Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ONE HECK OF A CD!, February 13, 2001
This is probably the best post-grunge era CD to come out in 2000. Easily. This one does not disappoint! Fuel is a great band known for their hard-rocking tunes like "Shimmer", but I think their strong point is their semi-ballads. "Hemmorhage" is a great song, but top 40 radio will soon overplay it and kill the goodness of the song. Another good song is "Bad Day", a Matchbox-20-like ballad. This song is destined to be a number 1 hit. Heartfelt, catchy, and stunning, this is one great song.My other favorite tracks are number 7 and 8, "Prove" and "Down". Prove is a great song similar to the other songs on the album. "Down" is an awesome rocking song with a great guitar hook. It pumps me up when have to swim a race. Its a great song. Fuel reminds me of a post- Alice and Chains. Only better. If you are looking for an alternative to Creed, or a harder-edged Matchbox 20, look no further. This is a very solid cd, a cd that proves they are no one hit wonder. This group will be HUGE by the end of 2001, as radio begins to pick up "Hemmorhage," and Alternative stations picking up "Innocent", a great song with another great guitar hook. BUY THIS ALBUM. YOU NEED IT.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's serviceable, September 19, 2000
On their sophomore effort, at least as far as major releases go, Fuel doesn't really seem to change much from what made their debut album a hit. They continue to straddle the line between today's increasingly popular heavier bands and the alternative rock of the 90's that seems to be harder and harder to find in a quality form these days. Nevertheless, "Something Like Human" is still serviceable. It has its share of easily accessible songs with single-word titles like the single "Hemorrhage", as well as "Solace", "Bad Day" and "Slow". Meanwhile, they still manage to squeeze in their darker, heavier songs that aren't so radio friendly, like "Down" amidst the rest of their riff-filled tracks that all seem to blend in together. What makes this band better than a lot of the new acts coming out these days is that despite the depressing nature of the music as a whole, they still manage to fit in some, (I stress the word "some"), hooks and melodies, and they rarely resort to the primal, distorted screaming that many other bands find so charming. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't include at least one or two tracks with a more upbeat tempo. I saw them in concert, and they proved that they could pull off songs like "Nothing" from their Porcelain album that were catchy, but still heavy enough to retain their masculinity. Oh well, dark, downtrodden and heavy seems to be the way to get the money if you don't have a sugary voice, good looks, and someone else to write your songs.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All the finer things . . ., August 13, 2004
*IMPORTANT*:: This is a long, tedious, and infinitely awesome review. If you are worthless, skip it.
The Incredible and Awe-Inspiring Legacy of the FUEL of Life, Vol. 2: "Something Like Human".
When it comes to these albums by FUEL, I feel a useless, but strong desire to explain my feelings about each and every track, especially because the songs on this particular album are all very important to me... though it would be next to impossible for me to explain why. Here are my wonderful and totally relevant thoughts on SLH:
1 - `Last Time' - A faint whiff of feedback is revealed before FUEL blasts off on a simplistic but powerful intro, which drops off quickly into Brett Scallion's angry first verse. It's as you listen to this point of the song that you begin to realize how much more mature the band sounds musically compared to "Sunburn". The lyrics don't rely on any rhyming scheme, they just flow together perfectly to fit the song's format. The chorus yells "this is the last time, this is the last time I'll bleed for you!" as the guitars boom along magnificently. The solo's wailing guitars are excellent and lay the foundation for FUEL's sound on this album, resulting in one of the most riveting tracks of FUEL's career. 5/5
2 - `Hemorrhage (in my hands)' - HEMORRHAGE RULES. Strong opening chords start off the song, and are followed closely by fast finger-picking from Carl Bell on the guitar, and some agonizingly beautiful singing of Brett. The lyrics are wonderfully thoughtful and emotional, especially during the second verse: "She cries, her life is like / some movie black and white / dead actors faking lines / over and over and over again she cries..." You can frikin FEEL the desperation writhing within the gorgeous melody, magnifying the beauty of this song and lifting it to an incredible emotional height. It's this track, more than any other, that signifies FUEL's maturation and growth musically and artistically. Forever my favorite FUEL song, and an emotional masterpiece. 6/5
3 - `Empty Spaces' - This is one of the louder and more rhythmic songs on the album. The fast and throttling main riff, like `Jesus or a Gun', makes you feel like you're moving at a million miles an hour... until you make it to the verses, where it chuggs quickly along to make way for the track's raw and steady vocals, deftly capturing the song's brilliant mood. There's more whining guitars on this one, and the short ten-second guitar solo fits perfectly in this song and provides great support for the track's sound. Kevin Miller's drums are also a noteworthy contribution to this song, as well as Jeff`s bass-work. A very strong track. 4.5/5
