Customer Reviews

O2

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...I just couldn't. I'm a big Firehouse fan. I have all their other albums, and they were the first concert I ever went to (opening for Tesla in 1992). I think CJ Snare has one of the classic hard rock voices of all time. Heck, I'd even name my kid "CJ". And like I say above, I REEEEALLY wanted to like this album. I wanted to crank it up loud as I drove down the Long Island Expressway tonight on my way home from work. But I just couldn't.

There are good tracks, there are bad tracks. "Jumpin'" is fun, albeit cookie-cutter. Actually, most of the tracks are cookie-cutter: "Don't Fade On Me" should be subtitled "(Every Hair Metal Ballad Ever Written)"; "Loving You Is Paradise" should be subtitled "(When I Look Into Your Eyes II)"; "Unbelievable" should be subtitled "(Every Hair Band Hard Rockin' Love Song Ever Written)"; "I'm In Love This Time" and "Call Of The Night" sound like early Motley Crue tracks to me for some reason.

Then we come to "The Dark", which will, I promise you, rank as one of the worst songs EVER. What exactly were CJ and the boys thinking here? I don't know. They try to sound "nu metal," and CJ even RAPS (yes, raps) about e-mail, the "computer age", and "CD-ROMs, DVDs, vinyl LPs and MP3s". Yeah. Not kidding. Sadly, the chorus says it best: "Stay up to speed with technology, or you will be left in the dark."

Is O2 a departure for the band? No, it's a standard FH album. And the fans will buy it, because that's what we do. That's what I did, and occasionally it will find its way into my CD changer for songs like "Jumpin" and "Paradise". (Hey, just because I panned it doesn't mean I don't like the sappy stuff - again, I AM a big fan.)

But if you're undecided about which FH album to add to your collection, click over to "Category 5," which is probably the strongest release they have, top to bottom; or "Good Acoustics," which improves on every original from the first two albums AND adds some very catchy new tunes.

Finally!! The guys from Firehouse have finally followed in the powerful footsteps of Firehouse, Hold Your Fire, and 3. This CD should be titled Catagory 5 instead of the mellow CD that was titled this way. This CD actually puts pressure on Hold Your Fire. The band sound rockin' and tight. CJ's voice sounds great!! Metal/Pop Rock has turned to make a powerful stands again. It seemed that these late 80/early 90 bands were afraid to rock since music has changed to doom and gloom. It's good to hear melodies with power again. Look at the success of Bon Jovi's Crush CD. I hope this new CD, O2, will spawn a tour.

After having listened to Firehouse's excellent 'Superhits' compilation I had the highest hopes for the band's latest effort, 02. Well, I have listened to the album three or four times and I am left with nothing to say but that I was very disappointed. The album is average at best, and not at all what I expected from a band that has created so much great music in the past. I wasn't a complete moron listening to this album; I wasn't expecting a greatest hits cd, but what I got was very average music. The musicianship is definitely up-to-snuff; these guys really know how to play their instruments. C.J.'s voice sounds quite good (not his best, though) and Bill Leverty's guitar solos are wonderful. But the lack of creativity in lyrics and music is what really bogs this album down. Leverty's riffs are not that exciting and rather bland, in my opinion. I am definitely a fan of Firehouse's, and I am not going to say that this is a BAD album, but I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Anyone just getting into this band let me tell you this: Firehouse is great and if you are just starting to get interested in the group, check out either their self-titled debut or 'Hold Your Fire', their second album. If you want to get what the band is REALLY about in a cheap, short, small, sweet package buy their 'Superhits'. But suffice to say, Firehouse's latest, 02, is NOT terrible, if you do buy it, please skip the third track "The Dark"; it is terrible (please never do this again, Firehouse). My final words are that I wish the band better luck next time because I will be there to support them.

WOW!!! What a great comeback album!!! Firehouse is back. This album rocks like the good ol'e days. If your looking for classic firehouse, like the first 2 albums, then this one is for you. I was honored to see them perform just a couple of days ago for free. It was a hour and a half of free music, and these boys can still rock and roll. Go get this album, and i promise, you wont be let down. Great singing with great guitar and drums, what else could you ask for? Welcome back Firehouse!!!

This album is great. For those of you who saw potential in Category 5, but thought it still came up a little short, this IS the Firehouse album for you. They are back to real rock n' roll, with ton's of vocals and guitars....BUY THIS NOW !

