Customer Reviews

Running on Ice

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This Cd is amazing. It is more relaxed than Vertical Horion's newer Cds. When I listen to it, the singers drive home their purpose, and each word cuts right to you. ESPECIALLY in Wash Away. I love that song, and I am in love with Keith Kane's voice. This CD was at first just another addition to my Vertical Horizon collection (which is growing by the day) but now I am sure I will never be so obsessed with a band.

The only album I bought from them was EYW about two weeks ago. Everytime I listened to the CD, it got better. Now, just yesterday, I bought Running On Ice. Even though the styles have changed tremendously, every song on this CD will blow you away, giving it the same type of level as EYW; the music and the lyrics rock! From beginning to finish, this album will keep you glued to your CD player all night long. My favorites are "Heart In Hand", "Wash Away", "Famous", "The Man Who Would Be Santa", and "Angel Without Wings". Remember: EVERY SONG on this album is worth a listen. I'm planning to buy There And Back Again and Live Stages in a few days to finish my collection, so expect my reviews on them soon. So, what are you still doing here? GO OUT AND BUY THIS CD!

This album to me marked a step in the direction that they end up taking on "Everything you Want". A very diverse album going from upbeat to melancholy. Unlike the other reviewer I enjoy Keith's songs quite a bit on this album and on "There and Back Again" and I wish he would he would have had more than 1 on EYW. Overall a great melodic acoustic album that shows a band maturing there sound. Highly recommend.

So I've had this CD in my possession almost a dozen times, and frequently have gone to great lengths to either recover a copy of it I once had or simply get another one. There is, in my mind, no comparison to this album ~ I have yet to listen to "Go", but in my mind this CD is far superior to EYW if for only one reason: Carter Beauford is the drummer on this album! I mean seriously, there are few living musicians as talented as Carter, and the groove that he sets behind the music is unparalleled - Listening to this album and comparing it to EYW is like listening to The Dave Matthews Band's best album, Crash, and comparing it to "Some Devil" which was Dave's side-project album without Carter and the rest of the band. I apologize if this is a blindly one-sided opinion, but it's my review ~ so my opinions are geared towards what I consider the most important aspect of music - TALENT.

This album is fabulous from beginning to end. The incredible use of acoustic guitars and the pure harmonies of Matt Scannell and Keith Kane make "Running On Ice" a complete work. The melodies are simple and the lyrics are deeply profound, combined with soulful and honest vocal stylings of both Matt Scannell AND Keith Kane (yea!), the result is extremely sharp and pleasurable.

This band sings with passion. Their primarily accoustic basis and powerful lyrics cause you to instantly fall in love with them. This 14 track album is one I listen to all the way through, and enjoy every minute of it. If you bought Everything You Want, and are looking for more Vertical Horizon this is the CD to start with. My favorites are "Japan", "The Man Who Would Be Santa", and "Heart in Hand". If you are looking for your first Vertical Horizon CD I would still recomend this one. It is solid from begining to end.

Vertical Horizon was only a acoustic guitar duet before they hit it big. Keith Kane and Matt Scannell's voice work very nice togethor with the songs they make. They show an upbeat tempo with songs like "famous", "Call It Even" and "Life in the City" along with more serious songs like "Angels Without Wings", "Wash Away" and "Goodnight My Friend". Their music can easily be realated to my life and many other people I know, making this band easy to like.