4 - `Scar' - A slowly brewing song that I find to be the most fun on the album. It's loud and churning, with a chunky riff that slides along with lovely devotion and impeccable musicality. Some have related this song's sound with that of ALICE IN CHAINS, and I agree, especially with Brett's vocals at the chorus: "fall in, fall out / break free, break down". The vocal melody is ridiculously brilliant and the music on the bridge, though simplistic, is AWESOME. This is just a fun track that reminds me of the kind of thing you'd hear off "Sunburn". 5/5
5 - `Bad Day' - The poppiest song on "SLH" and is strongly in the vein of the previous album's `Shimmer'; but this song is slower and is sung with a bit more emotion. I think the lyrics are great and give the song a realistic and easily relatable message. Very melodic and pretty, and the softly attractive solo help to make this song the gem that it is. This song, as well as the album closer, are the most ballad-like tracks on the entire record, and I've never ever met a FUEL ballad that I didn't LOVE. 5/5
6 - `Prove' - FETCH YES. This song ROCKS. A big, FAT, meaty riff crunches out from the dust, so loud, so heavy... wailing guitars fly in as a riff counterpart, and then comes Brett's haunting vocals with a massively haunting melody that goes beyond anything FUEL had previously done(similar to the mood of `Mary Pretends' from "Sunburn" and `Quarter' from "Natural Selection"). The album's namesake comes from the last line of the chorus: "... and prove to me... you're SOMETHING LIKE HUMAN!!!" Awesome, awesome song, one of the best rockin' tracks of FUEL's career. 5/5
7 - `Easy' - A slow, almost surreally menacing song that boils with intensity all the way through. Very rhythmic percussion on this song, and the ridiculously intricate bassline from Jeff Abercrombie brings such a constant, unreal vibe to the song's sound that I just find incredible. The song's structure reminds me vaguely of `Hideaway' from the last album, and while the vocals are very subdued and quite, they again contribute to the foreboding tone. Quiet, desperate, strange guitar effects fill the last 30 sec. or so of the song, leading into the next track's setting and mood perfectly. 4.5/5
8 - `Down' - The bizarrely spooky effects quickly melt into a driving bass, with wildly erratic drums and a chaotic guitar solo rising solidly from beneath . . . an then BOOM! A huge metal riff explodes from the darkness and is simply, irresistibly AWESOME. The overall mood feels and sounds like a ALICE IN CHAINS track, the main difference being in the vocals. This is probably as close to actually screaming in a song as Brett Scallions has ever gotten, but even then the song remains musically intelligent. Those who have only heard the poppie singles from FUEL would never in a million years imagine the band capable of something like this. It's the heaviest, loudest, angriest piece in the band's three-album history, and is EXTREMELY well done. 5/5
9 - `Solace' - This song, while not incredible, remains just a little underrated. Musically, it's like a watered-down version of `Mary Pretends'(I keep referring to that song) --or is at least reminiscent of the music to that track. Not an amazing vocal melody, but they ARE strongly delivered and interesting. The lyrics are very introspective: "and all the finer things they laid upon my table...[I] smiled as their hooks were slowly sinking in". Again, while it's not altogether strict perfection, I've still fallen in love with it. Like every other FUEL song. 4/5
10 - `Knives' - Probably the worst song on the album, and yet it still gets 4 stars. Why, you ask? Well, as can be ascertained by this review, FUEL is very consistent at writing very good vocal melodies and great musical themes. This song is no different. Not as inspiring as the rest of the album, but vocally strong and musically active are the elements that work in all FUEL's songs. A fun song that, again, reminds me of those old "Sunburn" days! LOVE to sing along! 4/5
11 - `Innocent' - Earlier in the review, I made a statement about `Hemorrhage' being the major point of maturation and growth for FUEL. Forgive me; that honor belongs to this song. The lyrics, bar none, are the greatest that Carl Bell has ever written: "Angels, lend me your might... forfeit all my lives to get just one right..." The quiet riff FEELS sooo blatantly mournful; the whole song BLEEDS with emotion. The vocals are PERFECT, the music's PERFECT, everything is just PERFECT. If not for `Hemorrhage', this would be the greatest song of FUEL's career. Period. 6/5
12 - `Slow' - Interesting computer-drumming intro to this near-acoustic song. The lyrics make me think about plant-life: "everything I fought to grow is withered, hanging on that vine", but they're gorgeous nonetheless. Brett sounds so honest in this lovely, lovely singing melody and the gentle solo on the bridge is so simple and pretty. Kevin Miller's drumming is impeccably brilliant, and I love the vibe that Jeff gives off from his bass throughout the song. The slowest, softest song on the album, it reminds me a teency-weency bit of the title track off "Sunburn". And for those who don't know, that's a very, very good thing. 5/5
The first time I heard this album, I would NEVER have given it five stars. Never. But time changed my tune, and I now admit that my absolute favorite album. And though time my not fully convince everybody, just know that it's an album that you simply cannot be without. Or, an album that you SHOULDN'T be without. Either way, just get it and live a full, happy life in nirvanian bliss till the end of thine days. (Check out "Sunburn" and "Natural Selection" as well. Great, great albums.)
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