Indistinct Everclear: Slow Motion Daydream Ended The Original Band.

The Good: One or two tracks sound good
The Bad: Album’s tracks largely blend together, Little that is distinctive, Short.
The Basics: Everclear’s Slow Motion Daydream is hardly the most original or distinctive work by the grunge-pop band.


Everclear is one of those bands I always figured I would like from their “Best Of” album and have little cause to stray from that. The truth is, there are several impressive Everclear songs that do not appear on their ten-year compilation. When I picked up Slow Motion Daydream to listen to, it was with an ear for those tracks that should have appeared on the compilation that I was most interested. So, I was pretty surprised that there were none. “Chrysanthemum” came close, but I realized that it was a take-it-or-leave-it track when I did not find myself humming it or thinking about it whenever it was not on. Unlike other Everclear songs, like “Good Witch Of The North” or “You Make Me Feel Like A Whore,” there are no tracks on Slow Motion Daydream that stand out as worth listening to outside the two that are on Ten Years Gone.

And, frankly, “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom” and “The New York Times” are not worthwhile enough to justify buying Slow Motion Daydream.

With only twelve tracks, clocking out at 43:06, Slow Motion Daydream is the final Everclear album to feature Art Alexakis, Craig Montoya, and Greg Eklund. The album was written entirely by the band and all of the lead vocals are presented by Alexakis. All three men perform on their instruments – drums, bass and guitar – and provide backing vocals. Art Alexakis is credited as a co-producer on the album, so it is hard not to say that Slow Motion Daydream is the album the band intended to produce.

Unfortunately, it is not much of an album. Slow Motion Daydream features songs that blend together, melodically flow from one to another and lack a real resonance on their own. In many ways, Slow Motion Daydream sounds just like an Everclear album and that is part of the problem. Murky songs like “Science Fiction” and “Chrysanthemum” are mixed with energetic, but somewhat pointless tracks like “Blackjack” and “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom.” The result is that none of the songs truly stand out.

Instrumentally, Slow Motion Daydream seems particularly limited. Alexakis strums his guitar, Craig Montoya supports him with his bass and Eklund bangs on his drums. But they sound pretty much exactly like they have on other albums on Slow Motion Daydream. The trio is limited by their instruments and on Slow Motion Daydream that shows in a way that makes it seemingly impossible for the band to actually do something new.

Slow Motion Daydream is, predictably, dominated on the vocals by Art Alexakis. Alexakis does not strain himself from his clear, mid-range vocals. On Slow Motion Daydream, Alexakis actually sounds bored with what he is singing. On “TV Show,” he lacks any vocal enthusiasm to actually sell the lyrics. Come to think of it, I’m not sure he actually holds any notes longer than two seconds, though he comes close on “TV Show.” In true Everclear/Art Alexakis fashion, though, Alexakis sings every line with perfect clarity, which is one of the nice, distinctive, aspects of Everclear’s music.

Perhaps the real problem with Slow Motion Daydream is that Everclear – and Alexakis – have very little left to say that they have not said before. They create songs that drift between being high (“Sunshine”) and contemplating death (“A Beautiful Life”) and mix them with songs about power and control. In fact, it is virtually impossible not to interpret “Blackjack” as a song about sexual dominance. With its lines “Don't tell me that / You didn't see this coming down / Please don’t say that this / Isn't what you wanted now / Scary John gets his strong arm on / He can break me and make me / Happy with his blackjack”(“Blackjack”), the song seems to be about keeping a partner degraded and in their place by aggressively using sex toys.

Even so, Everclear does find some relevance on Slow Motion Daydream. Written about the September 11, 2001 attacks, “The New York Times” remains relevant even now. With broader themes described with articulate poetry, like, “I want to believe I can learn to make things right / Oh, I want to believe in this world / I want to believe in this life / I want to believe in a world that does not seem real / When I read the New York Times” (“The New York Times”), the song stands out on Slow Motion Daydream.

In typical Everclear fashion, Slow Motion Daydream has its sense of melancholy. On “I Want To Die A Beautiful Death,” Alexakis sings once again about the end of life and the desire to have an impact. It is hard not to empathize when he sings “I don't care / I just want to die pretty / I just want to get lost in the motion / I just want to get lost in my beautiful self / I just want to get lost in the city / I don't want to live forever / I want to die a beautiful death”(“I Want To Die A Beautiful Death”).

Still, it is not enough to sell the listener on Slow Motion Daydream. Slow Motion Daydream lacks a knock-‘em-out single and the album replays over and over again as a form of auditory sludge; nothing stands out. That makes it impossible to recommend.

The best track is “The New York Times,” the low point is the utterly unmemorable “New Blue Champion.”

For other works by Everclear, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Sparkle And Fade
So Much For The Afterglow
Songs From An American Music, Volume One: Learning How To Smile
Songs From An American Movie, Vol. Two: A Good Time For A Bad Attitude
Wonderful (single)
Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994 - 2004
The Best Of Everclear

4/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the music reviews I have written!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sparkle And Fade Defines Everclear, But Is Not Their Best Work.

The Good: Some wonderful lyrics, Original sound
The Bad: Short, Many of the songs sound like one another
The Basics: With its breakout album Sparkle And Fade, Everclear became a household name, but the album does not age as well as one might hope.