After two albums that showed a progressively softer side of Firehouse (3, and CATAGORY 5), Firehouse come out with what may be their heaviest album to date. Now, I really enjoyed CATAGORY 5, and found it to be their best album, taking a more mature approach, but for fans of their first two albums, this can be seen as a welcome return to form. In addition, the band adds some more modern elements to some of their music, which actually works surprisingly well. "Jumpin'" gets the album off to a rocking start, similar to "Rock on the Radio" or "Reach for the Sky". The song isn't strong as either of those though."Take it Off" is a typical Firehouse rocker, and one of the best songs on the disc. "The Dark" is somewhat of a departure for Firehouse, with a rap-metal sound that sounds a bit at times like the Red Hot Chili Peppers(!) or Rage Against the Machine. Now, amazingly, the band manages to pulls this off, and its one of the more interesting songs on the album, as they manage to blend a little bit of their own style with this approach. "Don't Fade on Me" is my favortite song on the album. A ballad, but a far heavier and more complex than such previous hits like "When I look into your eyes", the song has something of an epic structure that, in my opinion results in one of Firehouse's best songs (if not THE best) yet. "I'd Rather be Making Love" is a typical, Firehouse style rocker. "What you can do" is a bit of a change of pace for Firehouse, with somewhat of an alternative sound, maybe a little like Matchbox 20. The song is far better than that association I just made sounds though, as the song is one of the best on the album. "I'm in Love This Time" is also a bit different for Firehouse. It's more of just a stripped-down, Aerosmith style rock song. And it's a pretty good one."Unbelievable" is a decent slow-paced rocker in the vein of "Sleeping with You". "Unbelievable" is definitely the biggest disappointment on the album. Firehouse's big love ballads, while not always my favorites, are definitely well done, and sometimes appear something of a trademark. This song badly flops however, in comparison to great ballads like "I Live my Life for You" and "Love of a Lifetime". It's not a terrible song, but's it's not a great one either, and this is usually one area Firehouse nails down pretty well. "Call of the Night" is a strong, heavy end to the album. Overall, this is a very strong effort, a must-have for Firehouse fans (definitely those who loved their first two albums). The only negative worth noting is the lack of ballads. If you're big fan of the Firehouse ballad, there's only two, and while "Don't Fade on Me" is amazing, its not a conventional ballad, and "Unbelievable" is unbelievably bad. This is a great album though, and its nice to see Firehouse returning to their roots, and amazingly successfully incorporating some different sounds into this record.

I think Good Acoustics spoiled me.

Over the past few years -- thanks, in part, to Good Acoustics -- I came to regard Firehouse as a band that knew how to peak into the souls of lovers everywhere and write songs that turned them inside out. To my way of thinking, nothing will ever top the emotion and depth of songs such as "Love of a Lifetime," "When I Look Into Your Eyes," "I Live My Life For You," and "Here For You." And when it comes to rockin' out, "All She Wrote," "Don't Treat Me Bad," "Overnight Sensation" and others are among the very best melodic power pop tunes ever recorded. And live they're nothing short of incredible. C.J.'s 100-watt smile and stage presence, not to mention that awe-inspiring voice of his, help put them in a league untouchable by other bands today.

I was disappointed with Bring 'Em Out Live (see my review for the reason why) and I wasn't as charitable with 02 when I first heard it, either. But this CD grows on me more every time I pop it in and push "play." In fact, I've come to regard 02 as one of my favorites (behind Good Acoustics and just about equal to Category 5).

I think part of my initial dislike for 02 was because I had just learned bassist/vocalist Perry Richardson was no longer with the band. I don't deal with change well, anyway, plus I thought Perry added a great deal of melody and energy to the band, especially on stage. So I wasn't as objective as I should have been. I think Perry's absence is noticeable (for example, there seems to be fewer harmonies and backing vocals this time around), but I don't think the album suffers terribly because of it.

Before I dive into a track-by-track analysis, I have to admit that I still have one minor "complaint" about 02: The song "Take It Off," which seems to be something a band like Poison or Motley Crue or KISS could have recorded in the '80s, but from a band the caliber of Firehouse it comes across as a bit juvenile. When I first heard "Take it Off," I got the same feeling I'd get if I saw a 50-year-old Gene Simmons singing "Christine Sixteen." It just seemed out of place and slightly crass.

The other reason why that track bothers me is because Firehouse is a band that thanks God in their liner notes. A song so blatantly about sex and seduction seems not in keeping with any faith in God that I'm aware of. Even if it were written from one of the members to his wife, the people in the audience won't know that and they'll interpret it at face value.

Be that as it may, 02 is a very nice album that will go far to introduce people to the band.

