Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best albums of the 1990s, June 24, 2000
I had the opportunity to see Toad the Wet Sprocket live in 1988 in a small club right here in Ithaca, but I'd never heard their music (much less heard of them), so I passed it up. When the single "All I Want" hit the airwaves a few years later, I managed to get a hold of a friend's copy of the album, and I immediately regretted my lack of foresight those years earlier.This is one of maybe a dozen albums in my collection of nearly a thousand that I consider "perfect" in the sense that there are no clunker tracks, no filler. Every song is powerful, every song connects emotionally and musically. Although the disc is in my car CD changer's regular "rotation" for roadtrips, I actually listen to it perhaps *less* often than some others, because it's so powerful that I don't want to overdo it. In an age when bands were just trying to get their videos on MTV and ride the next wave of mainstream alternative, Toad's sincerity oozed from every track. If you doubt it, try to imagine an all-male band singing an empathetic, apologetic anti-rape song... and pulling it off ("Hold Her Down"). No fan of rock music will regret owning this CD. It's Toad at their creative peak.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Running the Gamut of Human Emotion, December 15, 1999
I think Fear is probably the most complex of Toad's albums, and with the most variety of moods. If Toad is indeed the thinking man's band, then this album is a quintessential piece of work. You've got beauty in songs like Walk on the Ocean, a rather paradoxical simplistic diversity in "Butterflies"--a unique and unusual musical setup coupled with the contrastingly uncomplex central concept of the song--childish wonder in "Is it For Me", raw anger in "Hold Her Down", human yearning in "All I want", wit in "Something to Say", wistful appreciation in "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted"...Glen Phillips' lyrics are characteristically haunting, and musically speaking, the depth of the band is incredible. If you're a Toadfan, I'm surprised you don't have this, but if you're just getting into them or even have no idea who they are, buy it. I guarantee you will be completely blown away....
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superb collection of music, September 19, 1998
By A Customer
This album (and all of Toad's) are even more important in my CD collection since Toad's breakup. This CD finally saw Toad come into their own as a talented modern rock band.All of these songs are good, with only "In My Ear" being a slight disappointment. On most other albums, it would be good, but compared to the others, it has its shortcomings. The album opens with the single "Walk on the Ocean," an uplifting if reserved look at moving on in life. "Nightingale Song" is unassuming and unambitious, but nonetheless is one of the best songs here. "Pray Your Gods" is one of the most inherently gorgeous rock songs ever, with the haunting female vocal at the end as a perfect resolution. "I Will Not Take These Things for Granted" is a triumph of lyricism, with numerous images of separation and tranquility describing the feeling of being away from someone you care deeply about. "Stories I Tell" has a great bass line throughout, which heightens the alienation expressed in the lyrics. "All I Want" is a superb work of songcraft, from the opening drum line, to the great guitar work, and superb vocals and lyrics throughout. The best facet of the album, especially compared to earlier ones, is the introduction of an edgier sound, though maintaining the band's great sense of melody. "Hold Her Down" is a great example, with its driving guitar and bass and angry lyrics. The band changes tempo in the song, too, which produces a great effect. Perhaps the most striking song, though, is "Butterflies," with its use of spoken word, hard-driven drums, chantlike verses, and then dissolving into gorgeous three-part counterpoint harmony in the refrains. The complexity of the songs adds much to this CD. I would recommend it to anyone.
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