Customer Reviews

Fear

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had the opportunity to see Toad the Wet Sprocket live in 1988 in a small club right here in Ithaca, but I'd never heard their music (much less heard of them), so I passed it up. When the single "All I Want" hit the airwaves a few years later, I managed to get a hold of a friend's copy of the album, and I immediately regretted my lack of foresight those years earlier.

This is one of maybe a dozen albums in my collection of nearly a thousand that I consider "perfect" in the sense that there are no clunker tracks, no filler. Every song is powerful, every song connects emotionally and musically. Although the disc is in my car CD changer's regular "rotation" for roadtrips, I actually listen to it perhaps *less* often than some others, because it's so powerful that I don't want to overdo it.

In an age when bands were just trying to get their videos on MTV and ride the next wave of mainstream alternative, Toad's sincerity oozed from every track. If you doubt it, try to imagine an all-male band singing an empathetic, apologetic anti-rape song... and pulling it off ("Hold Her Down").

No fan of rock music will regret owning this CD. It's Toad at their creative peak.

I think Fear is probably the most complex of Toad's albums, and with the most variety of moods. If Toad is indeed the thinking man's band, then this album is a quintessential piece of work. You've got beauty in songs like Walk on the Ocean, a rather paradoxical simplistic diversity in "Butterflies"--a unique and unusual musical setup coupled with the contrastingly uncomplex central concept of the song--childish wonder in "Is it For Me", raw anger in "Hold Her Down", human yearning in "All I want", wit in "Something to Say", wistful appreciation in "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted"...Glen Phillips' lyrics are characteristically haunting, and musically speaking, the depth of the band is incredible. If you're a Toadfan, I'm surprised you don't have this, but if you're just getting into them or even have no idea who they are, buy it. I guarantee you will be completely blown away....

This album (and all of Toad's) are even more important in my CD collection since Toad's breakup. This CD finally saw Toad come into their own as a talented modern rock band.

All of these songs are good, with only "In My Ear" being a slight disappointment. On most other albums, it would be good, but compared to the others, it has its shortcomings. The album opens with the single "Walk on the Ocean," an uplifting if reserved look at moving on in life. "Nightingale Song" is unassuming and unambitious, but nonetheless is one of the best songs here. "Pray Your Gods" is one of the most inherently gorgeous rock songs ever, with the haunting female vocal at the end as a perfect resolution. "I Will Not Take These Things for Granted" is a triumph of lyricism, with numerous images of separation and tranquility describing the feeling of being away from someone you care deeply about. "Stories I Tell" has a great bass line throughout, which heightens the alienation expressed in the lyrics. "All I Want" is a superb work of songcraft, from the opening drum line, to the great guitar work, and superb vocals and lyrics throughout. The best facet of the album, especially compared to earlier ones, is the introduction of an edgier sound, though maintaining the band's great sense of melody. "Hold Her Down" is a great example, with its driving guitar and bass and angry lyrics. The band changes tempo in the song, too, which produces a great effect. Perhaps the most striking song, though, is "Butterflies," with its use of spoken word, hard-driven drums, chantlike verses, and then dissolving into gorgeous three-part counterpoint harmony in the refrains. The complexity of the songs adds much to this CD. I would recommend it to anyone.

During the course of their ten year career in the music business, Toad the Wet Sprocket quitely made some of the best and most listenable tunes this side of U2 or REM.

In many ways, it is not surprising this great band or this great album was overshadowed by other efforts from that same year (1991) that included Pearl Jam's "Ten", U2's "Achtung Baby", Nirvana's "Nevermind", and Red Hot Chili Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", as it lacked the sense of urgency or "newness" of these and many other huge recordings of the 1990's.

This is really a shame because this album boasts 12 great tunes, some of which gained moderate exposure ("All I Want", "Walk on the Ocean") but deserved so much more. The point however, was that Toad was not a single band, but they made albums in which every song counted, and every song resonated with a immense sense of earnestness and sincerity which really comes through. One listen through "Fear" makes this apparent, but many more listens are sure to follow.

Put simply, the album is incredibly well-thought out and listenable, with not a dull moment from start to end. It is excellent for long drives in the car, background music when doing work or the dishes, or any other setting. While some music in your collection may be considered "mood music," Toad the Wet Sprocket's album "Fear" can be listened to at any time and in any mood with the result being immensely satisfying nevertheless. Great music for any mood, "Fear" is a hidden treasure begging to be discovered.