It is a weird thing for me when I finish with an Artist Of The Month and begin on a new artist, only to get something in from the prior Artist Of The Month! While I had moved on to Elvis, I am compelled to go back to review Everclear’s Sparkle And Fade, an album I reviewed years ago on the site I used to work for and accidentally deleted the review of. So, having spun Sparkle And Fade in pretty heavy rotation the last few days, I’m here to present an entirely new review of the breakout album of Everclear.

Sparkle And Fade has a couple songs that are worthwhile that do not appear on either of the compilation albums for Everclear’s early albums, most notably “You Make Me Feel Like A Whore” and “Pale Green Stars.” And they are just enough to recommend Sparkle And Fade. Sparkle And Fade is the album that defined the sound of the trio Everclear as a grungy pop music that was deeply emotional and articulate. In fact, other than being short, the only real problem with Sparkle And Fade is that once the album defines the sound of Everclear, the band never expands upon it. In other words, several of the songs sound like one another.

With fourteen tracks clocking out at 42:45, Sparkle And Fade is very much the artistic vision of Everclear, especially Art Alexakis. Just as Oasis is the Gallagher brothers and whomever can tolerate them long enough to stick around, Everclear is Art Alexakis, with others. In this early incarnation, that included Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund. All songs on the album were written by the band (with help on five tracks by Cuthbert). The band plays all of their own instruments and Art Alexakis produced Sparkle And Fade, as well as providing the lead vocals. As a result, Sparkle And Fade is very much the vision of Everclear, executed as they appeared to want it.

Sparkle And Fade is a pretty solid guitar, bass, and drums album. The music is rock and roll, with enough production to promote the vocals, which forces the listener to listen to the actual lyrics. Indeed, the breakout single from Sparkle And Fade, “Santa Monica,” has almost no actual tune. Instead, the guitar and bass perform mostly repetitive riffs that slowly progress. The music on Sparkle And Fade is not bad, but there are fewer melodies and tunes and more a limited sense of strumming instruments to establish the mood for each song. This is, in many ways, emblematic of the grunge-rock genre.

Vocally, Sparkle And Fade is dominated by Art Alexakis. Alexakis has a distinctive voice that is solidly in the middle masculine register. What works for Alexakis is the way he sings so forcefully to the listener on the album. Virtually every line he sings is clear, crisp and articulate, which sets him apart from almost every other grunge-style artist. He has something to sing and he wants you to hear it. On Sparkle And Fade, that works very well.

Lyrically, Sparkle And Fade is a decent collection of storytelling songs, emotional outbursts, wish fulfillment (“Santa Monica”) and, interestingly enough, deeply emotional perspective pieces. While some of the songs are very repetitive with their lines being sung an inordinate number of times, the bulk of the songs are surprisingly smart. Alexakis and Everclear make an effort to tackle some real social problems in the stories they sing. With lines like “Time stops when the whispers blare / The voices drop hard, but the eyes still stare / The world resolves into a death's head grin / Because I walk with pride with a black girlfriend / My mom said not to bring her around / 'Cause she's black my family would put her down / I'll break the white-trash ties that bind / Trade a love so pure for a hate so blind” (“Heartspark Dollarsign”), the band has something to say and they say it very well.

For a trio of men, Everclear has decent creative abilities to explore the feminine perspective. Songs like “Pale Green Stars” put the band in the female perspective. When Alexakis sings “Skinny little girl in her room alone / She's got hell to spare in her home / If you can call it a home / Doesn't want to be like anybody else / When no one is around she talks to herself . . .It's hard on a girl / When the blood won't come when it ought to come / It's hard on a girl / When you try to walk around on the shaky ground” (“Pale Green Stars”), the listener finds it very easy to understand and empathize.

Everclear also presents songs with raw anger and experiences not entirely common. With “You Make Me Feel Like A Whore,” the band articulately follows a beaten-down lover who just wants to stand up and make his partner feel like she makes him feel. And while “Strawberry” might be specifically singing about drug use, it actually holds up remarkably well for a song about enduring the daily issues we all face. Evolving from the simple to the motivational across the lines “I ask you for a slow ride / Going nowhere / You look like Satan / You ask me if I want to get high / Couple of bags down in old town / You tie your arm and / Ask me if I wanted to drive / Don't fall down now / You will never get up” (“Strawberry”), Everclear makes an enduring statement.

Ultimately, Sparkle And Fade is an auspicious breakout album for Everclear that maintains its relevance after almost two decades. The best song is “You Make Me Feel Like A Whore,” the low point is the repetitive and bland “Nehalem.”

For other works by Everclear, be sure to visit my reviews of:
So Much For The Afterglow
Songs From An American Music, Volume One: Learning How To Smile
Songs From An American Movie, Vol. Two: A Good Time For A Bad Attitude
Wonderful (single)
Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994 - 2004
The Best Of Everclear

6.5/10

For other music reviews, be sure to visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Nowhere Near The Best Of Everclear (There's A Better One!)

The Good: Good songs with decent lyrics and a good style.
The Bad: NOT all their best, ummm, not even close
The Basics: I could think of no better way to review this piece of crap than in the form of a satirical letter from the Capitol Marketing Department. Enjoy!