"Jumpin'", the lead track, gets things moving in the same vein as "Rock on the Radio" or "Overnight Sensation." I can picture it as their new concert opener. Ought to get things "jumpin'," indeed.

"The Dark" is a rap-filled ode to technology ("Stay up to speed with technology or you will be left in the dark"), but it breaks no new ground. Worse, it seems as if it were written about 10 years too late. I mean, come on guys. Technology is nothing new any more. We're surrounded by it every single day. And most kids not only know what an MP3 player is, they have about a thousand tunes downloaded on one already. This is the 'Net Gen, remember?

"Don't Fade On Me" is one of my favorite songs, probably because it's another power ballad love song with a nice melody and some pleasing vocal harmonies.

"I'd Rather Be Making Love" follows and is another catchy song that showcases C.J.'s voice and more of the few harmonizing background vocals the album allows, but the melody and the chords remind me of Thin Lizzy's old classic "Whiskey in the Jar" -- only more high-powered, a la Metallica's recent cover version.

Track six is "What You Can Do" and it's a mid-tempo song that easily follows the previous two love songs. Bill Leverty's guitar has a raspy edge that drives the song forward and keeps it rocking to the end.

"I'm in Love This Time" is Leverty's turn to shine on lead vocals. He's not bad, either. It's a cool tune.

My absolute favorite track on the entire CD is "Unbelievable." I would have paid $14.99 just for this track, alone! It begins with a short drum roll by Michael Foster quickly followed by an incredibly bouncy, happy sounding guitar riff from Leverty. Foster's drumming is crisp, C.J.'s vocals are perfect and the lyrics are hard to get out of your head: "It's unbelievable how much I love you...it's unbelievable I can't believe how much I care...and it's real, I'm not imagining that the very most amazing thing is when I hear you say you love me, too." Everything clicks on this song and I love playing it over and over again as I'm driving down the road...especially while sitting beside the woman I love, telling her this is how I feel about her.

I agree with a previous reviewer: "Loving You is Paradise" is lightweight and will never be named among Firehouse's more profound love songs. But it's still head and shoulders above songs released by other bands these days. C.J. could probably sing a telephone directory and have it sound like angels from on high.

"Call of the Night," features a great guitar riff; however, it -- like "Take it Off" -- doesn't show a lot of maturity or depth. Firehouse is capable of much more.

Firehouse can rock with the best of them, and write songs that tug on your heartstrings like no-one else can. 02 features some of both styles and is extremely well recorded and well produced to boot. Overall, I think 02 is an excellent album and I highly recommend it.

(By the way, I still miss Perry, but I'm looking forward to seeing what their new bassist can do, especially on stage.)

I DEFINITLEY GIVE THIS CD 5 STARS! FIREHOUSE NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME WITH THEIR TALENT AND DEDICATION TO ALWAYS GIVE THE FANS SOMETHING NEW. BRUCE WEIBEL IS A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO A GREAT BAND! MY FAVORITES ARE "THE DARK" IN WHICH CJ SNARE ADDS A LITTLE RAPPIN WITH THE ROCKIN. HE DOES A GREAT JOB AND THE SONG REALLY ROCKS! "DON'T FADE ON ME" IS A GREAT LOVE BALLAD. "UNBELIEVABLE" AND "LOVING YOU IS PARADISE" ARE ALSO DEFINITLEY WORTH MENTIONING. BILL LEVERTY'S SINGING DEBUT WITH "I'M IN LOVE THIS TIME" IS A GREAT TREAT! FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE ALREADY PURCHASED THIS CD WE ARE ROCKIN! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T OR ARE "THINKING" ABOUT IT....DON'T THINK....IF YOU ARE A FIREHOUSE FAN.....GO BUY IT.....YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED!

Firehouse is one of the greatest rock bands of the world. What I like about them is they keep true to their style no matter what rock style dominates the charts. Japanese rock fans really loved them and supported them while the band they love was neglected in the U.S.

Opening track Jumpin' litarally get you jumpin' it is great fun pop rock. Boys want to rock it really hard don't they? Don't Fade On Me is a great ballad with solid guitar riff. Unbelievable and Loving You Is Paradise show their pop rock appeal. Japanese fans look farward to their return to mainstream. And I'm sure they will.

I'm very impressed with this cd. It starts out fast with the great opening track Jumpin and doesn't let up until the end with the hard rocker "Call Of The Night". The only bad thing I can say about this album is that the lone ballad "Lovin You Is Paradise" is kinda weak in my opinion. Other than that this album rocks from start to finish!