Customer Reviews

Whatever's Got You Down

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I will have to echo the other reviews here. This album isn't so bad,but the sound mix is awful. Jason's voice sounds shot to H E L L ! It's sad that a good effort by a band that should have been huge is done in by a bad sound mix! For die hard fans only. If you are just learning about Samiam try 'Billy' or 'Soar'. This one just breaks your heart!

I won't bore you with a long explanation about why i was so disapointed by this album. I was a huge fan, this was a huge disapointment. the engineering and production of the album is terrible, the song writing is extremely dated (as is the cover of the album), and i wish that I had listened to this album before i thought about buying it because i'd be $20 richer and all the wiser.
but give it a listen and see for yourself.

It really is a fantastic album, song wise, but what is up with the sound? It's tragic that an album as good as this one should succumb to something like poor sound. It's not even an issue of lacking polish...it's all mids, sort of like an MP3 ripped at 32kbps. The drums are so muddy sounding that at times they sound like they're being played in a room far away from the rest of the music. It does vary slightly from song to song, but overall, it's not good. I have to agree with the other reviewer who stated that Samiam are best with a nice clean sound. Listen to Clumsy, then put this in.

What a shame that one has to go and f**k up a Samiam review by ranting about sound. But the upside is that the record is, indeed, another great slice of Samiam.

Here's to band reformations, and hi-fi.

I am a HUGE Samiam fan. Last of all my friends to pay any attention to this band in years. Thought Astray was just so-so, with a few great songs and a lot of filler. Had a feeling that that was going to be their final record, and that it would probably be a smart move to quit while ahead. This new record is horrible. Recording is rough too. Jason's voice is long gone. Save yourself the money and buy any older record. They are all amazing.