Dear Sucker (You fan of Everclear considering purchasing this album),

As a fan of the post-grunge rock and roll band Everclear, you have no doubt heard of our brand new compilation The Best Of Everclear, a ten-track c.d. featuring music recorded by Everclear from 1995 through 2000. As these are arguably the best years of the Everclear career, this is the most logical collection for any buyer to pick up. After all, the best material must have come from the best years of their career, right?

This ten-track gem clocks in at under forty minutes, but the true fans of Everclear will not mind the startling lack of material. Indeed, fans of Everclear will welcome the opportunity to support their band with this glorified mix-c.d. that features far less material than Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear - 1994 – 2004 (reviewed here!). As that review so deftly notes, there are so many truly great Everclear songs that were never hits, like "Misery Whip," "You Make Me Feel Like A Whore," and "The Good Witch Of The North," all of which were from this seminal five years in the Everclear career. So, certainly, a "Best of Everclear B-Sides" would seem to be in order.

The Best Of Everclear is not that album, though. This is, instead, a brand new collection of songs that any true Everclear fan will already have as all the songs come from Everclear's albums: Sparkle and Fade, So Much For The Afterglow, and Songs From An American Movie Volumes 1 and 2. There is not a single track unique to this album, unlike Ten Years Gone where Everclear tried to push two new tracks - "The New Disease" and "The New York Times" (how stale can they be trying to peddle two new tracks that both begin with "The New!") - as part of the "Best" of Everclear! No, instead, The Best Of Everclear focuses on the truly greatest ten tracks in the history of this rock and roll band fronted by Art Alexakis in the late '90s.

After all, who could forget the giant hit Everclear had with its song "Sunflowers?" This song was so popular on "So Much For The Afterglow" that it did not need to be released as a single! And come on, how many times can you truly hear "I Will Buy You A New Life" on the radio without wishing you were listening to "Heartspark Dollarsign," which did almost as well on the charts? Everyone with a radio tuned to a rock station has heard "Wonderful" by now; they don't need that track again, which is why The Best Of Everclear has "Annabella's Song," which the true fans will clamor for more than that overplayed ditty that couldn't even break the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100! "Annabella's Song," a quaint little lullaby from Art Alexakis to his daughter, is certainly more indicative of the rock-image fans want to see from Everclear than, say, "Heroin Girl" which muddied up "Ten Years Gone."

No, The Best Of Everclear is certainly the way to go for the fan who wants a sanitized Everclear experience, making it the choice of overprotective parents who do not want their young ones to rock out to the music of Everclear anyway. This is not to say that the album was released without a broad audience in mind! Some stations have stopped playing "Santa Monica" over a decade after it hit #1 on the charts. For those still craving that hit, it is right up front on this compilation. After all, you can't have Everclear without its biggest hit! This album also includes their #1 from the Modern Rock charts, "Everything To Everyone."

The only other tracks that are on both Ten Years Gone and The Best Of Everclear are "Brown Eyed Girl" and "When It All Goes Wrong Again." The six tracks that are on this newer "Best of" album that were not on the twenty-one track Ten Years Gone might better reflect the diversity of sound Everclear is capable of producing as opposed to the commercially successful and often repetitive sound that defines the radio hits of the band. After all, how long can reviewers rib the band for the similar opening riffs on "Santa Monica" and "I Will Buy You A New Life?" This compilation eliminates that argument.

The Best Of Everclear, like "Ten Years Gone" and any Everclear album, features the adept lyrics of Art Alexakis and his bandmates. Unlike the depressing and angsty lyrics that define most Everclear songs, this compilation focuses on genuine emotions and the triumphs of commercialism instead of abandoned fathers and drug relapses. As a result, The Best Of Everclear hinges on tracks like "Heartspark Dollarsign," which is one of Everclear's better lesser-known singles. The poetics of Alexakis singing, "My mom said not to bring her around / 'Cause she's black / My family would put her down / I'll break the white-trash ties that bind / Trade a love so pure for a hate so blind . . . You're possessed with a power / Bigger than your pain" ("Heartspark Dollarsign") illustrate Alexakis - and Everclear's - strength at least as well as some of the commercially successful songs. The social conscience of the lyrics on The Best Of Everclear make it a worthwhile investment and do illustrate the wonderful lyrical talents of Alexakis.

But it's not just all social conscience that will sell The Best Of Everclear! The singsong genius of "One Hit Wonder" with its catchy refrain of "He knows if he ever even gets the chance / He'd sell his soul to make the monster dance / They can't hurt you unless you let them" is infectious and fun. That's the type of best-of album that will sell millions!

In addition to the wonderful lyrics of Everclear, which this compilation illustrates well, even though over seven years have passed since the last song on this album was first released, The Best Of Everclear includes a wonderful rock and roll sound that is distinctive. Art Alexakis does not yell on any of these tracks (no "Fire Maple Song" on THIS compilation!) and when he sings, he has a beautiful tenor voice. That voice and its ability to articulate well the lyrics Alexakis wrote are a key selling point of The Best Of Everclear. This is what fans tune in to hear.

Moreover, Alexakis is backed up by the musical talents of Greg Eklund and Craig Montoya - on drums and bass, respectively. This is the trio that was known the world round in the alternative rock scene and these ten songs illustrate their strength when working together. Montoya is a great bass player with the ability to play wonderfully hypnotic riffs, as he does on "Out Of My Depth" and Eklund is an able percussionist. This trio achieved its popularity and fame while at Capitol and the musical ability of the group ought not to be underestimated. These ten tracks sound great together.

