Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A band I looked for for years (literally), June 4, 2001
The Smoking Popes are a band I literally hunted down for about three years. I had heard their song "Need You Around" from the album "Born to Quit" and fell in love, but always caught the first half, or second half, and never heard the DJ announce the bands name before the song lost its pace. Due to a great deal of time I spent listening to music in used CD stores, I eventually heard the song again and almost died--the rest of the album matched it perfectly. Destination Failure is their third release and almost but not quite tops "Born to Quit" in my mind. A little more commercial and marketed better, the album was a bigger success and got more exposure as they toured. Still, I give it five stars. Who could resist Caterer's classic lounge singer style with guitars backing him that make you want to rock? The band picks from Weezer somewhat, with ultra-slow lyrics and hyperactive guitar lines with plenty of bass. If you haven't listened to Smoking Popes before, prepare yourself, because you may not know whether you're supposed to feel aggresive, or depressed, or giddy, but you'll be sure to appreciate their unique style and a mood all their own.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally a pop-punk band that doesn't sound like pop-punk., January 14, 2002
While other pop-punk bands (i.e. Blink 182, Sum 41, and countless others whose names I forget, but likely end with numbers) seem to get stuck in a rut trying hard to sound like a pop punk band, the Popes simply take the aesthetic of pop-punk and play what they want to play. The chord progressions contain more than 4 chords a song, the instrumentation isn't always bashing you in the face, and the singer doesn't sound like some whiney Joey Ramone or Johnny Rotten sound-alike. Most of all, their songs are interesting and fun, but not just for the sake of being interesting and fun. They're just good songs. (Not to mention "Pure Imagination" is possibly the best cover I've ever heard)Let's hear it for the Smoking Popes.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Destination" Aced!, January 11, 2001
There are few albums I can just pop into my cd player and listen to straight through, let alone be patient enough to listen to them for that long. "Destination Failure" is one of them. Having only two Smoking Popes cds, this is my favorite among the two. It blends good light-hearted rock, catchy lyrics, and awesome vocals together to come up with a treat that would taste like a dark chocolate Ghirardelli bar times ten (coming from a chocolate lover, that is VERY good). The best song on the album, "No More Smiles," is a remorseful tune about the heartbreak of love. It passes the test of being a true-to-life song. "I Know That You Love Me," which is equally good and catchy, is actually, as I once heard Josh mention in an interview, a song about faith and having a relationship with God. The greatest thing about this song is you could interperet it that way--or you could just pass it off as another love song, which still makes it equally fun. "Let's Hear It For Love" and "Pure Imagination" (a great rendition of the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" song) are above par, as is "Megan" and "Capital Cristine". It's a shame that this wonderous band had to break up. They will definitely be missed in Chicago by their adoring fans, and in other parts of the US (maybe even the world. Smoke on, Popes!*I actually knew Josh's wife and had the pleasure of meeting Josh one time at a party. He was, overall, a very cool guy and I find it very saddening that their music is the only memory they left behind for us.
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