It Means Everything - Save Ferris > Reviews > Pick it up! this album skanks!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Very upbeat, very catchy, very 'dancable'
Disadvantages:	Lyrics arent the best, but suit the style of music .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Save Ferris are a five-piece Ska band from California. They may be described as ska-punk but I feel that there is little evidence of punk, they have also been called ska-pop-swing… take your pick!. Many of you will not recognise the band from the name, but if heard some of the songs you may recognise the music from the well-known film '10 Things I Hate About You'. The film included the songs 'I Want You To Want Me' and 'I Know'. The band have also seen their song 'The World Is New' feature in the film 'Big Hit'. The style is very much like traditional Ska bands with a modern edge; you may like this band if you enjoy some of the earlier material of No Doubt. The album has also been compared to that of Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake (just with female vocals)

The line up:
Monique Powell - Vocals
Bill Uechi - Bass
Eric Zamora - Alto Saxophone
Brian Mashburn - Guitar, Vocals
Evan Kilbourne - Drums
T-Bone Willy - Trombone

The Album 'It Means Everything', released in '97 sold over 350,000 copies in the U.S alone and has proved to be very popular amongst many ska fans, climbing into the top 100 best sellers. The Year after releasing the album the band played at various venues around the UK, Europe and America as part of the Vans Warped Tour as a featured act.

I personally love this album as it is really up-beat and fun to listen to. The sound is great for any party occasion because you just can't help but move your feet to it. The band control their sound to give just the right balance between all instruments and produce a fantastic sound. Also, despite the album being released around 8 years ago now, the sound is timeless. You could be fooled into thinking that some of the songs are current number ones.
The album has 11 songs on it, and all of them are great! The great off-beat sound is perfectly complimented by the dynamic vocals of Monique Powell who has a really strong voice. Despite the band being compared to No Doubt, I don't think Monique Powell's voice is quite as unique as Gwen Steffani's but is equally as powerful.

The only down sides that I can think of about this album are that the album is quite short and some of the songs had been released previously on the band's EP titled 'Introducing… Save Ferris'. However, the new additions such as 'Goodbye' and 'Lies' are truly top class and make the album so brilliant.

The Track list:

1. The World Is New
2. Nobody But Me
3. Superspy
4. Come ON Eileen
5. GoodBye
6. Sorry My Friend
7. Lies
8. Little Differences
9. Spam
10. Under 21
11. Everything I want to be

Individually the songs are great and together form a nice sounding album. My personal favourites for a bit of a skank include 'Goodbye' 'Superspy' and 'Lies'. They are all a lot of good fun as you can probably tell by the recognisable cover of the Dexys Midnight Runners' hit 'Come ON Eileen'.

The covers and inlay are pretty basic, but i think they are a perfect compliment to the style of music... colourful. Its just so jolly!

I have had to rate the originality quite low as the band are so much like other acts of the same genre. However i think they play some great music and deserve more recognition in the UK than they get.

The fact that 'Save Ferris' is not a house hold name means that the records can be quite difficult to find in the shops. I would reccomend looking only in the biggest or genre specific music stores to find this one, or order it from the internet.

Conclusion.... love it!