Customer Reviews

Songs Not to Get Married to

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Review by Tyler Wagnon:

Reggie and the Full Effect is a strange entity. Main man James Dewees was a full time member in The Get Up Kids and Coalesce, while also appearing on albums by Ultimate Fakebook, The Casket Lottery, New Amsterdams, and New Found Glory. Guitarist Cory White is currently in The Esoteric and was in Coalesce as well. Drummer Ryan Pope was a member of The Get Up Kids and is currently in New Amsterdams. Bassist Rob Pope too was a member up The Get Up Kids and is currently in both Koufax and New Amsterdams. Not to mention guest vocal spots by Benjamin Perri of From Autumn to Ashes and Sean Ingram from Coalesce.
All that information probably doesn't help you any because those bands play such different styles (emocore, math metal, emo, hardcore, indie rock), and to be honest, the influences don't shine through much at all.

Anyway, Reggie and the Full Effect's sound is schizophrenic to say the least. Some songs are pure blissful pop punk, some are electronic dance songs, and there is even a metal track on here as well as an industrial sounding song.

The point is there is no point. Reggie and the Full Effect is a strange band with a sense of humor and for most people they are love em or hate em. The only real way to know is to listen to it and find out for yourself.

most reviews ive read keep saying that the older stuff is way better, but i disagree. ive heard his older stuff a while ago and thought it was alright. but i got this album and let it grow on me, what makes it so great is the synth of his microkorg mixed with those heavy guitars. its like nothing ive ever heard. u can tell he musically progressed too. its more along the lines of Apocalypse Wow! and Fellowship of the Bling sounding (if you want to compare to older stuff) and of course The Common Denominators and Fluxuation return. I first saw them with alkaline trio in 03 then again this past fall with alk3 again and mcr (who was way overrated) reggie was way better than them. alkaline was great tho

just for the dude below me sean ingram is the singer for Coalesce not FATA anyway holy sh*t i was blown away by this album i just got it yesterday and have been listening to it ever since. since i thought the last album was trash(Under The Tray) since it reminded me of some teenage poppy bullsh*t) but this album shows alot of prgression im guessing maybe because of his divorce but i still hear some old reggie and parts of the songs. Overall this is a great album for past and present reggie fans but dont spend a sh*t load of money ordering this online go to bestbuy and save a few bucks

I absolutely agree with the previous review by Jeff Palermo.

Reggie and the Full Effect was a joke that came to fruition in the basement of a house in Kansas City that DeWees shared with Robby and Ryan Pope of The Get Up Kids. In fact one of the very first songs recorded in that basement was Dwarf Invasion which didn't make it to an album until his 2nd record. In fact the original recording was used from those basement sessions.

DeWees is a classically trained musician who is great at writing that musical hook that draws you into his catchy songs, but not until this album did DeWees learn how to write musically and lyrically. Get Well Soon is a great song!!! The early records are fun for a listen and a laugh once in a while, but this album is a record you will listen to for the rest of your life and still enjoy it. Like most great records, sometimes it takes a few listens before you really get it and this is one of those albums. If you don't get it at first, put it away for a while and come back to it. You may find this to be one of your favorite records in quite a while!!

And for those of you who are into this because of My Chemical Romance aka the worst rock cliche ever to grace a stage... Then you probably won't get it.

This CD is pretty out there as far as Reggie and the Full Effect is concerned.

The CD proves that Reggie can write songs that have to deal with subjects other than running away. These songs have sincere emotion in them, much unlike anything RATFE has produced before. Caving and Get Well Soon are both excellent examples of this.

The CD has it's share of catchy pop tunes as in the other Reggie CD's...however, they are in far fewer quanity on this record.

Overall, I trully enjoyed this CD. It's not anything that could win Record of the Year... but it contains some of Reggie's best work. Definity a good buy.

Well I just have to say, I saw Reggie last night in Chicago with Eisley(another fantastic band might I add) and NFG, and Reggie just played fantastic. Most of the songs they played were off this album and they played them amazingly. First off, the first song really hooked me in considering I didn't think there would be any screaming on this album, nor did I think there would be the use of the keys with metal riffs, but what an awesome combination. This entire album is worth checking out, but some favorites of mine here are What The Hell is Contempt and Playing Dead.

This has been one of the most anticipated releases in the punk genre this year. Reggie is back, this time with a new twist... this cd has a strange combination of metal riffs, more screaming (thanks to Sean Ingram, vocalist for Coalesce), and perfectly flowing keyboards. Don't get me wrong, this is still the awesome Reggie we know and love, but he has definately grown up a little. If you're a newcomer to the Full Effect, I would recommend you buy "Greatest Hits '84-'87" first. Here's a few of his aliases that have returned on this cd: Hungry Bear, Common Denominator, oh, and the drunk girl from the Get Up Kids show is back, too. This cd is a very worthy buy if you're into a wide range of music all combined into one cd. reggie (james) definately hits the spot with this album.

With James's recent divorce, he has taken a more serious approach with this cd, but it still is awesome and it still is reggie.

This album is the most recent release by James Dewees's brainchild, Reggie and the Full Effect. To fans of the full effect prior to this release, this album will seem forced and just a lack of what we know reggie to be. Those who did not discover ratfe before this release will probably enjoy this album as it is more in the style of the more mainstream alternative rock scene, a la Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, etc. That being said, this is not a terrible album. It does have its moments, but it doesnt feel like genuine Reggie like the past three albums have had in their own ways.

As many people know, or don't, most of this album was inspired, for lack of a better word, by James's recent divorce. From what I understand, James had been working on his new album when the divorce came about, so he scrapped them, maybe because of legal reasons? (his ex-wife had helped him write songs and pretty much sued him for everything) and wrote these songs. This album certianly does represent what he was feeling during his divorce. I believe this is why this album is different. It is more serious, and seriousness is something that is, for the most part, absent in the earlier albums.

If you are just discovering Reggie, I suggest that you start with Greatest Hits and progress to Promotional Copy and then Under The Tray before tackling this album. It wouldnt hurt to try to dig up some early live performances, or even some later Get Up Kids, where James plays keys and sings some back up vocals. This way it will help you to fully grasp what is Reggie and The Full Effect.

Highlights of this album include:
-Third installment of Flux and CD
-What the Hell is Contempt
-Get Well Soon
-Take Me Home, Please (The music video version adds guitar and real drums to the mix, plus the return of PACO!!)
-and, if you include the Japanese CD bonus tracks, Bobby McFerrin Better Worry

Overall this album still feels like Reggie, changing genres at the drop of a hat, but its certinally not his best work, and my least favorite of the bunch.

On a positive note, these new "harder" songs make a great addition to his live set, and all the energy and silliness that was before this album is still evident during his shows.

Looking foward to the upcoming headlining tour and the next full length!

Now first off, I haven't been a ratfe fan for too long, but I have heard their other stuff and seen them live so I do know enough THAT THIS IS NOT THEIR BEST ALBUM. That doesn't mean it's not a good one though. This cd basically has it's moments. MY FAVORITE SONG IS "Take Me Home, Please" which is truely a catchy and great song, which sorta reminds me of one of their older song "Girl, Why'd You Run Away". "What The Hell is Contempt" is a great song, better than What the hell is stipulation, a song with a simmaler title. And then there's "Get Well Soon", which is pretty much the second best song on the album, third is probably the hardest track on there, "The Trooth". To Be honest, there is 4 songs I actually listen to on this album, but those songs are worth three stars. I RECCOMEND YOU TRY THE DEBUT, Greatest Hits 1984-1987, FIRST TO SEE IF YOU LIKE IT, THEN TRY THIS ONE.