Customer Reviews

World of Noise

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ive bought all of Everclear's albums, from this one to the latest "Slow Motion Daydream", even though i dont know why as i havent really enjoyed any of their albums since "So Much for the Afterglow". Whilst they have some high points they havent been able to achieve a complete album in their last 3 attempts.

This little recording however is a gem. If you like "Sparkle and Fade" im sure you will enjoy this album as it is in much the same vein as "Sparkle". The cover art and cd packaging is poor, the guitar distortion, crakle and squeal is shocking and the overall quality of the recording is terrible, however it contains 12 songs that are irresistable in there rawness and passion. Definate highlight for me is "Fire Maple Song", which is based around remembering a close friend in death. It begins as a slow ballard, revolving around the vision of summer time 20 years ago, listening to grandma sing country songs and watching autumn start. The lyrics and rambling guitar line give the feeling of freedom of youth that i think we can all rememeber happening at some stage during our past. The song then builds into a firey crescendo of screeching guitars and a wall of sound whilst the listen hears the pain and anguish of learning of an old friends death and the longing to relieve past memories, with Art screaming "Im gonna go back to the old house in North Carolina and lay in the backyard, get drunk, and let the leaves just bury me". This is definately one of my favourite Everclear songs.

Another highlight is "Loser Makes Good". Once again a ballard esque begining which builds and builds, and carrys a strong theme of never giving in.

As for the other songs they are all worth a listen, the opening two songs "Your Genius Hands" and "Sick & Tired" are pure rock songs, with other highlights being "Nervous and Weird", the fast paced punkness of "Invisible" and the closer "Evergleam".

Whilst he poor recording quality is a bit of an issue it doesnt detract too much from the overall album. Personally i think the band sounds much better hear, as compared with some recent albums that are so heavily produced that they lose any charm and are turned into sickly sweet pop rock songs, with the band "trying" to sound heavy and emotional in a pristine over produced recording arena.

This album is a neccesity for fans of "Sparkle and Fade" and the harder parts of "So Much for the Afterglow" but i would send a stong warning to anyone else thinking about purchasing it, be careful, its raw, full of emotion, feedback, swirling guitar, scratchy recording, crashing symbols, and is Everclear at their heaviest, and arguably their best......youve been warned.

Powerful music, intelligent lyrics. What more does one want or need? This is a great album.

this is probably Everclear's best album in the music itself, but worst in terms of recording quality. the first half of this album is by far the best, and the best song by far(in my opinion) is "your genius hands". if you like "sparkle and fade" chances are good you'll like this one. if you DONT like "sparkle and fade", this would be a waste of your money. i personally like all of Everclear's work, but this is my favorite, and then they decline as they go. but i still love it all(exept maybe "slow motion daydream" which i mearly "like").

This is not the everclear most people are used to hearing. It's not the trademark pop punk sweet beat sound that made everclear popular. This is the rawest everclear was in their 10 year tenure. At first, I wasn't too thrilled w/ this album. I thought it was junk. But I forced myself to listen to it over and over and over again, and eventually loved it.

The most noteworthy song is the only single in "Fire Maple Song." They still play this at a lot of their concerts I think. It's a very powerful song, but yet, isn't a slap you in the face knock out rock song. It's the longest song on the album, but worth every minute.

Other great songs include personal favorites in "Sparkle", "The Laughing World", and "Loser Makes Good". Each I think are very different in styles. "Sparkle" is in a category by itself. The vocals are a little scratchy and the guitars are a little off key, but that's what makes it good. It's almost like everclear can make any thing sound good. "The Laughing World" is an uptempo 2 min roller coaster which is pretty much the theme of the whole album. Although this is the best song in that genre. It provides a simple message, "...laughing world will never forger, when you jam, then I jet!" very catchy. "Loser Makes Good" is the most story oriented song, where art pretty much just says to everyone that, "hey, i was a loser, and made it, so anyone can." It can relate to a lot of people.

Pretty much the rest of the songs sound the same. That's not really a bad thing, b/c they are still good. But that's just me. If you are an everclear who liked "Sparkle and Fade" and like the more rock side of Everclear, I highly reccomend this album. If you are into the usual everclear sound, then maybe you can just put this album off, b/c you may think it's junk, then again you may not, like me.

