jc6md
08-19-2004, 01:28 PM
Candlebox - Candlebox
1993 (Maverick Records)
Band:
Kevin Martin – Vocals
Peter Klett – Guitars
Bardi Martin – Bass
Scott Mercado – Drums
Tracks:
1. Don’t You
2. Change
3. You
4. No Sense
5. Far Behind
6. Blossom
7. Arrow
8. Rain
9. Mother’s Dream
10. Cover Me
11. He Calls Home
Background Info:
Candlebox formed in late 1991 in their hometown of Seattle. They were signed in 1992, and released this self-titled debut in 1993, at the height of the early-90’s ‘grunge’ scene. Due to this, Candlebox was usually lumped in with their Seattle peers Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana, despite having a distinct unique sound. This album went on to sell more than 4 million copies, and “Far Behind� and “You� are still played often on rock radio stations today. However, despite the success of this album, Candlebox was forgotten by most critics and MTV rather quickly. They never received much credit or acclaim for their later work, and broke up in 2000. But this CD remains as an excellent example of hard rock, and in my opinion, is the best CD of the 1990’s. Now on with the review…
Don’t You:
Candlebox chose a fast-paced hard rocker to open the album with. The song rips into a full out heavy main riff within seconds, and keeps the hard-edged distortion going through the verses. The volume never gets turned down in this one, and there’s a great guitar solo about 2 minutes into the track. The bridge that follows the solo is a high-octane rush, with Kevin Martin screaming some memorable lyrics, such as “I don’t need to know how, and I don’t need to blow out your candle/It’s only burning at both ends�. The song is a little over 3 minutes long, and goes by quickly, but it’s a hell of an intro. 9/10.
Change:
The album’s first single starts off much slower with clean guitars and soft vocals. However, this is an example of Candlebox’s traditional pattern; soft clean verses and hard jagged chorus riffs. And the chorus to this one is a headbanger too. The bridges and solo are quite good when the song gets into a groove later on, but it’s a pretty long song at 6:24 in length. It’s a good song, though not their best, and some listeners might grow bored of it. 8/10.
You:
Now this is an excellent song. One of the best on here for sure, and it was the bands first big hit. Driven by Kevin Martin’s emotional lyrics (basically him talking to himself about his drug addictions), and some great riffs during the verses and choruses, this song flows excellently. You can feel Martin’s anger during the chorus and bridge, and he sings his heart out here. It builds up to the passionate ending of the song in the last chorus, and the last line of the song sums it up best, “And I’ll tell you now how I feel inside/**** you, it’s for you�. They don’t play that version on the radio. Excellent song. 10/10.
No Sense:
The intro to this one seems much calmer after the fiery ending of “You�. The verse riff is a slow, clean, blues-based one, and Kevin Martin sings calmly. The song has a cool, calm feeling to it during the verses. But it follows the pattern of clean verse/heavy chorus as well, and the volume gets turned back up. The highlight to this song is the solo. The solo is amazing, starting off with a clean, calm yet fast run. Then Peter Klett turns up the distortion, and starts shredding, and ripping some crazy pinch harmonics. By the end of the solo, I think it can be best compared to something Zakk Wylde would do. It’s great. There is a reason why Peter Klett was named best new guitarist of 1993 by GuitarWorld, and this solo is a big boost towards that. 9/10, good song.
Far Behind:
This is the song that most people will know by Candlebox. This is also their best song. Definitely one of the darker hit songs of the 90’s, the lyrics tell of losing someone you love to drug addiction. The guitar riff during the verse is very catchy, and sad itself. Kevin Martin’s lyrics really stick out here, they are excellent. The song has a sweet solo, then builds into a final epic chorus where you can feel Martin’s emotion and anger as he sings. One of the things that makes this song great, is that you can tell he means what he’s saying, and its pretty deep. 10/10 for one of the best songs ever.
Blossom
This song starts off somewhat similarly to “Change� (it’s actually the same chords), but it has different timing and different lyrical content (failed relationships). Lyrics are good here, and otherwise it follows the quiet verse/loud chorus pattern we’ve come to know and love. Good solo once again (they almost all have good solos though). 8/10.
Arrow
Now this is a rocking song. Nothing quiet at all here, as it rips through the verses and choruses with some heavy catchy riffing. Kevin Martin screams several times in this one, and sings quite angrily when he’s not screaming. Peter Klett rips a monster solo in the middle of this one as well. There’s a lot of energy here for sure, it’s the albums heaviest song. 9/10.
