Running on Ice

Vertical Horizon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Task Records
• ASIN: B002NULL62
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,861 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the best studio albums I own., June 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Running on Ice (Audio CD)

This is to Vertical Horizon what Pale was to Toad the Wet Sprocket, what New Miserable Experience was to the Gin Blossoms, what, dare I say it, Zep II was to Led Zeppelin--a sophomore release that was better than their debut.

Every track here is good, most are excellent. This music will make you laugh, cry, think and dance.

Heart In Hand: Great leadoff track, and you gotta love the lyrics. An electric version is on the New Guy soundtrack.

Wash Away: One of their best songs ever. Period. Incredible riff, and my favorite guitar solo ever in terms of good melodic phrasing.

Fragments: Not one of my favorites, but a good song that grows on you. The live version is better though.

Famous: The only song "officially" co-written by Matt and Keith, with amazing lyrics.

The Man Who Would Be Santa: This is a beautiful song, a live favorite, and one of the only songs that can make me cry. Just the harmonies in the pre-chorus are tear-jerking, and they're just singing "Ooh, la la la la lalala."

Angel Without Wings: Nice song, sounds like it could have come from There and Back Again. Love the nylon string rhythm guitar.

Answer Me: An okay song, one of the least memorable on the album, except for the last couple of choruses which are incredible.

Life In The City: A really funky song, with a better groove than anything they've recorded before or since.

Japan: A live standard, this is one incredible song. I love the electric live version too.

Call It Even: I wish they would play this one live, what a great song. The lyrics are the greatest, I'm sure everyone has felt this way a few times before.

Sunrays and Saturdays: The most James Taylor-ish song they've ever recorded, this sounds like another There and Back Again track. Great mellow sound.

Falling Down: The best song they have ever recorded. This is a timeless song with beautiful lyrics and an awesome banjo mandolin (yes banjo) solo.

Goodnight My Friend/Reprise: An okay song with great lyrics, but not the best. The reprise is awesome though, it's just the last part of Fragments with the chorus of The Man Who Would Be Santa sung over it.

This album is a must-have for VH fans, but it is also a must-have for fans of the Dave Matthews Band. DMB's drummer, Carter Beauford, drums on half the tracks here, adding more life to the songs. And fans of Jackopierce should grab this too--Jack O'Neil and Cary Pierce sing on the Reprise. This is seriously an excellent acoustic album, anyone who likes good music should like this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely satisfying listening experience, September 19, 2001

By 

Abhijeet Gupta "tabu1011" (Mumbai, Maharashtra India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Running on Ice (Audio CD)

I went to a fair bit of trouble getting this one from you guys and I must confess to being more than satisfied with the wait. Outstanding use of acoustic guitars coupled with surprisingly mature songwriting skills make this an album well worth buying.Matt Scannell's vocals sound like vintage Bruce Hornsby at times. At others he sounds a bit like Paul Carrack. Keith Kane has got to be one of the more distinctive voices in contemporary rock'n'roll.

Pasrticularly favorite tracks are 'Japan', 'Heart in Hand', 'Sunrays and Saturdays' and 'The Man who would be Santa'. Great insight into a band before it achieved its megastar status. Buy it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The acoustic folk side of Vertical Horizon, March 3, 2001

By 

"krusty_the_clown" (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running on Ice (Audio CD)

Before Everything You Want came out, Vertical Horizon were just 2 guys with acoustic guitars. There is a BIG difference between this & Everything You Want- this one's much more folk sounding, and has no electric instruments. But it's still a great cd- very relaxing, nice lyrics, and great drum cameos from the drummers of Jackopierce & Dave Matthews Band. If you like relaxing acoustic rock you'll love this cd. The best songs, in my opinion, are Heart in Hand, Wash Away, Falling Down, Japan, & The Man Who Would Be Santa. Also if you like this cd be sure to check out Live Stages, an AWESOME live VH cd.