Customer Reviews

Come Clean

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(85)

 

 

After hearing the catchy single "Control" several times on the radio and on MTV, I decided to give these guys a chance. They sounded similar to Creed or Pearl Jam on their single, both musically and vocally, that may not be a bad thing, just a lack of originality. But I was totally surprised and have to give these guys credit, they have put out a very eclectic album that will appeal to just about anyone. The first song on the album is "Control", which is a good song musically and vocally, but the lyrics seem to contradict themselves. The next song "Drift and Die" starts acoustic but starts to hit harder towards the end, the fifth song "Blurry" is similar, these two are probably my favorites on the album. All around great songs. The third and fourth tracks, "Out of My Head" and "Nobody Told Me" are heavier, with good vocals and lyrics. "Out of My Head" is another of the highlights on the album. On "She Hates Me" they take a lesson from STP and put a poppy song in the album, the lyrics are funny, though. Cool song. "Bring Me Down" is another good, upbeat song, with a lot of guitar, similar to Nirvana. "Never Change" and "Basement" are two heavier songs before the album becomes acoustic again to finish up. "Said" and "P*** It All Away" slow down the album, both are good, but not as good as the earlier acoustic tracks. "Said" is more uptempo with cool bass and drum lines and heavy sections that give the track a little more force. Overall very good album, much better than anything Durst could put out and they are on his label. And to answer my question in my title, these guys are more than Creed-lite, possibly even better than the supergroup themselves. Recommended album for just about anyone, especially fans of Staind, Nirvana, STP, Pearl Jam, etc.

1. I'm already sick of comparisons of this band to Creed. 2. Wesley Scantlin does not sound like Eddie Vedder. 3. People need to quit labeling groups "post-grunge." Grunge was not a time period - it was, and is a musical style.

...and for the review. Well, the main reason I picked up this album was because of the single "Control." I played it in my car, waiting for dissapointment after Control ended, but to my suprise, the rest of the songs actually make the album worth owning. There is a consistent hardness throughout the album even on the "lighter" "She Hates Me" which is kinda of a wacky song...more fun than wacky.

What got me even more on this album, is this is one of Fred Durst's "star search" bands that he just found and happened to give a record deal (much like Staind...Durst's other mentionable). Puddle of Mudd shows that Fred Durst has actual musical taste, which is undetectible on his own albums...

Buy this album. Wont dissapoint.

I've heard so many bad cd's lately, and I thought this was going to be another one of those cd's that has 2 or 3 good songs, I had heard She Hates Me, Control, and Blurry on the radio. And most of the cd's today have only a couple good songs...I put Puddle of Mudd in first, waiting for the disappointment. I skipped Control cuz I have already heard it and I wanted to know what the rest of the cd was like. Well then I heard the second track, called Drift & Die. I already started having second thoughts about this cd. I got anxious and skipped to the next song Out of My Head, and was impressed. But then heard #4, Nobody Told Me, and thought here comes the disappointment, cuz I didn't like this song at all, and still don't. So I skipped that song and #5 and 6, Blurry and She Hates Me. Which are good songs if you haven't heard them. Then comes Bring Me Down, which starts off like a Weezer song on the new cd, the way the guitars sound, and then when he starts singing it completely changes that idea, very good song. And then there's #'s 8 and 9, the two best songs on this whole cd! Never Change sounds kinda different from the rest of the cd, but is still very good. And # 9, Basement, is the best, it kinda reminds me of Breed by Nirvana. #10, Said, is also very good. And #11, Piss It All Away, I didn't like very much.

So why I rated this a 4 instead of a 5 is because of #'s 4 and 11. Those are the only songs that I don't like.

1) Control - 9/10 (It gets kinda old if you listen to it too much)
2) Drift & Die - 10/10
3) Out of My Head - 9/10
4) Nobody Told Me - 4/10 (I don't know what it is about this song, but I just don't like it)
5) Blurry - 9/10 (Don't listen to it too much or you'll be skippin' it a lot, just like Control)
6) She Hates Me - 10/10 (Um... Different...)
7) Bring Me Down - 8/10
8) Never Change - 10/10
9) Basement - 12/10 (BEST song... I'd suggest you get that song.)
10) Said - 10/10
11) Piss It All Away - 3/10 (Same as #4)

Puddle of Mudd's debut album contains 11 songs, taking straight-up, earnest rock and mixing it with acoustic textures from time to time. Fred Durst has again discovered a band whose talent far exceeds that of his own, except that POM are much more rock-oriented. Lead single "Control" is a simple, catchy hard rocker that will get your head bobbing. Vocalist Wesley Scantlin sounds like a mixture of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder. "Bring Me Down" and "Out of My Head" are reminiscient of Nirvana, while "Drift and Die" and "Blurry" slow down the tempo to create two decent power ballads. I know that there are many skeptics out there who will shun POM for being a soundalike band, but who out there today is truly original? In our current musical world of rap-metal that is quickly becoming stale, and teenage pop that comes a step closer to death every day, POM's rock-heavy debut album is a very welcome thing to all of you out there like myself who miss riff-heavy, head-bobbing hard rock.