Everclear breaks the music scene with the raw, uncensored sound of their debut album, World of Noise. Their dirty, hard-hitting guitar riffs, and unrefined vocals enable you to feel the emotion of the music throughout all 12 tracks. The intensely heated lyrics and passionate vocals, such as those of the tracks "Sparkle" and "Nervous and Weird", made me want to bang my head like an early 90's grunge concert. Lead singer Art Alexakis writes on everything from the death of friends to Pennsylvania. Tracks like "Evergleam" and "Loser Makes Good" show his raw determination, while others such as "Fire Maple Song" and "Malevolent" show a softer, almost broken side. While the obviously present angst maybe seem monotonous to some, you will find no cliché lyrics or worn riffs on this CD. Art Alexakis truly bears it all on this debut, exposing himself to the world, and making the album a genuine expression of his truly human soul. It is no secret that he has led a tough life, and this CD makes it even less of one. Starting with the almost sarcastic tone of the track "Your Genius Hands," Everclear immediately let's you know just how tough they can be. They continue with the plainly stated "Sick and Tired", and astound me with my personal favorite, "The Laughing World".
Yet, overall, the true highlight of this CD is the ease of which Alexakis conveys his emotions. With such intense lyrics it's nearly impossible to ignore the sometimes angry and certainly unapologetic attitude that he brings into his music. And if you enjoy this CD you will certainly enjoy its successor, Sparkle and Fade.
A written review is simply inadequate to describe the impact of this CD. You can never truly appreciate the blatant emotions and dirty riffs until you listen to it for yourself. Everclear certainly is living in a World of Noise, and this CD is your ride there.

This is the best cd that I own. I have also purchased all of Everclears other cds, and have enjoyed them all but this one stood out. The lyrics are wonderful and as another reviewer said the sound is very raw and un-refined. Some people may not like that sound but I really enjoyed it. I liked probably 8 out of the 12 (I think theres 12) songs which is alot for me. But to listeners that liked Everclears newer cds may not like this because it is pretty different from their latest stuff.

Easily Everclear's best work, surely their most emotional, this will appeal to fans of punk and grunge, but may turn off fans of "Santa Monica" or "I Will Buy You A New Life," and most certainly will not be appreciated by fans of "Learning How to Smile." Everclear got right on the first try what took Nirvana 4 albums to figure out--the perfect blend of introspective lyrics and all out rage, with an excellent ballad-building-to-rocker ("Fire Maple Song.") Fans of Colorfinger (Art's last pre-Everclear group) will enjoy the CF song "Invisible" (the highlight of the album in my opinion), but I wish the had included "Kill Jerry Garcia," just because it's an awesome song too. Other great songs like "Your Genius Hands" and "The Laughing World" are like a good old sonic kick in the head. THIS is Everclear. "Learning How to Smile" is not Everclear. This is loud, fast and angry, and everyone should own it.

This album is highly underrated. It doesn't have any radio hits like "I Will Buy You a New Life", or "Santa Monica", but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some great tracks. The highlight of the album has to be "Fire Maple Song"; it's more powerful then anything Everclear ever released. You also have "Pennsylvania Is...", "Nervous and Weird", "Malevolent", "Sparkle", and last, but deffinetly not least, "Loser Makes Good". For an Everclear fan, or someone just looking for more material, this album is a must. For someone new to Everclear, I wouldn't say don't buy this album, but I'm sure you'd fall more in love with Sparkle and Fade(I love this album as well).

As for why it sounds like it was made in a basement, well, it was. It was recorded in 1993 for only $400(it was Everclear's first album, and was never meant to be a major release). It doesn't sound bad at all however. When Capitol Records signed them on, they agreed to re-release the album, and remaster it. Sound quality really isn't any issue with the album.

This is the first and best of Everclear. It's not the best production job for sure but only hacks like overproduced pop. If you listen to all of Everclear's albums chronologically, you will hear a story of "white trash-junkie makes good". If you only like their happy go lucky stuff, then you won't like this CD but if your into the raw uncencored emotional train wreck that is Art Alexis, this is the CD for you.

This is the 3rd occasion I have purchased this album. It continually disappears on me. What's most important to note is that while this is Everclear's first and most aggressive contribution, the music is representative of the albums that follow it. The spirit is the same -- full of Art's howling and a feminist perspective. You immediately get the sense that while these fellows love to make a beautiful noise, they genuinely respect the women in their lives and would prefer you do the same.