Whatever's Got You Down

Samiam | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hopeless Records
• ASIN: B000GYI04I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,343 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Born in 1988 from the legendary Gillman St. punk scene, this band pioneered the pop-punk/rock sound that so many great bands have drawn influence from. This is the long-awaited follow-up to 2000's "Astray" and with it you get a piece of punk's past, present, and future.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe you people, March 6, 2009

By 

the last unitard (chapel hill) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whatever's Got You Down (Audio CD)

This is not only a good Samiam album, it is a great Samiam album. In fact, as a longtime fan of the band I can say without hesitation that this is THE BEST Samiam album.

That's right. Better than Clumsy. Better than You Are Freaking Me Out. Better than Soar. Better than Billy. Better than Astray (another unfairly maligned album).

The production is stripped down. That's not the same as bad. It's what happens when you take off some of the gloss and studio magic. This is how it's supposed to sound. Jason's voice is older and rougher, but the harmonies are still beautiful. There's all kinds of great guitar sounds that have never been heard on a Samiam record.

The songs are coming from an older, wiser, sadder perspective. The angst and anger of the early days are replaced by wistfulness and regret. It's for grown-ups. Maybe that's the reason for the bad reviews.

All I know is that if you listen to "Do You Want to be Loved" and it doesn't make you feel something, you just haven't lived yet.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good album, but not very good production, October 4, 2006

By 

Sannah Zay "suncat23" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whatever's Got You Down (Audio CD)

Of all the Samiam albums, this one reminds me most of Soar. In fact, if this album came out after Soar I believe it would have been generally considered outstanding. However, the main reason it doesn't get five stars from me is because it does seem like such an enormous step backwards in production quality. In some ways it's nostalgic, and I half wonder if it was produced this way intentionally. This album could easily be confused to be an older album from the band from the Soar era.

Unfortunately, we've been able to hear Samiam albums from recent history that have fairly outstanding production quality... at least by comparison. The band really does shine when the sound is clean. It's a bit more difficult to discern certain musical subtleties that make Samiam's sound so attractive and distinct when the production quality drops to this level. It really is a shame since many of the songs on this album are very well written and catchy.

I'd say as far as song writing and general style goes, they do seem to be bringing back some of what the band used to incorporate into their music from the Soar era... which makes me think the "production thing" may have been intentional. However the songs are not a step backward, and some could have easily fit in on the most recent Astray album. I really have trouble getting past the production quality, in case you can't tell... but it might be tainting my opinion and judgement because it really is obvious the drop in quality compared to at least the last three albums.

There's no reason for any Samiam fan to throw a hissy fit and assign one measly star to this album, however. Leave the one-star ratings for bands like the Ataris. Regardless of the at-least-at-first-glaring production quality issue, the album is extremely solid and is another example of high quality songwriting and musicianship from an excellent band. I'm just happy to have more of it after such a long hiatus.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I hated to only give it 4 Stars, but......., March 22, 2007

By 

jdesk0911 (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whatever's Got You Down (Audio CD)

This is a great record. The music on here is good and the lyrics are good. I have only two complaints about this record and they are the reasons why this did not get 5 stars. The sound quality of the actual recording is weak. It sounds a lot like a demo or something. I am not very impressed with the recording. The vocals on the CD are great but I really would not know it is SAMIAM if I did not have disc to prove it. When you listen to Soar or Billy the vocals have a certain sound to them that make it SAMIAM. Don't get me wrong I love the vocals on this and I love the music. It is just a different tone and sound for them and it may take a little getting used to. I listened to Soar all morning before recieving this CD in the mail and my first impression was "This music is awesome, but it doesn't sound like SAMIAM really." The stand out tracks on here for me are WHEN WE'RE TOGETHER, DO YOU WANT TO BE LOVED, COME HOME, and ARE YOU ALRIGHT. Great Cd, great songs, bad recording. That about sums it up. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who is a longtime SAMIAM listener or someone who has never heard them at all. It is great that they are back. I hope they play in my town soon.