Now You See Inside

SR-71

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 20, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00004TQSJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (172 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,922 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The missing link between 'N Sync and the Goo Goo Dolls, SR-71 purvey carefully wrought, radio-friendly rock-pop on this 11-cut debut. The boyish, relatively clean-cut quartet have the harmonies, slick production, and songs that smack of a manufactured "boy band," which, surprisingly, they're not. There's a slight edge to the polished songs and approach that make tracks like "Politically Correct" and "Right Now" palatable for alternative radio. As a whole, however, the album is more noteworthy for Gil Norton's (Foo Fighters) rich production and the band's strong vocal harmonies and melodic songs. Lyrically, SR-71 are trite and true--clever homilies delivered sincerely by lead vocalist/guitarist Mitch Allan and his cute compatriots. Ditto the generally impeccable songs, which, while catchy, are not as memorable as matchbox twenty's, nor as poignant as the aforementioned Goos. For a moment, on "What a Mess," as befits the desperate romantic entreaty of the tune's title, SR-71 hints at a Nine Inch Nails-style darkness before segueing into middle-of-the-road territory. Perhaps the band unwittingly sum themselves up in "Non-Toxic": "Not much to say on this nontoxic, ordinary day." Not from this nontoxic, ordinary band, anyway. --Katherine Turman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good CD, but not punk, June 30, 2000

By	Metal Dude '73 (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

If, like me, you heard the song 'Right Now' on your local rock station and ran right out to buy this album thinking you were getting 11 songs of Blink 182ish pop-punk, you may be disappointed. There's a lot of pop, but not much punk. The CD starts off with 2 outstanding songs, 'Politically Correct' and 'Right Now.' Both are energetic songs and display a refreshingly snotty punk attitude that could be compared with the work of Blink 182 and other similar bands. However, the following 9 tracks are somewhat generic pop songs that don't really stick with the listener when finished. I can't fault the band for their songwriting skills or musicianship; all the songs are tight and well-produced. Unfortunately, none of these 9 songs come close to the first 2 in terms of energy or originality. That's not to say this isn't a good album, though. I've listened to the CD a few times now, and it's really starting to grow on me. This band definitely has a bright future ahead of them, and I look forward to hearing how they develop their sound. At the present time, though, they have no business being categorized with Blink 182, NOFX, Green Day, etc. This CD gets 5 stars for the first 2 songs and 2 stars for songs 3-11, for a grand total of 3 Stars. Not bad for a debut album, but if you're looking for "the next Blink 182" this isn't it.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums of this summer, July 27, 2000

By	"duffman121" (Fort Myers, FL) - See all my reviews

It's been getting difficult lately to find some really good alternative/rock artists, as most of the popular music out right now is either pop or hardcore. And with SR-71's first single, "Right Now", you may think this is another pop-punk band. However, all their other songs are different....their sound is more along the lines of Stroke 9 or Splender. And they pull it off VERY well. The melodies are very catchy and the whole cd tends to have a nice flowing direction that it's moving in. When the cd starts off, it's very upbeat and happy, and by the end of the album, the sound is more mellow and very soothing. All the songs are awesome, and most of them stand out very well. Also, lead singer Mitch Allan's voice is pretty amazing, as he is able to hit some really high notes, and he definitely uses that to the group's advantage, singing in that high range fairly often. My absolute favorite song on the cd has to be "Non-Toxic"....other than that, I really enjoy most of the songs equally. A couple other stand-out songs are "Empty Spaces", "Alive", "Last Man On the Moon", and "Paul McCartney", which is a very nice softer tune to end the album. So overall, this is one of the better debut albums I've heard in a while, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys in the future. A definite buy if you're into the regular rock/alternative scene.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good- Very Surprising, July 17, 2000

By	Steven R. Jones (Annandale, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This is a very good cd. However, the whole cd is not like Right Now. Right Now is by far the best song on this cd, with Politically Correct and Paul McCartney also earning good reviews. Politically Correct and Right Now, the 1st and 2nd song on the cd, are peppy. The rest of the cd is kind of mellow. But a good mellow. All songs have a catchy chorus, but are kind of mellow. Some of the lyrics are a bit strange, take for instance:"I'm one of those things you'll save forever, but never need like an old newspaper no one has time to read." But, this is a fantastic cd, strange lyrics or not, and i do recommend getting it. However, if you're expecting a cd full of songs like Right Now, you'll be dissapointed.