Rain
It’s a blues song at first. Flat-out blues. So it’s much slower and darker than the previous number. This song provides an excellent example of Candlebox’s versatility. They went from doing loud heavy metal to blues-based rock in one track, something most bands don’t ever do. Also, this song is excellent as well; it definitely evokes a dark rainy mood. Over the first 3 minutes, it’s a very sad song, with Martin’s lyrics mourning his ex-girlfriend leaving throughout. Klett then rips an awesome blues-scale solo, and then business picks up. During the bridge following the solo, Martin’s tone changes from sadness to anger, and the rest of the band picks up speed as they jam along here. There’s another faster solo, and the rhythm section of the band does an excellent job of backing Klett’s lead guitar and Martin’s enraged ranting. And by the end of the song, he’s pretty pissed off at her. This is an excellent song from a musicians standpoint, very well-written, two solos and lots of blues-based leadwork, and some good lyrics and anger. 7 minutes long, but it doesn’t feel like it. 10/10 once again.
Mother’s Dream
Bardi Martin’s bass leads in here, and the main bass riff leads through most of the song. Klett soloes and improvises through the verses, and Martin contributes some dark lyrics/vocals on this one. It may not be the heaviest, but it’s one of the darker songs on here for sure. Another good solid song, 8/10.
Cover Me
The fourth single off this album marks the first appearance of an acoustic guitar. “Cover Me� is an acoustic/electric ballad which gets heavy when the time is right. The lyrics are a conversation between Kevin Martin and God, from what I’ve read. Peter Klett adds another great solo as well. This one gets a 9/10.
He Calls Home
The last song on here, it’s a pure acoustic ballad. It has a somber, mournful tone, and is a pretty dark song about not knowing what you’re looking for. Lyrics and vocals are great here once again, and the song is very calm. This is the only song on here without a solo, but that takes nothing away from this one. A beautiful dark ending to a great album. 10/10 on the closer, they nailed it here.
In conclusion, this CD is excellent. It’s a very versatile mix of hard rock (and blues and metal), that is driven by Kevin Martin’s great singing and Peter Klett’s guitarwork. Candlebox had a different sound from everything else that came out of Seattle, and didn’t really sound like any other early 90’s rock bands. So for fans of hard rock music and Seattle bands, this album is definitely worth checking out. Hell, I’m still listening to it 11 years after it came out, and still consider it one of the best albums ever. 4.5/5.
1993 (Maverick Records)
Band:
Kevin Martin – Vocals
Peter Klett – Guitars
Bardi Martin – Bass
Scott Mercado – Drums
Tracks:
1. Don’t You
2. Change
3. You
4. No Sense
5. Far Behind
6. Blossom
7. Arrow
8. Rain
9. Mother’s Dream
10. Cover Me
11. He Calls Home
Background Info:
Candlebox formed in late 1991 in their hometown of Seattle. They were signed in 1992, and released this self-titled debut in 1993, at the height of the early-90’s ‘grunge’ scene. Due to this, Candlebox was usually lumped in with their Seattle peers Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana, despite having a distinct unique sound. This album went on to sell more than 4 million copies, and “Far Behind� and “You� are still played often on rock radio stations today. However, despite the success of this album, Candlebox was forgotten by most critics and MTV rather quickly. They never received much credit or acclaim for their later work, and broke up in 2000. But this CD remains as an excellent example of hard rock, and in my opinion, is the best CD of the 1990’s. Now on with the review…
Don’t You:
Candlebox chose a fast-paced hard rocker to open the album with. The song rips into a full out heavy main riff within seconds, and keeps the hard-edged distortion going through the verses. The volume never gets turned down in this one, and there’s a great guitar solo about 2 minutes into the track. The bridge that follows the solo is a high-octane rush, with Kevin Martin screaming some memorable lyrics, such as “I don’t need to know how, and I don’t need to blow out your candle/It’s only burning at both ends�. The song is a little over 3 minutes long, and goes by quickly, but it’s a hell of an intro. 9/10.
Change:
The album’s first single starts off much slower with clean guitars and soft vocals. However, this is an example of Candlebox’s traditional pattern; soft clean verses and hard jagged chorus riffs. And the chorus to this one is a headbanger too. The bridges and solo are quite good when the song gets into a groove later on, but it’s a pretty long song at 6:24 in length. It’s a good song, though not their best, and some listeners might grow bored of it. 8/10.
