Customer Reviews

Something Like Human (Reis) (Exp)

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is probably the best post-grunge era CD to come out in 2000. Easily. This one does not disappoint! Fuel is a great band known for their hard-rocking tunes like "Shimmer", but I think their strong point is their semi-ballads. "Hemmorhage" is a great song, but top 40 radio will soon overplay it and kill the goodness of the song. Another good song is "Bad Day", a Matchbox-20-like ballad. This song is destined to be a number 1 hit. Heartfelt, catchy, and stunning, this is one great song.

My other favorite tracks are number 7 and 8, "Prove" and "Down". Prove is a great song similar to the other songs on the album. "Down" is an awesome rocking song with a great guitar hook. It pumps me up when have to swim a race. Its a great song. Fuel reminds me of a post- Alice and Chains. Only better. If you are looking for an alternative to Creed, or a harder-edged Matchbox 20, look no further. This is a very solid cd, a cd that proves they are no one hit wonder. This group will be HUGE by the end of 2001, as radio begins to pick up "Hemmorhage," and Alternative stations picking up "Innocent", a great song with another great guitar hook. BUY THIS ALBUM. YOU NEED IT.

On their sophomore effort, at least as far as major releases go, Fuel doesn't really seem to change much from what made their debut album a hit. They continue to straddle the line between today's increasingly popular heavier bands and the alternative rock of the 90's that seems to be harder and harder to find in a quality form these days. Nevertheless, "Something Like Human" is still serviceable. It has its share of easily accessible songs with single-word titles like the single "Hemorrhage", as well as "Solace", "Bad Day" and "Slow". Meanwhile, they still manage to squeeze in their darker, heavier songs that aren't so radio friendly, like "Down" amidst the rest of their riff-filled tracks that all seem to blend in together. What makes this band better than a lot of the new acts coming out these days is that despite the depressing nature of the music as a whole, they still manage to fit in some, (I stress the word "some"), hooks and melodies, and they rarely resort to the primal, distorted screaming that many other bands find so charming. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't include at least one or two tracks with a more upbeat tempo. I saw them in concert, and they proved that they could pull off songs like "Nothing" from their Porcelain album that were catchy, but still heavy enough to retain their masculinity. Oh well, dark, downtrodden and heavy seems to be the way to get the money if you don't have a sugary voice, good looks, and someone else to write your songs.

*IMPORTANT*:: This is a long, tedious, and infinitely awesome review. If you are worthless, skip it.

The Incredible and Awe-Inspiring Legacy of the FUEL of Life, Vol. 2: "Something Like Human".

When it comes to these albums by FUEL, I feel a useless, but strong desire to explain my feelings about each and every track, especially because the songs on this particular album are all very important to me... though it would be next to impossible for me to explain why. Here are my wonderful and totally relevant thoughts on SLH:

1 - `Last Time' - A faint whiff of feedback is revealed before FUEL blasts off on a simplistic but powerful intro, which drops off quickly into Brett Scallion's angry first verse. It's as you listen to this point of the song that you begin to realize how much more mature the band sounds musically compared to "Sunburn". The lyrics don't rely on any rhyming scheme, they just flow together perfectly to fit the song's format. The chorus yells "this is the last time, this is the last time I'll bleed for you!" as the guitars boom along magnificently. The solo's wailing guitars are excellent and lay the foundation for FUEL's sound on this album, resulting in one of the most riveting tracks of FUEL's career. 5/5

2 - `Hemorrhage (in my hands)' - HEMORRHAGE RULES. Strong opening chords start off the song, and are followed closely by fast finger-picking from Carl Bell on the guitar, and some agonizingly beautiful singing of Brett. The lyrics are wonderfully thoughtful and emotional, especially during the second verse: "She cries, her life is like / some movie black and white / dead actors faking lines / over and over and over again she cries..." You can frikin FEEL the desperation writhing within the gorgeous melody, magnifying the beauty of this song and lifting it to an incredible emotional height. It's this track, more than any other, that signifies FUEL's maturation and growth musically and artistically. Forever my favorite FUEL song, and an emotional masterpiece. 6/5

3 - `Empty Spaces' - This is one of the louder and more rhythmic songs on the album. The fast and throttling main riff, like `Jesus or a Gun', makes you feel like you're moving at a million miles an hour... until you make it to the verses, where it chuggs quickly along to make way for the track's raw and steady vocals, deftly capturing the song's brilliant mood. There's more whining guitars on this one, and the short ten-second guitar solo fits perfectly in this song and provides great support for the track's sound. Kevin Miller's drums are also a noteworthy contribution to this song, as well as Jeff`s bass-work. A very strong track. 4.5/5

4 - `Scar' - A slowly brewing song that I find to be the most fun on the album. It's loud and churning, with a chunky riff that slides along with lovely devotion and impeccable musicality. Some have related this song's sound with that of ALICE IN CHAINS, and I agree, especially with Brett's vocals at the chorus: "fall in, fall out / break free, break down". The vocal melody is ridiculously brilliant and the music on the bridge, though simplistic, is AWESOME. This is just a fun track that reminds me of the kind of thing you'd hear off "Sunburn". 5/5

