Customer Reviews

Category 5

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Being a Firehouse fan since the beginning, I must say that I love the diversity of this album. Each Firehouse album contributes different styles and shows the maturity of the band's writing. Category 5 has some very rocking tunes that showcase the band's harmonizing abilities that so many of us love. There's also some songs that are a little more mellow that a person can just get 'lost' into. The hidden track is extremely different. I love that the band shared this song with us. Basically, I've had Category 5 for 1 1/2 years and it's still in my cd player as one of my top 5 cd's to listen to. The diversity will satisfy any hard rock style. A must buy!

Don't let the other reviews fool you...they are being written by fans of Firehouse who have instituted a campaign on the Firehouse website to score points with the band. This album is TRULY mellow, including one song that you can waltz to. Try the downloads before you spend your money. I will add, however, that I do like it very much, but I was disappointed because I expected something at least SIMILAR to previous releases. It took me a while to get into this one. Try it before you buy it.

Firehouse, a band that has been together since 1990...playing clubs, and then getting signed to Sony.. and releasing their self titled cd "firehouse" in 1991... well....4 albums later, they come out with ..CATEGORY 5. They have stuck to their rock and roll roots with rockers like "have mercy", "acid rain" and keeping their ballad record with "dream" ...soon to be a #1 hit on the charts. Other songs "the nights were young", talks about the good ol days.. as kids, "the day, the week and the weather" song about a broken family...and look out for the hidden track called "get to know you" with bassist perry richardson on vocals...a rammstein/industrial sounding song.. but a huge hit as their intro song for their live shows.. the rest of the cd is really good... so go check out the cd, and i advise you GO BUY IT!..a definite BUY OR DIE!!

If you previously own a Firehouse album and you like it, you are very likely to like this one too. It sounds the same and the songs are of equal quality. The song Bringing Me Down has some irritably naive lyrics, but otherwise you can listen through the whole album humming along the tunes with a smile on your face. The band is not reinventing the wheel here, but it's a good addition to their catalog.

This is a great, and apparently highly underrated, CD!

A perfect follow up to their unforgettable Good Acoustics album, Category 5 isn't as hard-edged as their latest release (O2, an album that grows on me more every day; I wished I'd rated it higher than just three stars), but it's filled with some of the most upbeat, bouncy, fun-to-sing-along-with power-pop tunes you'll find anywhere (even when the songs are about lost love as on "Can't Stop the Pain"). Plus, it offers a lot of depth and maturity that shows just how far Firehouse has come since their 1990 debut.

If you're into great singing, great guitar playing, snappy drumming and driving bass lines, this is the band -- and the CD -- to listen to. For my money, Firehouse is simply the most enjoyable band in the world.

Standout tracks are "Can't Stop the Pain," "Acid Rain," the acoustic guitar-driven "Bringing Me Down," "Get Ready" (very cool guitar riff from Bill Leverty), "If It Changes," "The Day, The Week and The Weather" (an poignant acoustic tune about the breakup of a family), "The Nights Were Young" (a paean to the joys of youth that has a chord pattern and beat that reminds me of a song from the '50s; great background harmonies, too)...

You know, I don't think there's a track on Category 5 I don't like. O2 might rock harder, but Category 5 rocks deeper, reaching farther musically and plumbing the depths of emotion as only Firehouse can do. The last track ("Life Goes On") is a driving rocker with a very cool guitar riff; the perfect way to end the disc...even the "surprise" ending (a totally different song from what began the track!) that starts at 4:33 is kind of neat.

Category 5 is well recorded (C.J. Snare's vocals are clear and powerful, you can hear each of drummer Michael Foster's cymbal taps and Bill Leverty proves once again that he's one of the most diverse, creative guitarists around). If you had to start with just two Firehouse CDs, I'd pick Good Acoustics and Category 5. After that, try O2 and then all of their earlier releases.

And then, by all means, SEE THEM LIVE!

I must confess I'm an avid fan of all things 80's but this is great new music for the new millenium...intelligent, and well-written, you can understand the lyrics. Music like this is hard to come by but these guys have had it all along...original music written by them with a flare for rockin' and a true love for the fans...buy the CD, put away your stereotypes and enjoy some great tunes. PS Check out Leverty's guitar riffs...he has my vote for the top ten list of rock and roll guitarists.

This CD sounds too much like country music. There is no typical Firehouse song, although the "hidden" track is good. There are good songs on the CD, but anyone looking for the hard-rockin' sound of the early '90s will be disappointed. This release is extremely mellow.

Although there are some good ballads and mid-paced rock songs on this album, it is just way too soft. There isn't a single fast-paced, hard rocker on the album, and the ballads are all slow and mellow. Not one great power ballad, like "Love of a Lifetime" or "When I Look Into Your Eyes". I can not get into this album at all. Just stick with their older stuff.

Category may not be as hard as some of their previous albums but it still Rocks! "Dream" has been my favorite cut since the first time I read the lyrics with "The Day, The Week and The Weather" a close second. Buy this CD and check it out yourself

What happend to the firehouse of the early 90s? This group went from a once hard rocking band to putting out shlock like Category 5. If you are thinking about buying this because you enjoyed their earlier albums, be prepared to be dissapointed. It's a bunch of mellow rock that I would expect to hear on a radio station in a dentist's office. A station that plays Phil Collins, Sheryl Crow, and Bryan Adams.