Customer Reviews

Verve Pipe

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The self titled, The Verve Pipe, is a study in the redefinition of a band. Where Villains had a consistent, if somewhat overproduced sound, The Verve Pipe, does not. Each song varies in styling, tempo, and poetic appeal, yet all share a central theme of lessons learned the hard way. Nowhere is this more evident than in F-word,an examination of post Freshmen self doubt and the difficulty in moving on. Vander Ark's description of moshing ("assault disguised as dancing") and the metaphor that follows ("so part the wave and drop the dead as driftwood surfer") make for powerful imagery. In a similar but more upbeat way, Hero is a self deprecating look at reconciling who we are with who we think we are. The hard-driving Supergig is an expose of fear and the fences thrown up to keep it at bay. "We used to care, we don't anymore," and the repetitive "there's not a missing link" are said defensively, not as statements of fact.

And what of love and relationships? In Headlines they're strictly physical but the narrator is taken to task for being superficial. In the end he realizes "my all was just medium." Television explores the sadistic way we wallow in pity when we know we should move past the pain. "Turn it up, turn it down, tune me in, tune me out" clearly shows the quandary. But sometimes relationships are sheer perfection, as seen in the beautifully poetic Kiss Me Idle. With angelic vocals and a dreamlike melody, Vander Ark sings ,"so close your eyes and catch your breath and i will wait right here." He describes a love so perfect, even a casual listener would be impressed.

The band has described The Verve Pipe as the "record of our lives." With candor, emotion and incredible songwriting, the band has shared with us their growth not only as musicians but as people. In She Loves Everybody Donny wrote, "flashing lights, the music's loud, I'm questioning if this is destiny." Without question, this eclectic mix of songs is certainly that and more.

What: the follow up to the Verve Pipe's excellent Villains album.

Style: The same grungy-but-harmonious guitars and kicking drums, but with a new element of buzzy keyboards and drum machines.

Pros: flows well. Most of the songs segue together, giving the album a feel of being an integrated whole, as opposed to merely a loose collection of songs. The keyboards add another dimension of the sound to the mix (they were present in Villains, for example the organ in "Photograph" and the piano in "Cattle", but were always very peripheral to the guitars).

Cons: less variance than Villains. Most of the songs are love songs of some form or another, usually very upbeat (with the notable exception of "Generations" and "The F Word").

Bottom line: Verve Pipe fans would probably enjoy this CD, even if it isn't the 90s' Dark Side of the Moon. People who just liked "The Freshmen", though, probably won't give this one much time in the CD tray.

The Verve Pipe has released its' best album to date! Every song on this album is amazing. There is not a mediocre song on the album and I found it hard not to sing along with every song. The new self-titled CD has been the only thing I've listened to for the past week and I don't intend to stop anytime soon. The Verve Pipe has found a way to effectively mix slow songs, such as 'Kiss Me Idle' and 'Half a Mind' with rockin' songs such as 'Hero' and 'Generations.' 'Television' is awesome and anyone hearing the chorus would be unable to resist screaming it aloud with Brian Vanderark. Pick this album up! It will definitely be one of the best albums of all time for me.

I bought this CD on it's release date-years ago. It was a disappointment to me. However, with a few more plays it won my heart. Yet again, another CD you might want to listen to a few times before you judge it. It isn't something you can always appreciate right away. I personally have found special places for many of the songs on this album.

Please note that this is NOT "THE VERVE"! Reviews relating to Urban Hymns should be disregarded.

If you are a fan of the Verve Pipe or a fan of good music this is a must have. This CD didn't get the radio play of "Villians" because it lacks a "Freshman" type hit, but overal the album is by far better than "Villians" or "Underneath". Twenty years from now when Alternative music is considered old this will be the album that the Verve Pipe is remembered for.

