Customer Reviews

No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls

5 star:		(435)
4 star:		(86)
3 star:		(47)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(200)

 

 

If you like Blink 182, Sum 41 or Green Day, you really can't miss with this band. A solid first album with great hooks and nice harmony. Don't expect anything real deep, but fans of pop-punk should really enjoy this. Keep an eye out for another new band called Good Charlotte

Hey everyone. I got this CD about 2 and a half weeks ago. I've spun it about 55 times. I haven't gotten tired of it and I doubt I will. This is a disc that you won't want to stop listening to. There's a flow to it where the song before and after the one you're listening to relates to it somehow. I think it's great! These guys are polished musicians and the vocals are awesome. The sound is crisp but still has a live feel to it, which you need in any CD that you wanna rock out to. This album features guest appearances from members of Blink-182 and Good Charlotte. The songs tackle the areas of teen heartbreak, friendship, girl-chasing, hopelessness and just plain old teen angst. Oh.. not to mention the goofball song My Alien. My favorite tracks are the last 3, "I Won't Be There", "One Day", and "Perfect", Perfect being #1 on my list. They're songs about unsupportive parents who are unsupportive of their kid's creativity, aspirations, and free-thought. I can personally relate to them. So this is a record that reflects the everyday lives of all youth. It's an awesome CD, so pick it up either here, or at your local CD retailer. Peace Out!

Simple Plan captures nicely--and perhaps takes to extremes--the emotion felt by adolescents on the edge of adulthood, when it seems to them that the world is falling on them, that their lives are the worst ever lived, and that they are alone and stand little chance of establishing any emotional connection with anyone. Combine that with catchy melodies, good vocals, and a nice beat, and Simple Plan has come up with a, um, simple plan for talking to the darkness and insecurity that lurks in the heart of everyone from junior high through college age, and even older.

Each of the songs takes the point of view of a lonely kid who has reached the edge of adulthood, only to find that things aren't all they were cracked up to be. It may be a kid who can't find or who has lost a girlfriend ("Addicted" or "Meet You There"), or who has entered the working world and feels the loss of childhood ("The Worst Day Ever")or whose parental relationships have frayed in bitterness ("Perfect" or "One Day"). But each kid is alone, without anyone to share his hurt, and without much ability to put his hurt into perspective, therefore such titles as "The Worst Day Ever" and "God Must Hate Me" (decried in some reviews) do sum up what the person is feeling--and what we sometimes feel in our hearts, however grown up we may happen to be.

Contains two bonus tracks from the earlier version of the CD, which are songs much more juvenile than the others, "One By One", and "Grow Up" (the character doesn't wanna).

Each song uses simple, often powerful language, to express the depression and angst. Yet, on balance, we feel that the characters are going to get past this. There is no sense that the kids are going to spiral downwards with drugs, crime, or other self-destructive behavior. The lonely kid will eventually find his girl, the kid bitter at his relationship with his parents will eventually find an adult relationship with them.

Perhaps the most powerful song, though, interestingly, the fourth released as a single, is "Perfect", the song of a kid addressing his dad (most likely in his mind), and grieving over the formerly good relationship they had which has turned sour. The words are alternately bitter, sad, and hurtful, until at last the kid comes to terms with the fact that the relationship is gone, and all he can do is go on with his life despite his dad's disapproval of the way he's living it. It is powerful stuff, and perhaps a broader age range can relate to this particular song.

Simple Plan has struck a chord with this CD. I suspect, though, that there is a limit to how far they can delve into teen angst with any degree of success. I await their second album (Spring 2004) with interest.