This is the CD that rocketed Toad to superstardom, and it's easy to see why.

"Walk on the Ocean" is arguably one of the most beautiful openings to any album, lyrical and soaring. By the time you've gone through all twelve tracks, you've gone through a gamut of vivid emotions, from the fun energy of "Is It for Me?" to the angry hell-with-it-all slammer "Hold Her Down", from the wonderfully dreamy "Pray Your Gods" to the hear-me-now existential angst of "Stories I Tell". And it all finishes with the introspective "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted".

A great CD from a great band. Farewell Toad!

This album is the best album that Toad ever put out, and their albums were all consistently amazing. The music's unusually balanced: very polished production yet with sincere, raw emotion. I don't know how they pulled it off. The lyrics are, for lack of a better term, really cool. Though I don't know what they're about a lot.

The first concert I ever went to was Toad touring in support of Fear. I still remember it well though I was 12 and 12 years have since passed!

Since then I discovered punk music and got more into that than anything else, but even so, my love for this album and all of Toads albums hasn't diminished a bit. However, I surprise lots of people that say they never thought I was a "Toad" type person with my usual diet of The Clash, The Replacements, The Jam, etc.

Toad The Wet Sprocket released Fear in 1991. Around this time, R.E.M.'s Out Of Time album shot to number #1 and spawned several hits that musically were noticeably lighter songs than on their previous releases. The record industry, in typical fashion, began pushing bands that had a similar sound as R.E.M. and Toad were one of them. However, Toad The Wet Sprocket were arguably the best band to emerge during this time and Fear is not only their best album but also one of the best of its genre.

Fear is best known for the hits "All I Want" and "Walk On The Ocean", two well-crafted tracks with memorable melodies and thoughtful lyrics that became popular on Top 40, adult contemporary, and college radio. While many bands from this genre concentrated on writing middle of the road songs like "All I Want", Toad were more diverse musically and stronger lyrically. "Something To Say", "Pray Your Gods", "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted", and "Before You Were Born" are all great songs carried by Glenn Phillips' excellent vocals and lyrics. Unlike most lead singers today, Phillips' vocals clearly reflected the mood of the track and these songs are strong examples of this. The tracks "In My Ear" and "Is It For Me" are also strong tracks in the vein of their hit single "All I Want." The hardest tracks here, "Stories I Tell" and the anti-domestic abuse song "Hold Her Down", may actually be the best songs here. What's also worth noting is the little nuances they use to distinguish their music like the violins on "Walk On The Ocean" and "Something To Say", the backing choir-like vocals which end "Pray Your Gods", and the repetitive bass line that drives "Butterflies." This is an excellent album, certainly one of the best from the '90s. To sum this up, it's just as strong and more diverse than Hootie & The Blowfish's Cracked Rear View, only it didn't sell 16 million copies. Highly recommended.

I believe TTWS will go down in history as a group that, despite a lot of talent, was just too alternative to gain mainstream acceptance (at least on the scale of R.E.M. or Gin Blossoms). This is a subtle, emotional, and often harsh and angry work (especially Hold Her Down and Before You Were Born), definitely not suitable for most mainstream tastes. However, if you want an example of rock that does what rock's supposed to...push the limits, say what you'd rather not hear, and forget about the rules...it's definitely worth picking up.

So don't give in to fear. This is a beautiful album, if you just give it a chance.

The band may be gone, but the sound lives on... If you've never heard Toad, you've never heard music. I bought FEAR after hearing "All I Want" and "Walk On The Ocean" on the radio, and it is without question the best money I've ever spent. Although All I Want is a-typical Toad, the album is packed with the sound all fans have come to love. FEAR was the first Toad album I bought, and after listening for only a few minutes, I was hooked. I got the album for "Walk On The Ocean," but "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted" and "Pray Your Gods" (anyone know what she's chanting at the end?) are the songs that made me a fan. I know you won't be disappointed.

"Fear" is Toad The Wet Sprocket at their commercial peak. I personally like the first two albums more, but this is definitely a great album, and their most popular. Their two biggest hits are from this disc, those being "Walk On The Ocean" and "All I Want". However "Hold Her Down" and "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted" were also minor hits, and the rest of the album has its share of gems. There's also the retrospective "P.S." which has the hits on it, and an excellent live disc "Welcome Home" covering the first three Toad releases. All are recommended, as well as Glen Phillips last solo disc.