Underneath

The Verve Pipe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00005OC6I
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,021 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Coming Back to Life.... (4 STARS), October 5, 2001

By 

JWKrappy New Year "jwk" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underneath (Audio CD)

With seeing the helpful, yet woefully brief reviews of this CD and this band, I will try to make this as comprehensive and clear as possible. So The Verve Pipe release yet another album. Distraught first by the band's last release and its failure to sell a fraction of "Villians," Brad Vander Ark walked and is currently recording with another band in New York. Big Brother Brian and the band decide to move on, without the help of a permanent bassist and with their backs to the wall. The mission? To increase their fading fan-base and to get them back on the radio and their music back into willing listeners' lives. Did they succeed? Obviously only time can tell the answers to questions like those. But how does the music stack up when compared to their past releases? The answer is less simple than it seems.

First, even before the release of "Underneath," Brian V. Ark admitted that "This will be the band's most commercial release," a natural turn-off for me personally. Yet, I still intended to give the album a try. After all, they ARE one of the most talented bands in the world currently. But inorder to gain the commercial success they were striving for, they forfitted the artsy aspect of their albums that made them in my mind, the forerunners of the fading alternative genre. Blood and guts honesty in the lyrics is painfully dampened, replaced with a more "personable" and acceptable message, mostly about love. The guitars are less cut, sometimes unnoticable altogether, with the pop tunes of Doug's keyboard shine through. Fortunately Vander Ark still has the voice, but only half of the songs on the album are by him, while a less artsy, and more pop driven drummer Donny Brown takes the helms.

Don't get me wrong; the band remains the same, and the talent and potential are still there, but not full-blown a la "Pop Smear" and "Villians." That said about the album as a whole, the songs individually are actually pretty good. Of course TVP ALWAYS puts the rest of the pop world to shame, but this much more achieved and focused on becoming (hopefully) the top of the pop-rock charts. Here's a review of each:

1. "Only Words" - 9/10; Ahhh, it's defenitely good to hear B. Vander Ark's guitar and his trademark album openers once again. This is one of the better tunes. 2. "Never Let You Down" - 8/10; An all-too-obvious pick by the band to be the first single from Underneath, filled with pop-hooks and a classic message of love. TVP is DEFINITELY trying to get back on the radio. But like I said, not a bad song, just not my Cup of Tea (get it?) 3. "I Want All of You" - 8/10; Probably more of a 9/10 song, but Donny's words just don't cause the magic that Vander Ark's do. Pretty darn good, anyway. 4. "Miles Away" - 10/10; Easily one of the best on the album and one of the best by the band overall. THIS is what I wanted to hear more of the first time around. Beauty of a song by B.V.A. 5. "Happiness Is" - 10/10; I guess pop's not ALL bad, eh? One of the best songs Donny's written. 6. "Medicate Myself" - 9/10; More classic Brian. I wish they had done more like this. Less commercial. 7. "Gotta Move On" - Another break-up song by TVP, but even Brian's lyrics seem to be struggling here. Less artsy than the band in past albums. 8. "Local Boys" - 7/10; Don't know why, but this one just doesn't do much for me. Worst on album, but still pretty good. 9. "Colorful" - 9/10; Congrats to Brian on his big screen debut. This song is also in "Rock Star" and it's a good pick to put in a big movie. 10. "Wonderful Waste" - 9/10; I guess Brian still has it in him to play the poet. Great song. 11. "Underneath" - 9/10; And finally, a good, quiet album closer. OVERALL - 8/10.

I wish best of luck to the band and the individuals within to find what they're looking for. OF course I would like to hear something more artistic in the future, and hopefully a lot heavier. Nothing does for me emotionally what a raging electric guitar with introspective lyrics do. Solid 4 Star effort. Nice to have you back, boys.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New admirer, April 20, 2003

By 

Eric Williams "socratease" (Richmond, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Underneath (Audio CD)

I found The Verve Pipe when tracking down some favorite songs from movies I'd recorded. Two songs (from "Rock Star" and "Joe Somebody") came from this one band, and I bought this CD as well as Villains and Pop Smear. I can understand the less than complimentary reviews some long-time fans have logged. Some of the pieces on Underneath are a bit over-produced, with too many acoustic gizmos. (Case in point: "Happiness Is".) But I think the more polished presentation also allows TVP's talent to come through on this CD clearer than the others, showcasing catchy and innovative themes, multiple layers, tight harmonic vocals, and lyrics that are worth listening to. (A rare thing these days.) I think this is a good CD for listeners to start with, there are several excellent cuts here I find myself listening to over and over.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have! Simply amazing, January 19, 2002

By 

Jonah (St. Charles, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underneath (Audio CD)

When I had first heard the song, "Never Let You Down," on the radio, the verve pipe was a new group to me, I had never heard the name. But that one song was so amazing with the catchy chorus and strong instrumentals, that I forced myself to buy th cd. I certainly don't regret the $17 purchase. Underneath by The Verve Pipe is perhaps the best Cd I have ever listened to. No two songs sound alike, and the style and harmonies are fanatastic. Bryan Vander Ark must have one of the greatest voices I have ever heard come out of a rock band, and I just can't get enough of it. I have now added Villains to my collection, which is a little harder style and equally amazing. I talk about the music with my friends all the time.
Underneath starts out with Only Words, a great first song with good lyrics and awesome harmonies. It then kicks into Never let you down, followed by the less lyrically involved yet still good, I want all of you. Miles Away is one of my favorites on the album, starting slow, but then rolling into a phenomenal chorus that Vander Ark delivers perfectly. The violins that find their way into the third chorus make it even better and more intricate. Happiness Is is one of my absolute favorite songs out there. It hooks you at the very beginning, with clever lyrics and awesome guitar solos. ("Have you ever felt so out of place that the smile on your face was to keep from crying?") Medicate Myself goes back to their older style a bit and sounds great when you turn it up. Gotta move On could be seen as slightly sappy by some, but its got a smooth style and souns real good. Then, you know you're gonna have a good song when it's called "Local Boys" and the words aren't even mentioned in the song. It just describes your typical local boys, with a good deal of great guitar solos. Colorful is in my eyes the best song on the album, starting slow, and getting louder with each verse as more instruments add on. By the time the finale comes along with the violins, guitars and the whole ansemble, it's enough to give you chill bumps no matter how many times you hear it. bryan vander Ark created a phenomenal syphony in that song. Wonderful Waste and Underneath are two good song with more instrumentals and clever lyrics.
I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this CD. It's hard to find a better one out there. The guys of The verve Pipe have come out with another Jewel. Spread the word, these guys are masters of their craft. With astounding lyrics in all of their work from every cd, fantastic instrumentals, and as great a voice as you can find anywhere, there's nothing but great music. A must have! This is one fo the most underrated CD's out there, spread the word, the Verve Pipe is back!