We understand there might be naysayers or malcontents who are not enthusiastic about the release of The Best Of Everclear. Their arguments tend to focus on the fact that Capitol Records released this album well after the band had parted ways with the company. As the owners of all the music recorded while Everclear was with Capitol, Capitol has a responsibility to continue to distribute the genius songs of Everclear. Those fans who might reject this compilation ought to be advised to shut up and buy it, lest Capitol not invest its resources in finding the next Everclear. Without Capitol, Everclear might never have been so big and if fans of rock and roll want the label to continue to invest in artists like Everclear, the company must continue to see the profitability of the investments, even after the groups are no longer with Capitol.

As for those whiners who complain that Ten Years Gone was a vastly better compilation, those promoting the album should note that The Best Of Everclear has sixty percent different material! This album has a vastly different sound and feel to it than the seventy-six minute monstrosity previously released to the marketplace. And for those who complain that there is nothing new on this compilation, we might note that this album is a great sampler for those who have only heard Everclear on the radio and enjoyed what they heard there. This might raise the question of "Where are the other recognizable Everclear tracks like 'Wonderful' and 'I Will Buy You A New Life?'" to which the responses should be that these songs are even better or "you can listen to those on the radio!" Truth be told, what kind of casual fan would not enjoy hearing ten tracks, of which only one is truly a classic and recognizable Everclear song, over twenty-one tracks that have all their favorites that they hear all the time on the radio?! This album is certainly a better investment for the casual fan to buy to get into Everclear and might spark those casual listeners to pick up full Everclear albums. And for all those fans who already have all the Everclear albums, this compilation might, even though it offers them nothing new, might inspire them to revisit those older Everclear albums and possibly even buy new copies!

Nothing sells a "Best of" album like a healthy mix of the familiar and the unknown and The Best Of Everclear culls the best songs from Everclear from our executive's standpoints - the band did not trouble us with any input on this compilation - and with there being virtually no outlay costs to Capitol for this project, profits ought to be high. Clearly, that is what Capitol is in the business for and The Best Of Everclear certainly illustrates that.

Buy a couple copies for you and your friends. Or else, you're not a real fan of Everclear. In fact, you're probably a terrorist.

Sincerely,

(Not Really) The Marketing Staff Of Capitol Records



P.S. The best track is "One Hit Wonder" and the weak link is the cover of "Brown Eyed Girl."

For other creatively-written reviews, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Quarantine
Shark Tale
Magnetic Key Holder

3/10

For other music reviews, be sure to check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Almost All The Best Of Everclear - Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994 - 2004

The Good: Some truly classic, wonderful music, Generally great lyrics, Wonderful sound, Good vocals
The Bad: Some of the earlier punky tracks underwhelm, Repetitive sound
The Basics: With Ten Years Gone, Everclear presents a decent compilation of their greatest hits and many of their best songs worthy of any rock fan's attention and collection!


For years now, I have been looking forward to picking up and reviewing Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994 - 2004. The truth is, I am a fan of Everclear, despite not buying (or keeping) any albums of theirs before now. For sure, I have reviewed most of their albums. In almost every one of those reviews, I mention that the band has a repetitive sound and while I would probably like their "Best of" album, I find most of their individual albums difficult to recommend.

Now that I'm here with Ten Years Gone, I am amused to note that despite what the title of the album claims, this is not all the best of Everclear. I find myself missing some of the songs from prior albums. How "You Make Me Feel Like A Whore" from Sparkle And Fade did not make it into this compilations baffles me. How "Good Witch Of The North" from Songs From An American Movie, Part II: Learning How To Smile did not make it onto this disc disappoints me. Herein lies the irony; neither of those songs (or any of the half dozen others I'd wish were on this disc) were hits for Everclear - the latter was never even released as a single; this compilation is definitely the Greatest Hits of Everclear, but not all of the very best of the group (that might honestly require a two-disc set). There is another album called The Best Of Everclear, with only ten tracks, six of which are not on this compilation, which has twenty-one tracks. The additional four songs that had been released as singles that are on that compilation are not enough to either recommend that one or discourage a casual Everclear enthusiast from picking up this disc.

This is THE disc for the radio fans of Everclear. Yes, for those of us who like what we have heard on the radio but find it difficult to enjoy any of the full discs by Everclear, this compilation rescues us from a few bucks. It's all the meat without the fat. Sure, there is more meat on some of the random tracks on some of the individual albums, but for the most part, this is the essential Everclear for people who like the sound of Everclear.

For those unfamiliar with Everclear, Ten Years Gone is certainly a wonderful investment! With 21 tracks clocking in at over 76 minutes of music, this album illustrates the successful works of the rock trio that was Everclear for ten years. Everclear performs - usually - a pretty standard guitar, bass, drums set of rock and roll that has been classified as alternative rock and grunge rock. In the foreground of virtually all of their songs is Art Alexakis, lead singer and writer (or co-writer) of all of Everclear's songs.

Art Alexakis is a true poet and he's a decent musical artist. His songs tend to focus on his growing up without a father and his recovery from drugs. If breakup songs were meant to rock, they would virtually all be Everclear songs written by Art Alexakis. In the liner notes for this album, he details the history of most of the songs and it's easy to believe that a song like "Strawberry" was based on a nightmare. For sure, it's a very simple sense of poetry that declares, "Don't fall down now, you will never get up" ("Strawberry") but when put to a haunting melody that is repeated, it has a beautifully nightmarish quality. Indeed, "Strawberry" might well be the standout track that I had not appreciated on its original album.