5 - `Bad Day' - The poppiest song on "SLH" and is strongly in the vein of the previous album's `Shimmer'; but this song is slower and is sung with a bit more emotion. I think the lyrics are great and give the song a realistic and easily relatable message. Very melodic and pretty, and the softly attractive solo help to make this song the gem that it is. This song, as well as the album closer, are the most ballad-like tracks on the entire record, and I've never ever met a FUEL ballad that I didn't LOVE. 5/5

6 - `Prove' - FETCH YES. This song ROCKS. A big, FAT, meaty riff crunches out from the dust, so loud, so heavy... wailing guitars fly in as a riff counterpart, and then comes Brett's haunting vocals with a massively haunting melody that goes beyond anything FUEL had previously done(similar to the mood of `Mary Pretends' from "Sunburn" and `Quarter' from "Natural Selection"). The album's namesake comes from the last line of the chorus: "... and prove to me... you're SOMETHING LIKE HUMAN!!!" Awesome, awesome song, one of the best rockin' tracks of FUEL's career. 5/5

7 - `Easy' - A slow, almost surreally menacing song that boils with intensity all the way through. Very rhythmic percussion on this song, and the ridiculously intricate bassline from Jeff Abercrombie brings such a constant, unreal vibe to the song's sound that I just find incredible. The song's structure reminds me vaguely of `Hideaway' from the last album, and while the vocals are very subdued and quite, they again contribute to the foreboding tone. Quiet, desperate, strange guitar effects fill the last 30 sec. or so of the song, leading into the next track's setting and mood perfectly. 4.5/5

8 - `Down' - The bizarrely spooky effects quickly melt into a driving bass, with wildly erratic drums and a chaotic guitar solo rising solidly from beneath . . . an then BOOM! A huge metal riff explodes from the darkness and is simply, irresistibly AWESOME. The overall mood feels and sounds like a ALICE IN CHAINS track, the main difference being in the vocals. This is probably as close to actually screaming in a song as Brett Scallions has ever gotten, but even then the song remains musically intelligent. Those who have only heard the poppie singles from FUEL would never in a million years imagine the band capable of something like this. It's the heaviest, loudest, angriest piece in the band's three-album history, and is EXTREMELY well done. 5/5

9 - `Solace' - This song, while not incredible, remains just a little underrated. Musically, it's like a watered-down version of `Mary Pretends'(I keep referring to that song) --or is at least reminiscent of the music to that track. Not an amazing vocal melody, but they ARE strongly delivered and interesting. The lyrics are very introspective: "and all the finer things they laid upon my table...[I] smiled as their hooks were slowly sinking in". Again, while it's not altogether strict perfection, I've still fallen in love with it. Like every other FUEL song. 4/5

10 - `Knives' - Probably the worst song on the album, and yet it still gets 4 stars. Why, you ask? Well, as can be ascertained by this review, FUEL is very consistent at writing very good vocal melodies and great musical themes. This song is no different. Not as inspiring as the rest of the album, but vocally strong and musically active are the elements that work in all FUEL's songs. A fun song that, again, reminds me of those old "Sunburn" days! LOVE to sing along! 4/5

11 - `Innocent' - Earlier in the review, I made a statement about `Hemorrhage' being the major point of maturation and growth for FUEL. Forgive me; that honor belongs to this song. The lyrics, bar none, are the greatest that Carl Bell has ever written: "Angels, lend me your might... forfeit all my lives to get just one right..." The quiet riff FEELS sooo blatantly mournful; the whole song BLEEDS with emotion. The vocals are PERFECT, the music's PERFECT, everything is just PERFECT. If not for `Hemorrhage', this would be the greatest song of FUEL's career. Period. 6/5

12 - `Slow' - Interesting computer-drumming intro to this near-acoustic song. The lyrics make me think about plant-life: "everything I fought to grow is withered, hanging on that vine", but they're gorgeous nonetheless. Brett sounds so honest in this lovely, lovely singing melody and the gentle solo on the bridge is so simple and pretty. Kevin Miller's drumming is impeccably brilliant, and I love the vibe that Jeff gives off from his bass throughout the song. The slowest, softest song on the album, it reminds me a teency-weency bit of the title track off "Sunburn". And for those who don't know, that's a very, very good thing. 5/5

The first time I heard this album, I would NEVER have given it five stars. Never. But time changed my tune, and I now admit that my absolute favorite album. And though time my not fully convince everybody, just know that it's an album that you simply cannot be without. Or, an album that you SHOULDN'T be without. Either way, just get it and live a full, happy life in nirvanian bliss till the end of thine days. (Check out "Sunburn" and "Natural Selection" as well. Great, great albums.)

