs I mean bad songs by good bands) "Soak the Sin" Gets you right into the Blind Melon mood. A rock song, but not a hard one, this is one of my favourites on the album. "Tones of Home" will bring older fans back to their days of love concerts and mary jane. For me it's just a great old fashioned song. The intro for this song is one my favourites. "I Wonder" is a great softer song about challenges and internal struggle that can be quite a motivator. "Paper Scratcher" is an awesome rock song that I look forward to when listening to this album. It's a great pick-up after the sad "I Wonder" This song will put you in a good mood. I think this song would be really popular nowadays. "Dear Ol' Dad" is another old fashioned but really good song. It's one of those songs that kind of drags you in while you listen to it, and you get right into the mood. "Change" was obviously written for a reason. A powerful, meaningful, but sad song, this will make you think. On the down side, this song kind of saddens me. Luckily, the next song up is "No Rain" possibly the happiest song ever written, though the well written lyrics make me think that wasn't the intent. Still, you can't help but smile and sing along with this song. "Deserted" is another one of my favourites. Another self-searching song, but not a sad one. This one makes you take problems seriously, but still with optimism. Mainly a rock song with some cool, different parts. "Sleepy House" is a cool-down song. The lyrics are really nice and calming too. "Holyman" is a nice partner to "Sleepy House" because it starts out calm, then kicks up and gets more preppy. All in all a good song. "Seed to a Tree" is another of my favourites. It's a great example of Blind Melon's hardcore rocker side. This song is mostly about accomplishments and how it's possible to achieve goals. "Drive" is a sadder, softer song about a guy who sets many goals, but has no ambition, and ends up wasting his life. "Time" is an awesome song reflecting the roots of Blind Melon, and closes the album in a way that makes you want more. The awesome gutiar and vocals make this song explosive. "Time" might be my favourite on the album, but for me it's hard to choose from "Soak the Sin" "Paper Scratcher" "No Rain" "Seed to a Tree" and "Time"

Shannon Hoon had one of the best voices in 90s rock, and it's quite a shame he died. Every song is a killer, espeically "I Wonder", track three. No Rain is great too, no matter how many times you hear it. Over all, great great stuff.

-Dan

Today while I was driving home listenign to this album I was reminded of why Blind Melon is my favotire band of all time. Blind Melon not only had the talent to be huge, but their songs were simply amazing. Shannon Hoon was one hell of a folk artist that's for sure. It's times like that when Blind Melon simply shines. Songs like "Drive", "Sleepyhouse", "Holy man" and the most incredible song ever by any artist or band, "Change." "change" is simply the greatest song of all time, and I truely mean that. I have never heard a song like that, a song that has the ability to totally change the way you view the world around you, "Change" does. The album's opener, "Soak the Sin" is a great starter about the band coming together and making beautiful music as a band. The next song, "Tones of Home", takes you back to the 60's with some pure funk. It's a great song, one that was well overlooked by the radio. "I wonder" is next, and is about Shannon's reoccring drug related problems. It's one of the best songs on the albm in my opinion with great guitar work and heartfelt lyrics. "Paper Scratcher" and "Dear ol' Dad" are also great songs, but the are often overlooked by myself for no other reason than the fact that I don't have the patience to wait through two more songs to get to "Change." it's as simple as that. "No Rain" of course is the song we all know and love, Blind Melon fan or not. It is truley a summer afternoon breezy tune that can pull even the most depressed of folks right out of their funk. "Deserted is another song about drugs with an incredible breakdown at the end of the song, awesome. "Sleepyhouse" is one of my favorite songs here, because it has incredible lyrics and a great tempo. "Holyman" comes next and could actually be "No Rain"'s cousin if it really wanted to. "Seed to a Tree" is another rocker that is very good. "Drive" comes next and is an absolutley beautiful song. A song about someone who always has big dreams for himself but never accomplishes anything, "drive" makes references to many including the great Jimi Hendrix. "Time" closes out the album with fury as the loud guitars and Shannon's wail put an end to the masterpiece at hand. If you buy only one album for the rest of your life, do yourself a favor and buy, "Blind Melon." But I'll warn oyu, after you buy this one, you won't be able to resist buying "Soup", and "Nico". Long live Blind Melon and Shannon Hoon, and welcome Unified Theory.

Blind Melon may have gotten national acclaim for the hit "No Rain" found on this CD, but were thrown into the 'one hit wonder' bin shortly after. AND THAT JUST ISN'T FAIR! B.M. was an amazing band that played tunes which could almost take you back to the 60's in an instant. "Paper Scratcher" is easily as good a song as "No Rain", while "Tones of Home", "Change", and "Sleepyhouse" help to define this album as 'excellent' and even 'essential'. It's too bad that this band is no longer around to kick out the psychedlic jams, but Hoon and company DID leave three wonderful albums in their stead--and this is the best of them.

This cd may not seem all that satisfying on the first play through. Usually, you'll just be humming "no rain" and skipping to that song on the second listen. But I beg you to listen to it all. There are a few not so great in my opinion, "Dear Ole Dad", "Seed to a Tree", but the first 4 are all classics.

I just recently got this album, I'd heard "Tones Of Home" and of course "No Rain", and found them both to be pretty good, but didn't really consider the album until a friend of mine put the gorgeous Led Zeppelin III-esque "Change" on a mix tape. I happened to find the album used later, and decided to pick it up. It's a bit different from what you might expect, most of the songs are more rocking than "No Rain" and their "hippy rock" reputation would suggest, and yet despite some similarities to early Pearl Jam and Jane's Addiction (mainly in the late Shannon Hoon's vocal style, which often recalls Perry Farrell), it's a bit too classic rock influenced to quite fit in with typical 90's grunge and alt-rock. However, this is a positive thing in the long run, as it's managed to stand the test of time surprisingly well for a debut by a band with a fairly shortlived 90's career. Although the songs sometimes seem to noodle on for too long, an overall pretty strong sense of melodicism and especially Shannon Hoon's soulful vocals keep this from dragging things down too much. Reccomended if you're a fan of Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin.

I bought this cd years ago under the strength of the song, Tones of Home, which I heard on a friend's mix-tape. It remains one of my favorite cds in my collection.

This band is so underrated, and I think it's a shame. Perhaps if Shannon Hoon hadn't died in such an untimely manner, more people could have had the opportunity to discover Blind Melon. With a great mix of blues, funk, and folk, Blind Melon has one of the most unique, fresh sounds in music. Hoon's voice is a marvel - from somber and soulful crooning to high pitched Robert Plant-like wails, his range leaves most singers in the dust. Add insightful, heartfelt lyrics, and some fantastic guitar work to the the mix, and you have one fine album.

Too bad Blind Melon lost their lead singer to drugs, after only two ablums. They could have been great! This album makes them look so promising! On this there is the catchy 'No Rain", the moving "Change", the underated "Sleepyhouse", and the enjoyable "Tones of Home". With so many great songs, it's a crime this band didn't get better known

my first listen to blind melon was a freak accident. i was watching the retrospective on headbanger's ball when they showed a part about blind melon and they played a 4 second clip of 'no rain' i thought it was nice. im into nirvana and pearl jam and they had that sound. so when i got the disc i was expectant. Whoa! from the beginning to the very end this band put me on edge. the thing to realize is every member of the band is completely individualistic yet perfectly together in harmony its incredible i thought no rain was one of the worser songs after listening to the whole record its totally worth the buy