Moment of truth: I like the sound Everclear developed that made them hits on the radio with songs like "Santa Monica," "I Will Buy You A New Life," and "Wonderful." They do not start with that developed sound. The song "Fire Maple Song" from their first album illustrates how they were not quite there from the beginning. Instead, that song has the poetry of Alexakis, but not the musical song and deftness of Everclear. In other words, the musical accompaniment is sloppy, Alexakis is shouting instead of singing and the song is more loud than musical. It is almost like at the beginning, Everclear was afraid to sound like a rock band with wonderful poetics. So, their solution was to simply thrash their guitars and obscure their lyrics.

This is not to say that the group does not rock out and bang on their guitars with their later works. Songs like "When It All Goes Wrong Again" from later in their career certainly rock in a very effortless and almost haphazard way, but the song works because the lyrics are not obscured despite the accompaniment. Actually, "effortless and haphazard" are great ways to describe the musical stylings of Everclear. Their melodies are often simple, repeated frequently in a song and have a quality to them that either seems easy and clever or like the band stumbled into the music by accident. It's a weird balance of simple guitar riffs (like on "Father Of Mine") and surprisingly complex, developed songs that degenerate into repetitive refrains ("I Will Buy You A New Life") and fast strumming without much of a tune ("When It All Goes Wrong Again" and "Heroin Girl"). This is not a critique so much as an observation. If one knows going into the album with the understanding that Everclear has a weird balance of quality unexpected from a group rumored to be "grunge" and, well, grungy/alternative rock and roll that makes the listener wonder what the heck happened to the group they heard on the last track, then the experience becomes simply exciting.

This is because Art Alexakis can write! In fact, it is almost offensive that So Much For The Afterglow's "I Will Buy You A New Life" is explained in the liner notes to Ten Years Gone as not ". . . a song about money, it's about love and helplessness and all the things we think money will fix . . ." This is pretty much a "well, duh," to anyone who has actually listened to the song! After all, Alexakis makes it quite clear with ironic lines like, "You say you wake up crying / Yes, and you don't know why /. . . Yeah, I guess I'm doing okay / I've moved in with the strangest guy / Can you believe he actually thinks that I am really alive? / I will buy you a garden, where your flowers can bloom / I will buy you a new car, perfect shiny and new. . ." ("I Will Buy You A New Life"). Most of Alexakis's songs are straightforward and clever enough without needing to be explained. And he writes with wonderful irony and emotion.

Perhaps the most famous track from Everclear is "Wonderful" from Songs From An American Movie, Vol. One: Learning How To Smile and that song is emblematic of Alexakis's poetry for his childhood. His eye for detail like referencing having a Star Wars poster in his room as a kid give a wonderful sense of time and place. He seems to enjoy playing with that, as he does on "A.M. Radio" as well. The lyrical quality is one of the two things that defines Everclear and it's unique style.

The other is the group's simple style and ability to constantly steal their own stuff. "Santa Monica" and "I Will Buy You A New Life" begin with the same riffs. The new track "The New Disease" sounds suspiciously like "When It All Goes Wrong Again." Everclear might not be the most musically sophisticated or diverse-sounding band, but they certainly work their niche quite well! By putting Alexakis's voice front and center in most tracks, they distract from the lack of complexity to most of their music. And it works.

Because Alexakis's singing is the primary instrument in most of the songs, the distinctive sound for Everclear is Alexakis. So, they use their own riffs a couple of times, even on their "Best Of" album. It works because that is what the group is. It's simple rock and roll with less simple lyrics.

Indeed, the true disappointment of Ten Years Gone is the cover of "The Boys Are Back In Town," which is not one of my favorite classic rock songs and is uninspired as an Everclear song. The compilation's only other cover song is "Brown Eyed Girl" and while I'm not usually a fan, Everclear does it fine. The two tracks unique to Ten Years Gone are "The New Disease" and "The New York Times." "Disease" in the lexicon of Art Alexakis usually refers to drugs or a bad relationship and it's amusing that his only notes on this song in the liner is "Another big Everclear rock song with bells...go figure." It's true. It's a pretty standard Everclear song in many ways and it fits here with so many of their other tracks.

"The New York Times" is a pretty standard Everclear ballad and it's a nice addition to their body of work. Rejecting the hate and fear prevalent in the United States following the September 11, 2001 attacks, "The New York Times" tries to focus on hope and restoring decency. It's a refreshing change of pace.

But it's also very Everclear. So, if you're a fan of rock and roll with good lyrics and often-loud guitars and bass or simply like what you've heard of Everclear on the radio, Ten Years Gone is a great album worthy of your attention! Most of the songs are toss ups for the best track as this truly is a wonderful collection of emblematic Everclear songs, but "Strawberry" stood out in this mix in a way it didn't before for me. The weak link is easily the lame cover of "The Boys Are Back In Town."

For other works by Everclear, be sure to visit my reviews of:
So Much For The Afterglow
Songs From An American Music, Volume One: Learning How To Smile
Songs From An American Movie, Vol. Two: A Good Time For A Bad Attitude
Wonderful (single)

8/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the music reviews I have written.

