Review Summary: A release so self aware, the title says it all.
While you should never dissect and divide members of a band into a list of who is the most talented, it's not always the easiest thing to do when it comes to a band like Limp Bizkit; there is a renowned consensus that Wes
IS the core talent of the band. This isn't to demoralise the remaining members of the band, who all hold their place as solid musicians in their own field, but it comes down to the fact Borland's guitar playing and ideas are essentially needed for the band's compositions to make them interesting. Don't believe me? Well I have the proof right here, it's 2003's
Results May Vary. When Wes left the band in 2001 he effectively left Fred holding a live grenade in his hand; here Durst should have pulled the plug on the band, but given Fred's egomaniacal mindset, he set out to find a new guitar player. This led to to the hiring, and soon after firing, of Mike Smith, because his ideas and influences didn't quite match up to the rest of the band. This led to a frontman who can't play guitar, trying to write an album.
Even the title of the album suggests Fred isn't all that confident with the quality pertained within
Results May Vary. The once cocky and obnoxious frontman shows waning signs of insecurity; his struggle in translating ideas from mind to guitar soon brought on a daunting realisation that he could be in over his head. As such,
Results May Vary is an album cobbled together from various studio sessions with Mike Smith, others come from Fred going it alone on his guitar; while the remainder sees the band bringing in a list of guests as long as my arm: the likes of Brian Welch and Snoop Dogg are clearly brought in to try and add spice to tracks, while Paige Hamilton and Rivers Cuomo come in to try and decipher the ideas Durst couldn't get to. All this splicing would suggest an incoherent, tonal mess of an album -- and for the most part, you'd be right -- but you'd think, with the amount of people contributing to the album, it would have some interesting ideas at the heart of the thing.
The reality is that
Results May Vary suffers terribly from the moment it starts. The music is so banal and forgettable it's quite astonishing the final product saw the light of day. You won't find any quirky, infectious riffs here, all you'll receive is a large slab of generic rock, with the odd moment here and there for Fred to rap. And speaking of Fred on the mic, his performance throughout this whole album is a disaster; whether the departure of Wes had such a profound affect on his mental state it left him stressed with writers fatigue, I can only speculate, but it would make sense considering how bad his performance is on here. The likes of "Re-Entry (Intro With All Around The World)" showcase a more juvenile than normal Bizkit, and one that doesn't seem refrained either given how long the damn thing is. Lyrics and melodies range from Godawful to cringe-inducing: "Red Light-Green Light" is instantly irritating from the moment it starts, and just seems to go on and on, while the likes of "Almost Over" is a laughable shock to the systems as he writes off all his problems and thoughts from being a boy and a man. "Lonely World" is another one that not only suffers from facepalmingly bad lyrics, but his awkward rhythmic execution just emphasises how bad the lyrics really are.
Considering the LP is a whopping 17 tracks, there must surely be something redeemable here? And thankfully there is the odd moment that perks up interest: "Build A Bridge" and "Eat You Alive" bring some level of energy to the table, and are somewhat enjoyable, while "Behind Blue Eyes" brings a half decent rendition of The Who's classic track. But with all that said, the album spends more time stammering along with its head in its hands and hoping for the best. And at 17 tracks, that is a rather depressing thought. While the music isn't particularly bad, it certainly leaves a lot to be desired, but it can't go unsaid that Fred makes a bad situation that much worse with almost everything he brings to the LP. As I said earlier, when Fred was brought into the scenario he saw himself in, he should have called it quits there and then.
Results May Vary is a soulless collection of tracks that lack the core ingredient of what made Limp Bizkit enjoyable in the first place: fun.
Poor.
