Long Road, The - Nickelback

.../> The State
The Long Road
Silver Side Up
All the Right Reasons
Dark Horse

The Tracks

==Track 1: Flat On The Floor- 7/10==

This is another heavy piece by this band, but I have to say whilst I think it fits brilliantly at the start of the album, it just doesn't work as well as some other songs. It is brilliantly produced and put together and Kroger's voice is very powerful and ...
...this album in a very long time, but it was a joy to listen to this album again. I think this album is one of the weaker albums from Nickelback, as it doesn't managed to produce so many brilliant hits like Silver Side Up and All The Right Reasons did.

For me the best track has to be Figured You Out which is designed for you to play as loud as possible in your car with your windows down, so you get the most evilest glares of the old ... more

Here is my second Nickelback review, I'll say what I said on my previous review for the next couple of bits as I don't want you to have to go looking.

I was looking through my collection today and realised that I had every album by Nickelback, except one, which was called The State, however I realised that two of the albums on my collection I had yet to review, so guess what, here is the review:

Who are Nickelback?

Nickelback are a Canadian rock band formed by Chad Kroger his brother Mike Kroger and Ryan Peake. They now have a new drummer called Daniel Adair. The bands' music is usually described as alternative hard rock or alternative metal. The bands name came from something one of the band members used to say when working at starbucks, 'here's your nickel back'.

The Albums

Curb
The State
The Long Road
Silver Side Up
All the Right Reasons
Dark Horse

The Tracks

Track 1: Flat On The Floor- 7/10

This is another heavy piece by this band, but I have to say whilst I think it fits brilliantly at the start of the album, it just doesn't work as well as some other songs. It is brilliantly produced and put together and Kroger's voice is very powerful and very strong, and it goes well with the rest of the song, but it doesn't have as much sparkle as some of their other tracks have.

A great heavy track from the band, there is better, but it starts of the album nicely.

Track 2: Do This Anymore- 8/10

A weird intro starts this track, and Kroger's voice is very soft at the beginning and I was thinking that it would be a slow song, but the drums hit in and it becomes another head banging song which you can help but tap or head bang along to. It's a very strong vocal from Kroger and the song is very good.

I don't think I'll be putting this track onto my IPod however it really does work well on the album, it's a bit lighter than some of their other work, very much lighter compared to Flat On The Floor but it's a great song.

Track 3: Someday- 9/10

This is the track that is already on my IPod, it's one of their slower tracks and it's one of my favourite tracks, the lyrics are fantastic and the song is toned down a lot compared to the other tracks. If you like their songs Photograph and Far Away then this track is another one that you should check it out.

The lyrics are fantastic and really memorable and they'll stay in your head all the way through. I think this is one of their best slower tracks, it still has you tapping along with the drum beat, however it's a lot calmer and it will probably appeal to a lot more people. I believe this was the first track released off this album. The reason is hasn't got full marks, is because it can become boring, it's not as good as Far Away or Photograph.

Track 4: Believe It or Not- 5/10

I have to say this is one of the weakest tracks on not only this album but of All The Right Reasons and Silver Side Up as well, it's not because of the riffs, or his voice or the lyrics, it's because of the production of the song which hasn't been done as well as other tracks, the beat of the song dosen't go with his voice and seems like its racing away from him and the lyrics don't go brilliantly well with his song.

I think this song is memorable however the tune the song provides is very catchy and you will find yourself going, this sounds good. I think this song could have been better that is why I've given it such a low vote.

Track 5: Feeling Way Too Damn Good- 6/10

When it starts off it's a very quiet track, but it quickly builds and it does remind me of someday in someway. It's no where near as good, this is another weak track by this band, it's good and I don't think I'd skip it if I had it on my stereo however there are a lot better songs on the album and difrent albums.

Kroger's voice is very powerful in this track, and the lyrics work, but the song doesn't have anything special about it, it's not that memorable, however it is an okay track and one you shouldn't skip. Another calm track from the band.

Track 6: Because Of You- 7/10

This track has quite a metal feel to it, it's very heavy right from the get go and it gets you head banging again, it's a very heavy track and you shouldn't listen if you have a headache or something, as it will just make it worse.