Puddle of Mudd has come in to their own. I've seen them in concert, I listen to their music daily. I am not sure what's up with the bad reviews, but thinking it is someone with a grudge of some sort.

They are new. They are different. Blurry is about Wes Scantlin's son, it has a great message. Control is a favorite of mine as well. Love the lyrics the rythm of the music. The video is hilarious, as we all know what it's like to fall out with a mate. She Fckn' Hates Me is another favorite, it's funny and shows a fun side of the band. Give it a try. Listen to them. Go see them in concert- you won't be disappointed! They are a favorite of mine, hope they will be a favorite of yours as well!

I was really impressed when I purchased this CD. I was not exactally "digging" their first single, "Control", but I liked the video. Anyway, I took a chance, and I was suprised to find that I loved alot of the other songs. "Drift & Die" touched home with it's lyrical content. I'm what you would call an "angry hard core" chick, but sometimes I need something soothing, and this is about as soothing as it comes for me. "Out of my Head" is fun to turn up really loud in the car and sing. "Blurry", their second single is enough to make anyone cry. To sum it all up, I think it's alot different then alot of the music that's out right now, it goes back a way, I'd agree, but it's just good rock, and I find the sound of this guy's voice mixed with the good old drums, bass, and guitar, is refreshing. I'd recomend this CD to anyone. It rocks, and I think it's a great find.

Okay, so when I first heard 'Control' I just passed 'Puddle of Mudd' off as another 'Nirvana' rip-off...another band that couldn't find their own sound so they decided to 'be' like someone else, but I was so wrong. While not brilliant, 'Come Clean' really shows a lot of promise in it's track listing. The follow-up single is the blunt 'She Hates Me' where lead singer Wesley bashes his ex with some colorful words. The next single, the heartfelt 'Blurry', is another gem and also another look at what this band can deliver. From radio friendly tracks like the aformentioned 'Control' to ballads like 'Blurry' and fun-foul tracks like 'She Hates Me'. Add in some great stripped acustic tracks like 'Drift & Die' and the closer 'Piss it all Away' as well as the fan favorite 'Nobody Told Me' and the emotional 'Basement' and you have a winning effort by a not so average band.

To start off, there are (so far) 234 reviews of this album, and 62 of them gave this album one star. I read most of these one star reviews, and out of the 62, there were only about 20 that, to me, represented a person who actually listened to the album and didn't like it at all. I can read those reviews and, even though I don't agree with them, I can click the helpful bubble because that review helped me make my decision. Remember people, it says "was this review helpful", not "do you agree with this review". Reviews like "These guys suck cos they copy Nirvana" have no merit cos these people hear the radio songs (I'll get to that later) and make their judgement based on that. So the current 3 star rating probably isn't completely accurate. Well, I listened to the album, and here's my reaction.

On its own, the album is OK. Compared to current rock (Creed post "My Own Prison", Nickelback, etc.) this album probably stands a bit above average. There is no comparison to Nirvana or AIC; those guys pioneered this type of music; they're better artists. POM aren't great artists, but they ARE talented musicians. Big difference there. They do a good job of using the guitar in different ways throughout the entire album. Two of the aforementioned radio songs (Control and She Hates Me) are my absolute least favorite songs on the album, mainly because of the lyrics. Those lyrics don't get too much better throughout the rest of the album, but at least the band members play well off each other. The songs are well put together, though the lack of guitar solos are a bummer as well. Those two aspects (lyrics and no guitar solos) dock this album a star.. actually a star and a half if that were possible. The lead singer sounds a lot like Cobain, but that doesn't mean he's copying Cobain. I can understand how that kind of thing would turn people off to the music, but it doesn't turn me off.

To sum it up.. this album won't go down in music history, nor will POM. But don't judge the album by the radio songs. It's very possible that you won't like the entire album, and it's just as possible that you will hate it. However, at least the album isn't 50 minutes of Control or Blurry. In my opinion, it's worth at least one listen, skipping songs 1 and 6. Whether you agree with this review or not, I hope it was at least helpful.

Alright, I read some of the other reviews. I don't agree with all of them. I thought this was a pretty good CD. And despite some of the sad (and potty-mouthed) content, this CD made me feel good. I found myself singing along to the songs who have had air play on the radio and MTV/MTV2 and humming along to the rest. I even lauged aloud on "She hates me". Great song. There were no earthshattering moments for me here; but I would recommend the CD to anyone who likes this genre which is pretty much straight rock.

I look forward to more CDs from POM.

This record features good songs from a good band. They don't reach the Nirvana level for sure, but they're alright. Buy this record if you like bands like Staind. Don't buy it if you want to get this last decade's best CD. Why can't peole listen to music without having to compare it to their favorite artists? Take this record as it is: an ok rock CD. But if you don't like rock, you're in the wrong section...