Simply put (pun intended), this band is just the kind of pop that Mtv wants you to believe is actually Punk. Well, SP fans, as you might not know, there IS a thing called punk. And its main elements are: reckless musical abandon, and a 'we don't really give a f- about what anyone thinks' attitude, among other things. Now, of course SP has none of this at all. As a public service, I will guide you teens as to what Punk REALLY is. Bands such as The Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, and The Exploited embody the true Punk spirit. I know Mtv doesn't play them, and that most of you were not yet born, or were barely learning to say "mom" when these bands were around (exce[t Bad Reigion, who is still around). But, the fact that the almighty Mtv doesn't play them doesn't diminish their talent and impact one bit. In fact, to be played side-by-side with these SP guys would actually be demeaning to the bands mentioned. Again, I thank Mtv for their infallible way of promoting closed-mindedness and a complete lack of historical perspective on music. In other words, most kids today do not know that there indeed was music before Korn. Sad but true.

This CD is awesome in every sense of the word. Songs like "Worst Day Ever" and "I'm Just A Kid" are definitely something teens my age to relate to. My personal favorite-"I'd Do Anything," the ultimate upbeat punk love song. It features vocals by Mark Hoppus. the bassist from punk giants Blink-182. I have honestly never heard an album this honest and this pure. I can totally relate to almost every song, and it's a great sound to hear at the end of a long day. I highly recommend it.

This is a good CD that I listen to alot. If your a fan of Good Charlotte or New Found Glory then you'll like this CD alot. "I'd Do Anything" is the first track which is played on the radio alot, its a pretty good song (not the best) and Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 does backround vocals for this song. "You Don't Mean Anything" comes shortly after and this is probably my favorite song on the CD. The pace is very fast in this song and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte does backround vocals in this song, plus the guitar riffs are awesome. "I'm Just a Kid" is a good track too, although it has a slower pace the lyrics are good and the chorus is very catchy. Other notable tracks are "My Alien" in which Simple Plan's lead singer talks about his fantasies with an alien girlfriend, pretty funny. Also, the powerful guitar riffs and pretty funny lyrics in "God Must Hate Me" make it worth listening to alone. At the end of the CD theres "Perfect" which is an anthem for kids who don't want to be exactly what their parents want them to be and their basically saying to their parents that they can't be perfect. Its a good, slow song that has alot of meaning, one of the best songs on the CD. The two bonus tracks, "Grow Up" and "Christmas" put SP in the place of little kids, and some of the lyrics in these songs are funny. Some of the tracks on the CD are a little weak, but none of them are horrible, making this CD worth buying. It also contains bonus movies and features when you put the CD in your computer.

I'd Do Anything - this song is simple plan's first single .Good song, teen-ish lyrics about doing anything just to get a girl, and features Mark Hoppus for about 2 seconds. 5 of 5

The Worst Day Ever - another good song which is a good way to end I'd Do Anything. Lyrics are kinda weird, sounds like he hates his life, but the sound of the song makes it the opposite. 5 of 5

You Don't Mean Anything - One of my favorite songs on the album. Very good lyrics if you feel like making a girl understand that you dont like them. Great guitars and backing vocals by Good Charlotte. 6 of 5

I'm Just a Kid - Lyrics are eh, talks about how none of his friends wanna hang out with him. Starts off slow, then explodes into guitars. 4 of 5

When I'm With You - Eh, this song is most likely to be skipped most of the time. I dont like the guitars and the lyrics. Its an ok POP song though. 2 of 5

Meet You There - Another favorite of mine. Slow song, but GREAT singing by Pierre. He's just amazing with his voice. awesome lyrics and not much guitar but i like it. 5 of 5

Addicted - This song is Simple Plan's second single. I started cracking up because of the lyrics. ... Kind of a medium tempo song. Once again, GREAT singing by Pierre. 4 of 5

My Alien - Eh..the lyrics are kind of [bad]. Talks about how a girl relates to an alien and [stuff]. The beginning of the song is ok, starts out with a Blink 182-ish type solo, then into some good guitars. 3 of 5

God Must Hate Me - Good guitars,slow/fast song, lyrics are about how his life is coincidently always getting bad and Pierre, its not cuz God hates you. God loves everyone :)....4 of 5

I Won't Be There - Another song i would always skip. Its an ok song, but it sounds very similar to other songs on the album, and the lyrics arent too suprising. Its a pretty fast punk/pop song. 3 of 5

