Customer Reviews

Need To Believe

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wake up your ears, America! Gotthard and many of their European counterparts continue to produce great new hard rock. Unfortunately this type of music has been largely ignored here in the US since the early 90's. The retro movement has helped some of the old die hards like Journey, Def Leppard, and AC/DC with the help of Wal Mart and constant heavy touring playing the old stuff. But a grand band like Gotthard probably does not have a snowball's chance in hell to ever achieve any notice here. This new release is the perfect combination of Lipservice and Domino Effect, taken one extra step up in production. It's got the whistles and bells of a 2009 big budget radio ready offering, but still offers the uncompromising heavy melodic rock and great ballads that Gotthard has become huge for in Europe. It's a shame, but American music fans and rock radio stations will probably never know what they are missing. For those few of you who "get it", and music is more than fashion and tabloids, enjoy. Just don't look for "Need to Believe" in the Best Buy flyer or the Ipod Top Ten downloads, even though it ought to be there.

I agree with the other reviewers, these guys should be bigger than Bon Jovi if only they were American. The music these guys have made since 1991 up till now is top notch and nothing that you can get here in the states. I've always like these guys since I heard them back in 1995 when I picked up some old German K-Tel CD's that had these guys and alot of 80's singers that also never got a chance. Do yourself a favor America, for $11.00 here on Amazon get this CD and you'll want all 20 or more of their other ones. Highly Recommended.....RIP Steve Lee.

All right, a new Gotthard album! 2009 was already packed to the gills with great melodic rock and metal albums, but a new Gotthard release is always reason to celebrate. Gotthard, for those of you who might be unfamiliar with the band, is quite simply the best melodic rock band in the world. They're essentially the Swiss Bon Jovi, only Bon Jovi's recent albums aren't as good as Gotthard's. Gotthard is a huge multi-platinum success (everywhere but America, anyway), and spinning their newest album Need to Believe demonstrates why.

Need to Believe is the band's ninth studio album, and proof positive that a band can get better with age. The band is in incredible shape as musicians and songwriters, and they've come up with 11 impeccable, radio-friendly melodic rock songs. Up-tempo rockers like "Unspoken Words" and "I Don't Mind" are balanced by ballads like "Unconditional Faith" and "Don't Let Me Down", with mid-tempo songs like the title track and "Break Away" keeping everything balanced. There isn't a weak track on the whole album (OK, I don't love "I Know, You Know"), and almost immediately Need to Believe has become one of my favorite Gotthard releases. In the past I would have compared Gotthard's sound to Journey, Foreigner and of course Bon Jovi, but they're really at the point where I've started comparing everyone else to Gotthard.

If you're already a Gotthard fan, you don't need me to tell you to go buy this album. I'll just reassure you that it's as good as you've been expecting. If you're new to the band, Need to Believe should be enough to make you a fan for life. It's just a fantastic melodic rock album from a band that never disappoints.

This is the new album of hard rock outfit "Gotthard". "Need to Believe" is my first encounter with the music of the band, and it is very impressive to say the least. The album features very strong performances particularly on the subject of guitars courtesy of Leo Leoni and Freddy Scherer; the band also benefits hugely from the fantastic vocal qualities of lead singer Steve Lee who shines throughout.

What is especially interesting about this release is that it features a considerable amount of mid tempo songs. Although the catchiest and probably strongest track on this album is the up tempo "Right from Wrong"- "Need to believe" includes very relevant mid tempo tracks such as "I know, you Know", "Tears to cry" and the title track.

Giving the album a quick spin without any real attention would probably mislead one in thinking that "Need to believe" is mostly a ballad album which is definitely not the case. On the contrary, the mid tempo songs mentioned above are the ones that carry the heaviest riffs and most satisfactory vocal performances while giving the listener the necessary time to appreciate the album's flawless production.

It is true that it was the forceful artwork of the cover that drew me to this album but the content proved to be far more rewarding. I will definitely be looking into the band's back catalogue from here onwards.

The limited edition comes with a replica of a backstage pass.