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Another Distinct, But Mediocre Outing From Everclear: Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile!

The Good: Great sound, Decent lyrics, Generally good sound
The Bad: Musically limited, Derivative of earlier works
The Basics: Distinctly Everclear, Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1 is a decent pop-rock album, but nothing new or distinctive from this fairly limited trio.


I'm beginning to think that people who read my reviews think I dislike Everclear. I seldom rate their albums - so far - very high and the reason for that is that I actually like Everclear. In fact, I think I might like the group quite a bit. The problem I almost always run into when reviewing Everclear albums is because I like the singles I've heard of theirs, I'm very tuned into their distinct sound. So when everything I hear on a new (to me) album, sounds like something I've already heard from the group, it becomes very hard for me to recommend the new work.

In short, Everclear's strength and flaw are one in the same; they have a distinct, unique sound, but they are very much trapped within it.

This is true of Everclear's 2000 album Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile, which I will call Vol. 1 henceforth. Vol. 1 is a classic Everclear album featuring the vocals and guitars of Art Alexakis, the bass of Craig Montoya and Greg Ecklund on Drums. The trio uses James Beaton on keyboard for some tracks. Vol. 1 is best known for the much-overplayed song "Wonderful," which might well be Everclear's defining song.

While contemplating this album, I believe I finally came up with the analogy that describes how I see Everclear limited, which is not necessarily their fault, as they are a trio. Everclear's distinct sound is like a perspective drawing. Up front is the voice of Art Alexakis. He is articulate and direct and his vocals are front, center and big. In the middle distance are the guitars, which are almost always epic, strumming and similar. Then, in the background, are the drums and sampling.

A great example of this effect is on the track "Unemployed Boyfriend." The track begins with a sample or vocal presentation by a woman who is setting up the song. The moment the guitars come in, they are playing over her. The moment Alexakis comes in, he's louder and more forceful than either. The thing is, I like this a lot about Everclear (which is why "Unemployed Boyfriend" is my favorite track unique to Vol. 1). I'm tired of rock and roll bands who might have decent lyrics, but you can never understand them because they are drown out by thrashing guitars.

All of the tracks on Vol. 1 are articulate and listenable. You can hear and understand every word. Alexakis is a wonderful singer, too. While usually I chide artists for not challenging themselves, Alexakis is perfect in his range. He knows what works for him - and the band - and he keeps it there. It works and it keeps the music listenable, even if the group does not appear to grow between albums.

Part of what keeps me coming back to Everclear is the lyrics. Vol. 1 is a lot of music about people listening to music. In fact, "AM Radio" is a brilliant retrospective what it was like in the 70s to simply listen to the radio. The cover Everclear does of Van Morrison's classic "Brown Eyed Girl," which they righteously reinterpret, accents well the lines about listening to the radio. Part of the reason "Wonderful" was so successful is there were no songs like it on the radio at the time. In "Wonderful," Alexakis taps into the universal divorced with children experience by singing, "I don't want to hear you say / We both have grown in a different way . . . I don't wanna start over again / I just want my life to be the same / Just like it used to be . . ."

And the clever lyrics are backed by the distinctive guitars and bass of the rest of the band, making this album archetypal Everclear album. But some of that is problematic. For example, on "Otis Redding," - another song about listening to music! - Alexakis sings ". . . Sit and watch the stars glide. . ." with the same tune as ". . . watch the world die" from Everclear's first mainstream hit, "Santa Monica."

The reason Vol. 1 is so close to an enduring album is that four of the five best tracks are included on the Best Of Everclear album and the remainder are not shabby. In fact, the album bookends well with Vol. 2: Good Time For A Bad Attitude, though I think it might have been more value for our dollars for them to release the work as a double album. Ultimately, my "recommend" comes down to this; the only place to get "Unemployed Boyfriend" is this album and that song amuses me.

So, it's a weak recommendation, but I think it ought to be enjoyable to anyone who likes pop-rock they can understand and music with generally good lyrics. This is music for people who like listening to music. It's for fans of Everclear, but not people who like what they've heard of Everclear and are expecting to hear something different. This is not. But it is what it is and that's - at the least - good.

The best song is "AM Radio" which is clever and fun and the final track "Annabella's Song" failed to wow me in any way, making it the worst.

For other works by Everclear, be sure to visit my reviews of:
So Much For The Afterglow
Songs From An American Movie, Vol. Two: A Good Time For A Bad Attitude
Wonderful (single)

6/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the albums and singles I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Rock From The Same Trio Who Made The Last Album That Sounded Like This: Songs From An American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time For A Bad Attitude

The Good: Decent Lyrics, I like the style/sound
The Bad: Repetitive music, Does not say anything new
The Basics: In a close call, Everclear's Vol. Two is thematically, but not musically, diverse and worth a listen, if not a buy.


There are few musical groups or musical artists that I can think of that I only want their Greatest Hits from. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tina Turner remain the only artists in my collection that I have only the Best of album - and Turner's did not much impress me - though I am open to listening to more of their albums to see if anything grabs me. However, Everclear makes a strong argument for a band producing only a greatest hits album and calling it quits already. Sure, Everclear is my current artist of the month with reviews of “Wonderful” (here!) and So Much For The Afterglow (here!) already written, but the band is not the most diverse.

