Customer Reviews

Static Prevails (Expanded Edition)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This cd is phenomenal. It's completely different from anything you may have heard before, in that it's so original. You listen to the radio and you get the same songs played over and over again, with most of the songs seeming so fake it's not even funny. Then a friend introduced me to Jimmy Eat World. I have since stopped listening to anything else.

All of the songs on this cd are awesome, and that's an amazing accomplishment by itself. Many groups will release a cd full of crap with one song they know is bankable, just so they can cash in. Not so here. It's hard to put into words how good this stuff is. The first time I heard "rockstar", i felt that I was home lol. "Episode IV" is an extremely powerful song that starts slow and builds in power as you go. "Seventeen" is an angst filled song that radiates raw power. The amount of vareity you get is stunning, with all of it being GOOD.

In short, Jimmy Eat World has instantly become my favorite band, and this cd is quite possibly the best cd I have ever listened to. It's that good. Very Highly Recommended.

if you like to listen to music as more than just a passive hobby, meaning if you regularly sit down and do nothing but listen to an album all the way through, taking note of exactly what it contains, then this album is your holy grail. this is honestly the best album i have ever heard, it is the most amazing piece of art i have ever experienced, in fact. from the raw, powerful yet powerless "thinking... thats all", with its exquisite screams and builds, to the beautifully sad and touching "anderson mesa", that will chill you to your very soul, this album is brilliant. the earliness of this album combined with JEW's inherent talent for the intense makes it more incredible than any of their other stuff, but also make it a difficult listen at first. watch the way each song fades or rises into the next, each piece setting the stage for the next... no one has made an album flow like this since the beatles with "sgt. pepper". listen to it once and you will be hooked by "rockstar" and "seventeen", they are the highest point of punk/pop... listen to it twice and others gain luster, "claire", perhaps the best combination of quiet beauty and rock n' roll on the cd... "caveman", with the tiny sound of crickets and a forlorn harmonica or accordian in the end, "world is static" which provides the title... and eventually all of them. this album is a must have for anyone who ever liked punk, pop, and especially emo. please buy it for your own sake, it is magical.

Jimmy Eat World have never put out a bad album. By far my favourite band of all-time. These guys have a knack for writing like I've never seen since the pop sensibilities of Weezer, or the brilliance of Radiohead. I, admittedly, became a fan of the band when I heard Sweetness(which, to date, is still my favourite JEW song from the first time I heard it). So I guess I was a little late, and didn't pick up until many of the Bleed American bandwagoners did, but I've done my research and Static Prevails is probably only topped by Clarity as far as my favourite Jimmy albums go. Now, listen, it's a little unfair to have everybody judging Jimmy Eat World based solely on Bleed American(and, more recently, Futures.) Don't get me wrong, Bleed American is an awesome album. Thing is, it has a little more of a tighter, poppier feel. While this is by no means a bad thing, especially when done right, the problem is that both fans and haters alike attribute this sound to Jimmy Eat World entirely. In fact, most mainstream fans and haters all seem to think Jimmy Eat World are a "pop-punk" band and don't even know that Static Prevails and Clarity exist. Clarity is one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever created. This baby, Static Prevails, is a lot different than the more contemporary JEW sound. The production(or lack thereof) allows the album to have room to breathe and makes it a lot more raw and edgy. Some could even categorize this as a "punk" sound. However, even on this earlier record, Jimmy Eat World still display their undeniable gift of songwriting and making music.

Through the album Static Prevails, Jimmy Eat World have a crafted a true masterpiece.

It is difficult to accurately categorize Jimmy Eat World, as it is with most exceptional groups. The members of J.E.W. form a synthesis of post-punk rock taken to a rather sophisticated level, melodies which at any one given moment make you want to fall into a solitary slumber, and the next inspire you to erupt in a burst of exalted energy. They then combine this incredibly powerful music with thoughtful lyrics recalling regret, the importance of now, love and life. All while harmonize like no other through the albums' entirety.

It begins with a rush of adrenaline and structured, melodic chaos through the opening track "Thinking, That's All" and proceeds to bring out another good handful of superbly crafted modern ballads. Midway through the album appears the song "Digits" where it begins as lonely rumble meandering through the heart of a lost person. Only to explode into an uplifting movement which seems to catapult you to the next extreme, and then ending with a simple yet beautiful melody with a drawn out minor chord. It's like witnessing the transformation of a persons' stance on life with in the span of seven and a half minutes. The album continues to roll along fluidly. Filled to the brim with rolling drums, driving guitar and swooping melodies all the way to the very last note.

Static Prevails is one of those albums which has an immortal quality to it. It's a work of art which simply had to come to fruition. It takes you from one emotional extreme to the next, showing you darkness and pure light, and reminding you that in the end only static prevails, and that that's beautiful.

THE BAND: Tom Linton (vocals, guitars), Jim Adkins (vocals, guitars), Rick Burch (bass), Zach Lind (drums & percussion). Origin - Mesa, AZ.

THE DISC: (1996) Originally 12 tracks clocking in at approximately 52 minutes. The remastered 2007 version adds 2 bonus tracks bringing the total listen to approximately 57 minutes. Included with the disc is a 6-page booklet containing song titles/credits (no song lyrics), band photos, and thank you's. This is Burch's first album on bass (he replaces Mitch Porter). Recorded at Sound City (Los Angeles) and Big Fish (Encinitas, CA). This is the band's 2nd release. Label - Capital Records.