You:
Now this is an excellent song. One of the best on here for sure, and it was the bands first big hit. Driven by Kevin Martin’s emotional lyrics (basically him talking to himself about his drug addictions), and some great riffs during the verses and choruses, this song flows excellently. You can feel Martin’s anger during the chorus and bridge, and he sings his heart out here. It builds up to the passionate ending of the song in the last chorus, and the last line of the song sums it up best, “And I’ll tell you now how I feel inside/**** you, it’s for you�. They don’t play that version on the radio. Excellent song. 10/10.
No Sense:
The intro to this one seems much calmer after the fiery ending of “You�. The verse riff is a slow, clean, blues-based one, and Kevin Martin sings calmly. The song has a cool, calm feeling to it during the verses. But it follows the pattern of clean verse/heavy chorus as well, and the volume gets turned back up. The highlight to this song is the solo. The solo is amazing, starting off with a clean, calm yet fast run. Then Peter Klett turns up the distortion, and starts shredding, and ripping some crazy pinch harmonics. By the end of the solo, I think it can be best compared to something Zakk Wylde would do. It’s great. There is a reason why Peter Klett was named best new guitarist of 1993 by GuitarWorld, and this solo is a big boost towards that. 9/10, good song.
Far Behind:
This is the song that most people will know by Candlebox. This is also their best song. Definitely one of the darker hit songs of the 90’s, the lyrics tell of losing someone you love to drug addiction. The guitar riff during the verse is very catchy, and sad itself. Kevin Martin’s lyrics really stick out here, they are excellent. The song has a sweet solo, then builds into a final epic chorus where you can feel Martin’s emotion and anger as he sings. One of the things that makes this song great, is that you can tell he means what he’s saying, and its pretty deep. 10/10 for one of the best songs ever.
Blossom
This song starts off somewhat similarly to “Change� (it’s actually the same chords), but it has different timing and different lyrical content (failed relationships). Lyrics are good here, and otherwise it follows the quiet verse/loud chorus pattern we’ve come to know and love. Good solo once again (they almost all have good solos though). 8/10.
Arrow
Now this is a rocking song. Nothing quiet at all here, as it rips through the verses and choruses with some heavy catchy riffing. Kevin Martin screams several times in this one, and sings quite angrily when he’s not screaming. Peter Klett rips a monster solo in the middle of this one as well. There’s a lot of energy here for sure, it’s the albums heaviest song. 9/10.
Rain
It’s a blues song at first. Flat-out blues. So it’s much slower and darker than the previous number. This song provides an excellent example of Candlebox’s versatility. They went from doing loud heavy metal to blues-based rock in one track, something most bands don’t ever do. Also, this song is excellent as well; it definitely evokes a dark rainy mood. Over the first 3 minutes, it’s a very sad song, with Martin’s lyrics mourning his ex-girlfriend leaving throughout. Klett then rips an awesome blues-scale solo, and then business picks up. During the bridge following the solo, Martin’s tone changes from sadness to anger, and the rest of the band picks up speed as they jam along here. There’s another faster solo, and the rhythm section of the band does an excellent job of backing Klett’s lead guitar and Martin’s enraged ranting. And by the end of the song, he’s pretty pissed off at her. This is an excellent song from a musicians standpoint, very well-written, two solos and lots of blues-based leadwork, and some good lyrics and anger. 7 minutes long, but it doesn’t feel like it. 10/10 once again.
Mother’s Dream
Bardi Martin’s bass leads in here, and the main bass riff leads through most of the song. Klett soloes and improvises through the verses, and Martin contributes some dark lyrics/vocals on this one. It may not be the heaviest, but it’s one of the darker songs on here for sure. Another good solid song, 8/10.
Cover Me
The fourth single off this album marks the first appearance of an acoustic guitar. “Cover Me� is an acoustic/electric ballad which gets heavy when the time is right. The lyrics are a conversation between Kevin Martin and God, from what I’ve read. Peter Klett adds another great solo as well. This one gets a 9/10.
He Calls Home
The last song on here, it’s a pure acoustic ballad. It has a somber, mournful tone, and is a pretty dark song about not knowing what you’re looking for. Lyrics and vocals are great here once again, and the song is very calm. This is the only song on here without a solo, but that takes nothing away from this one. A beautiful dark ending to a great album. 10/10 on the closer, they nailed it here.
In conclusion, this CD is excellent. It’s a very versatile mix of hard rock (and blues and metal), that is driven by Kevin Martin’s great singing and Peter Klett’s guitarwork. Candlebox had a different sound from everything else that came out of Seattle, and didn’t really sound like any other early 90’s rock bands. So for fans of hard rock music and Seattle bands, this album is definitely worth checking out. Hell, I’m still listening to it 11 years after it came out, and still consider it one of the best albums ever. 4.5/5.