Anyone who has heard Fuel's first album "Sunburn" probably won't be able to tell the difference between that album and this one. But that is not neccesarily a bad thing. From the beginning, they had a strong, distinctive sound that drew me to them to begin with. It is nice to see that not every band out there is trying to reinvent themselves. They stuck with their sound and it turned out to be a good thing. Enjoy.

Those of you who have seen Fuel live in concert, know the power and energy that this band possesses. Their latest album Something Like Human does a great job of capturing this energy. The Sunbrun album produced a few big hits, mostly the radio freindly Shimmer and Sunburn, and Something Like Human is sure to pick up where the last album left off. Carl Bell the lead guitar/songwriter does a wonderful job with the lyrics. Track #5 Bad Day is sure to be a smash hit like Shimmer. Fuel starts the album with the gritty song Last Time which combines hot guitar licks with a very passionate vocal track from Brett Scallions. Hemorrhage, the first single released, shows Fuel's unique ability to combine soft and heavy sections in one song, with the end result sounding great. The next track Empty Spaces hits hard and never lets up. Soalce, Bad Day, Inocent, and Slow show off Fuel's softer side, and Bell's awesome lyrics. Prove, Easy, Knives and Down show that Fuel still knows how to play some good old rock and roll. This album is a must have for any rock and roll fan. If Fuel is not a part of your CD collection, do yourself a favor and pick up SLH and Sunburn, you won't be disappointed!

Already having purchased the original version of Fuel: Something Like Human, I came across this Special Expanded Version that included 3 bonus songs that once I listened to 'Daniel', I knew I had to have. And the acoustic version of 'In My Hands' is better than the studio version.
I would advise interested Fuel fans or music buffs to get this CD for the extra songs and the bonus multimedia once you insert it into your CD-ROM.

Who says these guys sound like Creed? They don't sound anything like them. It's great that there's some good old rock music that still rocks in this age of boy bands, teen queens, and Limp Bizkits. Before I got this, I'd heard Hemmorhage on the radio a few times, but what made me want to buy this was hearing Fuel do a radio interview on a local morning show and playing an awesome acoustic version of Hemmorhage. Fuel is way better than its fellow brethen, namely Creed and 3 Doors Down (whose songs get on my nerves). I particularly liked the intro, Last Time. Down is especially a great, head banging, hard rocking song. There's also, of course, Hemmorhage. Though, my favorite is either Empty Spaces or Down. The only thing I didn't particularly like was the enhanced CD portion of it. The documentary video on how this album was made was interesting, but it drags on for the most part. Anyway, this is a great album. Fuel's going to go far. Can't wait for more.

I was highly anticipating Fuel's next album after their very good debut, thinking it would be extremely tough to even reach, much less top, but Fuel achieves that mark with "Something Like Human". The 1st track, "Last Time" is arguably my favorite on the album and is a good up-tempo song different from some of their other songs. Awesome tracks like "Empty Spaces", "Down", and "Knives" keep Fuel's original sound of alt-metal going. The single "Hemmorrage" is also good, along with the other 7 tracks on the album. The sleeper hit of this album I would have to say would be "Bad Day", an acoustic ballad that I feel can do for Fuel what "Take A Picture" did for Filter, (get them lots of play time and lots of money). Overall, this album rocks and is definentely one of the best albums among rock bands such as Creed, Nickleback, 3 doors down, and Full Devil Jacket (by the way, if you like any of those bands, you'll like fuel). Get this album now, Fuel fans won't be extremely suprised, but everyone definentely won't be dissapointed.

Their sophomore major label effort dispels any notion of a jinx after a successful debut. A little more experimentation, and harder rocking songs, will leave you wanting more. Tracks like "Last Time" and "Hemorrage" are sure to be hard rock radio classics, as are more heart-wrenching tracks like "Bad Day" and "Innocent" - probably one of the best songs on the album lyrically and musically.

"Prove" is also a strong track -- very guitar-oriented and is reminiscent of "Bittersweet" from "Sunburn." Even though they borrow a little from established rockers on a couple tracks - like Stone Temple Pilots in "Easy," and like Metallica in "Down," Bret's vocals take on their Fuel-form in "Empty Spaces," "Solace," and "Scar" (another one of my favorites).

All in all a good mix of true hard rock songs with a couple ballads, that will keep you rocking in the car, playing it over and over again, and wanting more.

Fuel rocks.

Okay, Fuel's previous release, Sunburn, was an unbelievably terrific collection of music. Every song on that album was great.. So i'm thinking dissapointment as I awaited the new release.. theres just no possible way these guys could come close to what they did with Sunburn - but oh was I wrong. Something Like Human is another masterpiece by a group I believe is one of the best on the scene today. Not only do these guys know how to write great tunes, they put on the best show i've ever seen to date (March 1999 at Slims in San Francisco with Local H). Brett Scallion's intense vocals mixed with Carl Bell's classic guitar riffs creates a surreal experience seeing this band live. These guys really know how to entertain an audience live and obviously in the studio as well. Innocent & Slow are a couple of songs to really pay attention to. I hope Fuel is around for years to come. Their next visit to California could not come soon enough for me.