COMMENTS: Back before Jimmy Eat World's commercial breakthrough (check out 2001's "Bleed American" for that), was and perhaps still is, my favorite album of theirs... "Static Prevails". The album is tucked somewhere nicely between rock, alternative, and a newer softer punk. Heavy on fast guitar licks and emotion, this albums flat out rocks. It also features pretty close to a 50/50 split on singing duties between Linton and Adkins (future albums would showcase Adkins much more so). This was a nice trade off vocally - between Linton's deeper voice and Adkins poppy higher tone. Highlights for me have always been the fast and slow, soft and heavy "Rockstar" with the highlight being Lind's drumming; the fast paced "Call It In The Air" with layers upon layers of guitars and vocals; the melodic "Seventeen"; the dreamy and calming "Episode IV"; "Digits" with it's soothing intro and powerful ending; and finally the original album closer "Anderson Mesa" - another up and down song with gentle moments side by side with heavier emotional ones - complete with violin strings. The bonus tracks are decent... both upbeat faster tracks that fit nicely on the disc. Years later "Static Prevails" is still my favorite album cover of theirs. I always though it look like knobs on a piece of stereo or recording equipment. However, if you turn the cover on it's side it looks like snow capped bar stools. For me, "Static Prevails" was always about a talented young band that hadn't truly made it yet. The sound was fresh and original... JEW had something to prove. Great tunes here - no filler - a complete album that I can listen to anytime (5 stars).

They might sound a bit like this.

"Thinking, That's All" is probably one of the best opening tracks on any album in a long while. Jimmy Eat World rocks a lot harder than some of these tracks (and "Clarity") would lead you to beleive and "Thinking..." provides proof. There's hints of the direction the band would take on "Clarity" in other tracks particularly "World is Static" and "Episode IV." "In The Same Room" and "Anderson Mesa" manage to skilfully blend balad style pop with post-punk guitar rock. A little bit of J.E.W. trivia: "Seventeen" ended up in part of what was an otherwise perfectly awful Drew Barrymore movie.

A good sign at how much I like this was that the original CD was stollen out of my car with about 4 others. This one got replaced within days. By all means, buy this CD. But if you get a chance to see J.E.W., DO IT!

Ever since I stopped listening to Green Day, I've had a major problem with punk rock. Whether it was the Offspring, Sum 41, or Blink 182 didn't matter. They all sounded the same, and all their songs sounded the same. This viewpoint changed after I bought Static Prevails. This is punk rock that isn't stale like the bands I listed above, but progressive like Tool and Radiohead. With an approach sounding like Far and old Sunny Day Real Estate (Diary, LP2), Jimmy successfully devours the world in a progressive gulp that would shatter the state of punk rock today if more people knew about him.

"Digits" especially is a masterpiece, starting with a quiet acoustic guitar, then destroying the tranquility with a full blast punk riff, and a cry to "pay attention." After a few minutes of this punk heaven, the pace slows to acoustic once again, ending with a whisper of crickets that transforms into "Caveman." There is no possible way a song like this could exist on any other punk rock album. From the muted riffs on "Thinking, That's All" to the violins on "Anderson Mesa," Jimmy Eat World delivers a potent cure to the stagnation of punk rock today. Any rock lover would enjoy this CD thoroughly.

This is the first cd I ever heard of Jimmy Eat World. I was a little 15 year old kid who loved Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins. My sister who worked for Capitol Records (their first label, who didn't give them the time of day, but that isn't important..) gave me this cd. ...weird name, I thought. This album blew me away. The 12 songs on this album helped shape my teenage years. The third song,"Claire," still remains the song I scream for them to play when I see them live. This is a record you roll the windows down and blast in your car. Every song is amazing. If you only know Jimmy Eat World for the pop of Bleed American (self-titled to the ultra trendy kids), then please PLEASE!! do yourself the utmost favor of getting into Jimmy Eat World's earlier cds. You'll be a better person for it. This is a jewel of a find=)

"Static Prevails" is, flat out, a great album. It rocks harder than anything else the band has done ("Clarity", "Spangle" from the "Songs for the Broken Hearted" comp., etc...)and it still rules. "Seventeen", "Episode IV", "Call it in the Air", and "Anderson Mesa" standout as the best of the bunch on this fine cd. Do not hesitate to buy this one. Jimmy Eat World: Accept them before they take over the world!

This is my favorite Jimmy Eat World album. Not as "perfect" as Clarity, but that's one of its most attractive qualities. The vocals are harsher (and shared with Tom, who is a great singer), the songs less perfectly structured. But there is something about a band's first recordings, when the only thing fueling the music was passion.

Static Prevails rocks hard when it rocks, but at at the same time manages to put you in a dreamlike stupor. That is one of the best things about Jimmy Eat World. No matter how aggressive the song, they always have a warm quality. Listening to this band is like being wrapped in a big musical blanket.

Highlights of this album are Episode IV, World Is Static, Robot Factory, and the closer Anderson Mesa. This is probably my favorite album closer of all time, and is a song I could listen to on repeat for hours- subtle at the start and it builds up to an extremely powerful end.