I do not write this to insult Everclear, but when one listens to their albums, the weakness of their band is revealed quite plainly, which does not happen with their singles. When I hear Everclear on the radio, I don't switch channels - though "Wonderful" did get old when it was in maximum rotation a few years back. My conclusion on Everclear's future comes from listening Songs From An American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time For A Bad Attitude.

Vol. Two (as I shall refer to it for the remainder of the review) is a fairly solid rock album from the trio Everclear, which is Art Alexakis, Craig Montoya, and Greg Eklund. Alexakis wrote all twelve songs on the album and there is only one guest musician on the album: James Beaton, who plays keyboards on a few of the tracks.

Essentially, though, this is a group that is fairly tight, with guitars, bass and drums to supplement the three men singing. That's the real weakness here. Throughout Vol. Two there is not much in the way of musical variety. Almost all of the songs have fast guitars, pounding drums and Art Alexakis bleating to the audience. Track after track, the songs sound so similar to one another.

Unfortunately, some of the songs sound like other songs from Everclear, too. Part of the reason I suspect I enjoy "Misery Whip" so much is that it sounds a lot like Everclear's first single hit "Santa Monica." Part of the reason most Everclear's songs sound so much like one another, in addition to the simple musical limitations that come with three musical instruments, is in the vocals and I would like to say I like the vocals.

Art Alexakis is easily one of the most articulate singers in rock and roll. Seriously. One of the nicest things about listening to Everclear is that the lyrics are insanely easy to understand, which is not true of most bands that sound like, well, garage bands. Everclear sounds like a garage band that refuses to bury the singing. As a result, Alexakis's voice is front and center every single song, singing at a pace that is fairly consistent throughout Vol. Two. This is truly only a problem in that it contributes heavily to each track sounding similar to one another and to other Everclear songs.

But no matter how similar the tracks sound to one another, Everclear has a decent sound. Because Alexakis dominates the sound, it's a distinctive voice and sound for the band and I like it. It is rock and roll that is articulate, that is in existence with the intent to say something and in that regard, the group succeeds.

This goes back to Alexakis writing the songs he is singing. His poetry is poetic when he wants it to be and some of it is remarkably nice. The distinctive track in this regard is the ballad "The Good Witch of the North" which is romantic and surprisingly charming for a group usually thrashing on their guitars and banging on their drums. Alexakis writes "There has never been a time / When I didn't want to be your boyfriend / There has never been a time / When I didn't want to know your name / Free falling from a work in progress / Free falling from a life on hold / There has never been a time / When I didn't want you . . ." I just think it's a beautiful song and it is completely unexpected.

Actually, I was not planning on recommending this otherwise average album, but that song threw me over. That's not to say I don't like other songs on it. The album opens with a distinctly Everclear "When It All Goes Wrong Again," which capitalizes on the teen angst of the target demographic. And "Misery Whip," a satire on s/m or relationships others do not understand, rocks.

But, the pop-track "Rock Star" seems silly without being smart enough to be tongue in cheek or presented with the bravado and arrogance of Oasis' declarative "Rock 'N' Roll Star." And by the time "All Fucked Up" comes up on the album, we feel like we've heard all Everclear has to offer.

So, ultimately this is a razor decision and should Everclear ever release a Best of album that includes "Misery Whip" and "The Good Witch of the North," I will likely change this to a "not recommend." Until then, this is a rock album with good lyrics and a distinctive, if repetitive, sound.

The best track that is distinctly "Everclear" is "Misery Whip," though I think "The Good Witch of the North" is the superlative track on Vol. Two. The worst track is the pointless and silly story song "Babytalk."

For other Artist Of The Month reviews, be sure to check out:
Aladdin Sane - David Bowie
Hotter Than July - Stevie Wonder
Forty Licks - The Rolling Stones

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the music reviews I have written!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Another Basic Single Not Worth Hunting Down: Everclear's "Wonderful."

The Good: Good song
The Bad: Poor presentation of it, Short, Poor use of medium.
The Basics: A good song, the one-track single to "Wonderful" is not worth hunting down.


Every time I come across a c.d. single in real lifeI feel like I have a real opportunity to do help consumers out. The reason for this is simple: c.d. singles frequently come in several forms with varying features and paying for the wrong one can often be a mistake that can be ridiculously costly. In the case of the Everclear c.d. single "Wonderful," there were multiple releases, but only one which was a one-track release: the radio-release single. With Everclear becoming my next Male Artist Of The Month – having only reviewed So Much For The Afterglow here, so far – I wish I could start with something more complimentary!

Radio-release singles are c.d. singles given to radio stations to allow them to play the popular song the band or record company is promoting, in this case Everclear's song "Wonderful." While there are other versions of the single which have exclusive tracks, the one-track single only has "Wonderful" and it is virtually worthless to anyone but collectors of Everclear merchandise. The reason for this is simple: every major compilation for Everclear has the song "Wonderful" on it and fans who love Everclear's music who are looking for rarities and b-sides would do well to hunt down the popular release (store-sold) "single," which actually had two exclusive b-sides. As it is, there was only one one-track single for "Wonderful" and the only way to get it now is in the secondary market through vendors of obscure c.d.s and albums.

That said, what is on "Wonderful" isn't bad. The song is a good example of the talents of the band Everclear as the song was written by the band Everclear and the group provides all of the vocals and instrumental accompaniment on the song. Lead singer Art Alexakis is even a co-producer of the song. In other words, despite how annoyingly overplayed the song became, "Wonderful" is very much the song the band at the time wanted to create.