It's a smahe that this Cd didn't live up to Villains in the sales department. Although it is a slightly different sound, it is an amazing CD. This self entitled Cd is really a book put to music, telling the stories of The Verve Pipe and of life. I absolutely loved this CD. It starts off with the amazing supergig which is one of my favorite songs out there, and it leads right into She Loves Everyone, another gem where Vander Ark gets to show listeners his amazing vocal abilities. The only reason I gave this CD 4 stars was because the two ballads Kiss Me Idle and Half a Mind failed to do anything for me. I enjoyed She has faces, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt love the other two. the lyrics and stories are still great, but i guess the music could be a little better. However, the rest of the Cd is fantastic. Hero and Television are really good, and the catchy chorus of Inbetween is good too. Headlines and The F word are both great as well, and only get better with each listening. Generations is a higlight for me, with a great story of teen angst and the want to be independant, wishing to escape the empty threats of parents. The chorus is amazing and the entire song is just great. Words can't describe it. La La finishes pretty strong, and then you get toreturn to Supergig and the rest. With a mere two exceptions, I thought this CD was fantastic. For those who didn't like it, try listening to the stories behind the music. The real Verve Pipe fans will enjoy this. I feel they pulled off another masterpiece in this CD. Its the thrid one I have bought, and I can't wait to hear the rest. They are the real deal, phenomenal!

Its interesting to see how VP followed up their breakthrough album "Villians". The music is very good, if not quite as MTV-friendly as the slam-bang hits of their previous album. The musical integrity is better - at the expense of the big poppy hooks that are all over "Villians". All the comments by the previous reviewers are pretty much on the money. Brian VandeArk's vocals sound very Peter Gabriel-like at times too. Perhaps it will be VP's eschewing of the quick and easy path to the dark side of simply churning out pop hits for The Man that will keep them respected as something special, and from becoming the next Goo Goo Dolls. The lyrics are awesome. Brian V is becoming one heckofa lyricist. Caught a great VP show last month at Boston's Paradise. No more than 300 people there. Front row could be had by anyone. What a lucky break. The new tunes rock!! Catch them 8/26, same place same time!

I have to say that The Verve Pipe's "Villains" is one of my all-time favorite CDs. Their sophomore, major label follow up is not for those teeny-boppers who fell in love with the remix of "the freshmen." The kind of listener who will enjoy their self-titled 1999 release will be a Verve Pipe fan, not someone who only bought the album because they like "hero" or "the freshmen." If you're looking for a repeat of "Villains," you won't find it here. What the band has done is tried new things with their music and expanded their horizons with creative new musical attributes. I've listened to this new albums several times through already and every time I listen to it, it grows on me a little more. But that's because I'm a Verve Pipe fan.

Brian Vander Ark says it best..."I'm changing my direction"...because that is exactly what the Verve Pipe does on this album. It's a little harder, edgy and electronically inclined. But the fact is that, if you like this band, this is an absolute must have. The record is amazing. Brian Vander Ark has come a long way with lyrics (as well as wonderful writing by Donny Brown and AJ Dunning) and, although he did a great job on Villains, this album's stories are worded so well. Vander Ark does exactly what he set out to do which he describes oh the Verve Pipe's webpage...he says more with fewer words. The majority of the songs tend to be pretty melancholy, often about bad relationships, but it doesn't matter because the lyrics are that good. What is even more amazing is the music that empowers the lyrics. With a span of style of songs (Beatle-esque rock ballads, industrial sounding power rock, etc.) their own sound has evolved into something you can't describe, you just have to hear. The first song that struck me was their first song Hero mostly because of the amazing harmonies that I have come to love and associate with this band (ever since I heard 'What You Wanted' off of Pop Smear). It has a very distinctive sound to it that pushes categorizing music to a new level. The song following directly after 'Television' starts out with a My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult (industrial) feel and, again, breaks the barriers of category. All of the songs are layered so well putting voices in the front, then layering the mid-ground with instruments and finally pushing secondary vocals in the background. For the most part the album is layered this well throughout. It is this kind of dynamic style combined with wonderful arrangements and lyrics that have led me to put this band in the top ten of favorite bands. So as I said before, if you like this band, this is a must have album.

I asked for this CD for Christmas hesitantly. I just threw it on the list because I had the Verve Pipe's "Villians" album, and thought it was decent.

After listening to the Verve Pipe's self-titled album, I can't say enough about this album, except everyone has to experience it. Christmas was what, 6 weeks ago, and it has not left my CD player. I drive down the road bellowing the lyrics to such great songs as "the F Word", "She Has Faces", "La La", and "Hero".

The lyrics are clever, guitar riffs are brilliant, drums are explosive, and the melodies are mind-grabbing. I truly love this album. This is definately the Album of the Year for 1999. The Verve Pipe deserve more recognition than they have received for their work on this album. It's truly a masterpiece.