This is another strong track from the band, I have found so far with this album that there are good songs on the album, but I can understand why Someday is the only track I heard released from this album, unlike the most recent albums which have a lot more songs released of it. A good heavy track and brilliant vocals from Kroger.

Track 7: Figured You Out- 10/10

I take what I said back, I remember this song a lot, mainly because of the lyrics which are almost dominatrix kind of lyrics but they are typical Nickelback lyrics, especially in later albums.

This is the best track of the album so far, it's a very heavy track and it is like they are taking the micheal with the lyrics, but they are just too brilliant to pass up, each verse has something new and it just makes me laugh, Kroger's voice is very powerful and he never lets the music over power him. A fantastic singer and of course a fantastic song, check out the lyrics and of course the track on YouTube.

'I like your pants around you feet, I like the dirt that's on your knees, I like hte way you still say please, whilst your looking up at me, your like my favourite damn disease'

Track 8: Should've Listened- 9/10

Another slow song, and it is just brilliant, it's almost a lot like the previous song, but a lot less funnier and it's just a softer and slower track. I think after reading the lyrics, he's talking about a woman whose walked out on him, taking everything, a great track, one that I can't remember listening to this song, and this shocks me because it is a great track.

Not only is this one of Kroger's best vocal performances on the album, but the constant beat and the rest of the instrumentals is just awesome and the really sound fantastic, a great track which is a shocker to be honest as I wasn't expecting it.

Track 9: Throw Yourself Away- 7/10

Another strong and heavy track by the band, it's a good song, but I've heard it all before on the album, that is why I've given it such a low rate, this album doesn't seem to be very versatile, all the songs are great however they all seem to flow into one, this is a shame.

It is a good song, no doubt about that, the riffs and the drum beat are powerful and make you head bang and look like an idiot, however it is no different from quite a few other tracks on the album.

Track 10: Another Hole In The Head- 7/10

This starts of as quite a slow song, but then the drums hit and that gets thrown out the window. It's not as powerful as some and the song is slow during the verses but its quite a boring track, I think as you listen to it you find yourself getting more into the track, so because of that I think this must be a grower track.

Another very loud track from Nickelback, it still manages to be quite soft at the same time, only something Nickelback could pull off.

Track 11: See You At The Show 8/10

It starts off rather nicely and then the drums hit and I think wow, especially when his powerful voice joins in. Another strong vocal from Kroger and amazingly it is a great song. A fantastic end to a good album, a nice unique song and very different from other songs on the album. Nice ending.

My Opinion

Like Silver Side Up, I haven't listened to this album in a very long time, but it was a joy to listen to this album again. I think this album is one of the weaker albums from Nickelback, as it doesn't managed to produce so many brilliant hits like Silver Side Up and All The Right Reasons did.

For me the best track has to be Figured You Out which is designed for you to play as loud as possible in your car with your windows down, so you get the most evilest glares of the old grannies, it's just brilliant and it just all comes together brilliantly, however these sort of tracks on this album come in short supply. Tracks like Someday and Should've listened are brilliant as well, but none of them really have success written over them, Someday was released as a track however it is probably one of their less known singles.

This was probably the first album of Nickelback's that got them known, mainly just in Canada, as it wasn't until Silver Side Up and How You Remind Me that they really found themselves loved by people all over the world, but this was the album that they look back on and you can see a lot of their later success in this album.

For me Nickelback are one of the best bands around at the moment, they have produced some brilliant tracks over the years, if you listen to a lot of their tracks you can still hear a lot of their roots, mainly from this album and The Curb, but it is the albums following Silver Side Up that people mainly recognise Nickelback and it just is a fantastic album.

Should You Buy the Album?

I think your worth at least checking out some of the tracks on Youtube, but if like me, you found out about The Long Road a long time after listening to Silver Side Up and All The Right Reasons and if you like these then you'll love this album. You can get it from amazon for £5, but I'm sure you can get it a lot cheaper on EBay if you had a little search. It's such a great album and well worth checking out.

Hope this helps

(This is a lot smaller album review than usual for some personal reasons today, hopefully you enjoy it just the same)

(C) Kirsty 

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