Them VS. You VS. Me

Finger Eleven | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 6, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wind-Up Records
• ASIN: B000MV8CZW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,344 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.ca

Finger Eleven's career shifted suddenly and significantly when their 2003 emo-hit "One Thing" turned the band's career on its axis. At that point, they went from being known as 'the boys from Burlington who used to call themselves the Rainbow Butt Monkeys' to a group whose anthemic slow rock song went Platinum in Canada and Gold in America. So how does a band respond after its widespread fame is the result of just one song? In the case of Them Vs. You Vs. Me, Finger Eleven have consciously stayed away from anything remotely resembling their past and put the focus on the straight-ahead alt-rock formula that they've consistently excelled at. There are certain old-school rock influences that bleed clearly through their music, from Rush-isms in the form of frenetic time changes ("Sense of a Spark") to "Talking to the Walls" and "Lost My Way" which evoke Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. Frontman Scott Anderson's voice is impressive throughout, but when he sings ballads, especially "Window Song" and "Easy Life," something enables him to appeal to a whole different audience than traditional alt-rock fans. There is no 'one thing' on this disc that will allow them to reach the heights of their self-titled CD, just a consistency that will provide longtime fans reason to appreciate the band even more. --Denise Sheppard

Product Description

The members of Finger Eleven collectively wrote / recorded over one hundred songs during the process of creating Them vs. You vs. Me.. The influences are of varying styles from rock to country to dance to funk to old 60's songs. Many of them were written by exchanging files over the Internet wherein one person would track a home recording, send it off, and then some one else would build on it and send it on down the line. Many of the sounds on the record were recorded during the demo process in locations as diverse as a castle, a lodge in Northern Canada and their homes. Beyond the obvious guitars and drums one would expect to hear on a Finger Eleven album, Them vs. You vs. Me features assorted keyboards, xylophones, a lap steel, violin, banjo, and other assorted instruments added in to the mix. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The 4th album, March 6, 2007

By 

M. Randall "Deadpool" (Allen Park, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Them VS. You VS. Me (Audio CD)

As much as I wanted to love this CD, I couldn't. I guess I need to come to terms on the fact that Finger Eleven will never make another album like their 2000 release, The Greyest of Blue Skies. In 2003 I ran to the store on the release date of their self titled album only to be disappointment in their change of sound. To be fair though, that CD has grown on me quite a bit over the years... but still it's not what I wanted. Enter Them Vs. You Vs. Me. An album that resembles very little to any of Finger Eleven's past work... This is a good or bad thing depending on the listener. The album starts off strong.. Paralyzer and Falling On, as trendy as they are, are very memorable. Then the album just turns into generic alternative rock. Track after track of radio friendly songs and more acoustic tracks thrown in. The ending track (F11 usually has a very meaningful last track on their albums) almost sounds like a joke. Finger Eleven continue to evolve.. but just what are they evolving into..? This CD wasn't worth the near 4 year wait in my opinion. Finger Eleven can do much better.. and will again, i hope

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A great departure, March 6, 2007

By 

M. W. Gordon - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Them VS. You VS. Me (Audio CD)

I rarely take the time to write a review for an item, but I was so surprised when I heard this cd I felt compelled to write a warning. As another reviewer notes, this album is nothing like their previous work. You can call it "reinvention" or "selling out" or pressure from their label: it's all the same. This cd is chock full of ridiculous poppy backbeats and obvious, trite lyrics. If this cd tried any harder to gain mass appeal, they would have had to change the title to "Radio Friendly."

For all the effort made to boilerplate this album, there isn't a single song I genuinely liked. There are a few places where it seems like the old Finger Eleven is going to come out and temper the new, top40 Finger Eleven, but it never quite makes it. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad...Not too good, March 7, 2007

By 

Jason J. Niec "fortheocean" (Glen Burnie, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Them VS. You VS. Me (Audio CD)

Ok, lets get this out of the way real quick: Them vs. You vs. Me is NOT Tip, nor is it Greyest of Blue Skies, nor is it Finger Eleven: Self Titled...it is Them vs. You vs. Me. At first listen I, like many other people, started wondering after about 5 tracks if this was actually Finger Eleven. This record is not bad, it's different, and depending how you look at it, being different can be good or it can be bad. Finger Eleven will lose fans with this record, however let me be the first to point out one thing: Each F11 cd sounds different. No one can ever say F11 released "4 albums that all sounded the same", which you could say with alot of bands, perhaps those with an established sound. So with that said, I would be hard pressed to find many people that like the sound of all the records, however you have to give it to a band that it willing to use new sounds and expand their horizons.

I don't think this record is "radio friendly", and I think the lyrics are still meaningful and thoughtful, as they have always been with F11. If this record was "radio friendly" then all the songs would sound like "one thing", which was their mainstream radio hit. I would say the closest to "one thing" is "i'll keep your memory vague" which is a good ballad if i must say.

I'm still listening to this cd and allowing it to grow on me, and I think it will. My advice to anyone who has not heard F11 before "one thing" or "paralyzer" is to pick up Greyest of Blue Skies, and to not expect this record to sound entirely like "paralyzer". To those who have heard F11 before, judge this record as a new entity..NOT in comparison to their previous work.