One Day - Finally, the only song where Simple Plan uses some acoustic guitars. Lyrics arent too great, it is , once again, about his [bad] life and how ONE DAY he wont take it. Starts out with punkish acoustic solos, and then in the chorus, some electric pops in. 4 of 5

Perfect - MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM!!! This song starts off slow, and explodes into some hard rock. Only punk i see in this song is Pierre's voice, otherwise, its AWESOME. Lyrics are also to his dad, and how he cant live a perfect life and hes sorry. GREAT SONG. 100 of 5 (if possible)

Grow Up (Bonus) - Song from the scooby-doo soundtrack. I could tell this song was made before Pierre's voice grew a little mature. Good song, great guitars, and lyrics are about how he doesnt ever wanan grow up, so people should stop telling him to.4 of 5

My Christmas List (Bonus) - This song is secretly hidden after about 50 seconds after Grow Up ends. A christmas song, good guitars, [bad] lyrics about what he wants for christmas and santa. A fast song. 3 of 5

Man do I love this CD. The songs are well written, they are original, and Pierre is an awesome lead singer. Seriously, what's in the water in Canada? Yet another amazing band from Canada. The songs are true and at times downright funny. The "standout tracks" for me are..."Meet You There", "One Day", "Perfect", and "Addicted". "Perfect" is a beautiful song about (i think) Pierre's battered relationship with his father. This is obvious when he states "I'm sorry I can't be perfect." Not that the other songs aren't good also. I just had to choose a few to tell you guys. Oh yeah, and also Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) accompanies them on vocals and as a bassist. And Joel Madden (the awesome band Good Charlotte) sings back-up on "You Don't Mean Anything." All in all, it is one of the BEST CD's I have ever bought. ROCK ON SIMPLE PLAN!!

You know, it's just so hard being a kid these days, and Simple Plan...well, wouldn't know. This is, of course considering that every member of the band is of or above legal drinking age in the states and has created a new kind of poseur status. No, I won't wave the "You're not punk" finger at these guys, maybe I will, it isn't punk rock if that is what you want to know, pure bubble gum pop with distortion, nothing more. Ok, back to the part about them being poseurs. Their lyrics are that of a 16 year-old's journal. If they were 16 years old I would understand, but a 21 year old singing about how tough it is when dad takes aways the car and grounds me, what does he care anymore, he can move out. The songs are about high-school romance and they've long since graduated, I think and I just find this absolutely hilarious.

I could probably mistake this band for a group of 16 year olds now that I think about it. I was channel surfing and noticed that MTV had a "Behind the warped tour with Simple Plan" segment coming up and figured that I had to see that. It was too good. They all had their perfectly spiked hair, except for the bald guy, and acted like children that somehow stole instruments and decided to jump around a lot. Punk rock was bound to be exploited (no pun intended because the Exploited were a disgrace to punk rock) and I knew that this day would come. Hey, it has been coming for years and is now in full force with the new boy bands (following the demise of the likes of Nsync and the Backstreet Boys) complete with relationship confidentiality contracts. Throw in the goofy stage presence (i.e. Everyone jump on cue) and a rowdy group of underage girls and boys in Hot Topic fatigue and put Simple Plan on the mainstage but not for their talent.

They need to live it up now because songs about "sneaking out of your parents house on Friday night" just won't fly when you're thirty, or twenty-five. How long will it last?...

This band is a mockery of the punk rock genre. I know people say their songs are catchy and infectious but they really aren't. Blink-182 were making goofball records for years until their most recent, more mature, new album was released. Even they know that they had to get out of the gutter before every teenager around the world became obsessed with fart jokes and midgits. Other bands like Sum 41 and The Starting Line at least have the gusto in their live show to make up for their lack of studio prowess. Unfortunately, Simple Plan aim way low on maturity scale lyrically and musically. Songs range from irritating to flat out obnoxious. C'mon people. Get your head out of your asses. Buy a Buzzcocks or Clash album. Hell, just buy an Offspring album over this piece of crap. I'm only one man with an opinion. But music like this is destined only to fade away and never be remembered again.