"Wonderful" is a rarity in a pop-rock song, a storysong with both a sense of narrative and a thematic purpose. Exploring the difficulties of growing up as a child of parents who are falling out of love, "Wonderful" captures the sense of being tugged between two different worlds and finding contentment in neither. With lines like "Hope my mom and I hope my dad / Will figure out why they get so mad / Hear them scream, I hear them fight / They say bad words that make me wanna cry" Everclear captures well the simplicity of youthful thought processes and observations of complex adult relationships going on around them.

The song is very much a typical pop-rock song in its instrumentation. "Wonderful" is a pretty straightforward guitar/bass/drums rock song with additional accompaniment on the keyboards. The opening chords to the song have become almost instantly identifiable given how much the song was played when it was released.

The vocals are similarly distinct for being Everclear's and belonging to Art Alexakis. He has a very masculine and clear voice which is smooth and distinct (Everclear songs may sound a lot alike one another, but no one quite sounds like Everclear and Alexakis's voice is a big part of that). Alexakis is able to go primal near the end of the endless refrains to "Wonderful" by screaming out the lyrics in a way that sounds strained and emotionally tired. That level of expressiveness also sets "Wonderful" apart from most pop-rock tracks.

But "Wonderful" is hardly a perfect single. While part of the purpose of the lines is to create a childlike sound to the narrator, lines with rhymes like "I close my eyes when I get too sad / I think thoughts that I know are bad" are just unforgivably hammy.

In the end, though, the primary reason listeners should avoid this c.d. is because no matter what the price, you're overpaying for what you get. "Wonderful" still has decent rotation on many radio stations, especially adult contemporary, and with the declining prices of c.d.s from Everclear, there are plenty of albums that have this one song - and many more - on them for around the same price or less. I tend to recommend Ten Years Gone myself!

For other, former, Artist Of The Month reviews, be sure to check out my takes on:
Greatest Hits - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Opiate (EP) - Tool
Seal (2) - Seal

3/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page where the reviews are organized from best album/single to worst!

© 2012, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Distinctive Afterglow Of Catharsis: Everclear's So Much For The Afterglow

The Good: Distinctive sound, Good lyrics, Fun to listen to
The Bad: Repetitive both thematically and musically
The Basics: So Much For The Afterglow is a surprisingly good album that doesn't hold up to repeated listenings, not because of its themes, but because of the repetitive sound of the tracks.


Every now and then, an artist does therapy and is able to sell it. So Much For The Afterglow by Everclear has many moments where it "reads" like a session of Art Alexakis's therapy. Indeed, the almost 49 minute disc seems largely like an attempt to express raw emotions and stories related to his own life.

Not that that's a bad thing.

In fact, the strength of the album is in the lyrics and following from track to track toward catharsis, the release of all of the pent up anger and loss that has been building on the early tracks. The album is quite expressive without being explicit and it works quite well as a telling of a man's life. How autobiographical is the album? I don't know, you'd have to ask the band. However, So Much For The Afterglow does tell a story, whether of an actual person or a character, there's a story here.

If you have never heard Everclear on the radio, they are a rock band, not so much pop as actual rock. They are strong on guitar, drums and reasonable rhymes. To be honest, other than classifying the band as rock, there's no further classification other than "Everclear." Everclear has a very distinctive sound that is based on their use of guitars, Art Alexakis' vocals and a balance of refrains. It is quite distinctive.

The distinctive quality, however, becomes something of a rut on So Much For The Afterglow. The songs have very little diversity in sound. Musically, they are very much a balance of the vocals, guitars and drums. The tend to keep the same balance and form, so there is little variation in how the three elements are used. If you've heard an Everclear song on the radio, you know what to expect. The songs on this album all sound like that.

What does that mean? It means, if you don't like how "Wonderful" (which is not on this album) sounds, you won't like So Much For The Afterglow. It means, after you listen to the album once, you'll be thinking that "I Will Buy You a New Life" sounds an awful lot like "Amphetamine." It means that if you don't like the first three tracks, odds are, you're not going to dig this album.

It also means that if you DO like the sound of Everclear, this album is for you. They are doing what they do and they're doing it well. If you like rock music, this is a good album, with lyrics that are more intelligent and emotive than most rock bands these days.

Whereas Matchbox Twenty creates musically diverse albums with a running theme (loss and loneliness), Everclear's So Much For The Afterglow is a musically homogeneous album that explores multiple themes like hope ("Amphetamine"), paranoia "White Men In Black Suits") and hate ("Father Of Mine" and "Like A California King"). Which is better? Well, I liked So Much For The Afterglow, but not enough to add it to my permanent collection, whereas I listen to Mad Season By Matchbox Twenty frequently and I purchased it on sight when it was released.

The album's best track (which is hard to say because they tend to sound so much alike) is "I Will Buy You A New Life" (which if you like on the radio is almost worth investing in this album for and why it was a close call adding this one to my collection) and the weakest link is "Ataraxia (Media Intro)" because after listening to the album three times in a row it left no impression on me one way or another.

For other works by similar artists, please check out my reviews of:
Soul To Squeeze (single) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
No Name Face - Lifehouse
Mer De Noms - A Perfect Circle

7/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.





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