"RockHard" Greek magazine (issue 45) marks this album with 8/10 commenting: "I would say that we are looking at an exceptional album"

I NOW HAVE IN MY POSESSION 10 GOTTHARD CDS INCLUDING THE LIVE IN SWITZERLAND, WHICH IS AWESOME ALSO.....ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!!! HOW DOES A BAND DO 10 CDS AND NOT HAVE 1 SONG THAT YOU HIT THE SKIP BUTTON ON......I MEAN EVERY CD YOU GET BY THIS BAND IS WORTH WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GET IT ......FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF GOTTHARD, AND DIAL HARD, TO THE LATEST "NEED TO BELIEVE", THIS IS THE MOST SOLID BAND ON THE PLANET....THE REVIEWS SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE ARE GIVING GOTTHARD ARE GOOD EXCEPT FOR ONE THING......THIS BAND IS NOT!!!! THE SWISS VERSION OF BON JOVI....THAT IS AN INSULT TO MR. LEE AND COMPANY.....THEY ARE WAY BETTER THAN BON JOVI.....BON JOVI DID ABOUT 4 GOOD ROCK ALBUMS AND THEN JON WENT OFF THE DEEP END AND STARTED TRYING TO BE BOB DYLAN OR SOMEBODY WITH ALL THESE SINGER/SONGWRITER TYPE ALBUMS THAT HAVE GOTTEN REALLY BORING......ESPECIALLY "THE CIRCLE"....TOTALLY BORING...OH WELL, BACK TO BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS.....WE NEED TO START A GOTTHARD RALLY IN AMERICA...THIS BAND IS JUST TOO GOOD TO HAVE CORPORATE AMERICA AND THEIR SICK LITTLE RADIO STATIONS TRY TO DECIDE WHAT KIND OF MUSIC IS GOOD.....WE KNOW WHAT IS GOOD......OR RATHER GREAT!!!! AND THAT IS GOTTHARD....STRONG LYRICS, GREAT GUITAR, SOLID BASS AND DRUMS....NOT A WEAK TRACK ON ANY ALBUM.....WOW......I GUARANTEE THAT ANYONE THAT CALLS THEMSELVES A ROCK MUSIC FAN WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE ANY OF GOTTHARDS CDS......SO.......WAKE UP AMERICA.......ITS TIME TO ROCK.....GOD BLESS...PHIL B......

Recieved very quickly and in excellent shape. Even Though from nearbye a very quick order.About one business day.

I'm a big fan of Gotthard and their brand of melodic hard rock and always look forward to a new album from them. They have consistently delivered excellent albums throughout their long career and are definitely one of the best bands ever in this style of music. Need To Believe is another great album from these guys but I don't think it's as good as their previous two albums Lip Service and The Domino Effect. Both of those were awesome and this is just a notch below those. The production is good and the songs are good but there isn't enough magic to lift this to the top of the pile. In fairness, this is still better than most and Steve Lee is always in fine form with his intense vocals. Definitely recommended to fans of Gotthard.

Length:: 1:31 Mins

See my 60 second review of Gotthard's Need To Believe, proudly wearing my limited edition Gotthard lanyard!

It is a shame that no one in the Unites States has paid attention to this great, great band. The tracks are solid with absolutely no fillers.
Had they been born in the US, Gotthard would have been bigger than Bon Jovi for sure.

My favorites:
Need to Believe
Shangri La
Unspoken Words
Unconditional faith
Break away
Don't Let Me Down
I Know, You Know

Buy it !!!!

The other reviewer hit the nail right on the head!! These guys are at the top of the mountain as far as hard rock with great melody goes! And their newest release,Need To Believe,is another stellar release from Gotthard. These guys 'get it' and know exactly what it takes to write and perform awesome,hook-laiden gems that would fit in seamlessly on any classic rock radio station. You could place their songs anywhere between Aerosmith,Journey,Bon Jovi,Def Leppard or any other huge acts that are all over US radio,and they'd blend in...NO--they'd STAND OUT and many fans of melrock would be clammering for more and run out to find their catalog of great releases. You can hear samples right here at Amazon,so dive in and discover what a chance few folks in the US already know..Gotthard absolutely RULES! Hands down!! Enjoy, Terry K.