Everything You Want

Vertical Horizon

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 15, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000J6BR
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (408 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,025 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If R.E.M. hadn't already blazed the trail years ago, Vertical Horizon's Everything You Want would be a seminal album, with its earnest harmonies, fluid melodies, and jangly guitars. And while Vertical Horizon may not have taken many forks off the road to Athens, they have whipped up an excellent pop-rock meld out of the purloined elements. Beginning with the ardent and anthemic "We Are," the pop band who began life on Georgetown's central campus nearly a decade before this major-label debut was released unleashes a personal diary of loss, love, and angst. The band, led by school chums Matthew Scannell and Keith Kane, find they just can't leave their pedagogical leanings behind. Only this time their investigations are into the mysteries of the human heart rather than Zeno's famous paradoxes. But the real paradox here is how a band so derivative can have made such a credible album. This time familiarity doesn't breed contempt. "You're a God," an edgy lament about putting someone on a pedestal, could have been lifted right out of the Alanis songbook, but it still manages to shimmer on its own merit, as do most of the 11 songs. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miscalculation, January 4, 2000

By	Kevin Fudge - See all my reviews

OK. I admit it. When I first heard the new VH album, I was EXTREMELY disappointed. The band that hooked me with Call It Even and Lines Upon Your Face threw me for a spin when I listened to Everything You Want in the new music display-thingamabob (what are they called, anyway?)at the local Wherehouse music store. I talked my compatriot who first turned me on to VH and she expressed similar sentiments. Nice try, but not very good. Four months later, driving around in Boston I hear this song on Kiss108 FM, and it stays in my head for a couple of days. I heard it two more times on the same station, and left Beantown determined to buy the CD by this phantom group with the catchy song. At first I thought it was Jars of Clay, because the lines 'he's everything you want, he's everything you need, he's everything inside of you that you wish you could be' - made me think 'he' was of divine origin. Maybe it had to do with the spirituality of the holiday season, I don't know. But I digress. After endless searching for a song called 'Don't Know Why', I discovered that the song was actually called 'Everything You Want', and then I remembered listening to it in the Wherehouse 4 months earlier! (Long story of how I discovered my new favorite song was by VH, but it's a good one...) So off I rushed to the Wherehouse and sure enough, Vertical Horizon was still in the display thing. After confirming EYW was indeed the song I heard in Boston, I bought the CD and put Track 3 on repeat for an hour. Damn I love that song, and I can't believe I didn't like it when it first came out. I attribute my initial dislike to the album's diversion from what made me like the group in the first place. As I said at the beginning of my review, I really dug Call It Even and Lines Upon Your Face. 9 times out of 10, a group I dig will go in a new direction and lose me. Witness Jackopierce, Indigo Girls, and Jars Of Clay. Vertical Horizon is the exception to the rule. I scoffed at the comments by Keith or Matt (can't remember who, specifically) on the index card behind their CD in the Wherehouse display. The band was explaining their new sound by saying something like: "...there comes a time when you've said all you can say with an acoustic guitar. Sometimes you need to turn up the volume and just rock." Apologies to the band if I screwed that up, but that was the gist of what they said. "What pompous punks!" I thought to myself, and I left the store unhappy with their new CD. Well here I am, 4 months later, admitting I was wrong. DEAD wrong. This is one the best CD's I have heard in a long time. Everything You Want, You Say, You're A God and Miracle are absolutely incredible. If you look at this disc for what it is rather than as a sell-out by a group that used to be folksy, you will like this record. Sometimes you just want to sing along to a record, or blast your favorite song. As much as I like Call It Even, Sunrays and Saturdays, and Lines Upon Your Face, you just can't blast them. Nor can you sing along with them at the top of your lungs. But once again, I digress. In summary, this is the best overall album of 1999. You can listen to it from Track 1 to 11 and you will be thoroughly satisfied. The lyrics are still tight and the harmonies remain. VH deserves to blow up big time with this outstanding effort.

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the year., April 7, 2000

By A Customer

If you enjoyed Robbie Williams THE EGO HAS LANDED album, then you'll love this cd. Sandwiched between the not so good opening and closing tunes are 9 radio friendly, truly memorable, catchy, well-crafted alterna-pop songs. The lyrics are fun and intelligent and you can sing along after one listen... much like you do while hearing EVERYTHING YOU WANT single on the radio. Stand-out tracks are YOU'RE A GOD and FINDING ME. I've managed to turn 20 people on to this album and they tell me it has not left their player for months. At a time when full albums by Filter or Foo Fighters may let pop music fans down because they're a bit too hard (much harder than their radio singles) the VH album is for those who like their rock stars to sing their melodies with a driving, not overwhelming, track. Simply, they rock! And I predict a HUGE future.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Everything You Want, January 26, 2000

By	Kurt K. (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Vertical Horizon has the most appropriately titled album of 1999. Fortunately, for this band, EVERYTHING YOU WANT is also an outstanding musical performance. Vertical Horizon combines the masterful lyrics of lead singer Matt Scannell with the talented musicianship of Keith Kane, Ed Toth, and Sean Hurley. Everyone knows about the hit single, "Everything You Want", but the most beautiful song ( lyrically ) is, "Best I Ever Had ( Grey Sky Morning ). From the first note, the song grabs you and leaves you breathless, but begging for more. "Finding Me" makes you want to jump up and dance as the beat is addictive. Don't overlook the haunting final song: "Shackled". It sounds different than the rest of the album because it is written and sung by Kane. His voice is as exceptional as his song-writing talent.

If you like this album, go back and pick up their idependent releases; especially, RUNNING ON ICE, and LIVE STAGES. Vertical Horizon is one of the most crowd-pleasing bands on the road right now. There isn't one song that their loyal fans don't sing along to. It's great to see these hard working guys begin to have some success. You can be sure it won't change them one bit!