Search - Candlebox :: Happy Pills

Another great album...

Joe | Deep within Pennsylvania | 08/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Candlebox's 3rd album, and yet another change in direction from this band. Where "Lucy" was underproduced and had a garage feel to it, "Happy Pills" leans more towards classic hard rock, and reminds me of Aerosmith at times. Once again, it's another extremely solid and great album from Candlebox, though sadly their last. "10,000 Horses" is a good opener, a well-written catchy hard rock song. "Happy Pills" is the heaviest and angriest song on here, and is helped by an excellent dual-guitar solo, and an awesome riff. It's one of my favorites. The songs are lighter overall on this one, and acoustic guitars are used much more than on the previous C-box albums. The song in which the acoustics stand out the most is the ballad "Sometimes", which is a very deep song with moving lyrics. It's also one of the best on here, and probably one of the best love songs I've ever heard. "A Stone's Throw Away" is a blues-based song, with some excellent lead guitar in it, it's another well-written song musically and lyrically. The other songs on here are pretty enjoyable, so overall it's a great album. In conclusion, it's got great guitarwork and great lyrics/vocals from Kevin Martin. Recommended for fans of Candlebox; and fans of hard rock (Aerosmith, Black Crowes, Zeppelin, etc.) should enjoy this as well. I'd give it a 9/10 on the Joe scale."

All music critics are getting a little old...

Nathan Macri | Rossmore, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 12/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you listen to the critics about Happy Pills, you are obviously a nut. This CD is definately a mile in front of 'Candlebox' and 'Lucy', and the style of music has definately taken a step forward. '10,000 Horses' should have become a rock anthem. Every track on this CD is fantastic. I thoroughly recommend this record to anyone who has a taste in fine music.Well done Candlebox."

A new sound

Jonathan | Raleigh, NC, USA | 08/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll admit that there was a reason why Candlebox never skyrocketed to the amount of fame of Soundgarden or Pearl Jam- they just never had the same kind of "edge." The reason certainly wasn't the lack of a good guitarist- as Peter Klett continually has done great work for them with a really signature sound. And the reason DEFINITELY wasn't the lack of a good singer. In fact, I will go a step bolder here- Kevin Martin was THE greatest rock singer of the nineties- in terms of pure talent alone. Maybe his hooks weren't as catchy as Vedder's or Cornell's or Staley's or Cobain's, and maybe he never gained attention by doing weird things with his voice like they did, but (pardon the cliche), the man sang his heart out. He did it on unforgettable older songs such as "You" (my favorite Candlebox song to date), and his voice seems to have only improved as Candlebox have progressed. On "Happy Pills," the style has toned down quite a lot- no more songs like "You," I'm afraid. In fact, it could almost be called easy listening. But damn, when you listen to Martin's passionate crooning on "10,000 Horses" and "A Stone's Throw Away," it's hard to really care. The other plus, aside from Martin alone, is that the band finally seem to have found a definitive sound on this album. You could hear two songs from Happy Pills at completely separate times without knowing anything about them, and still tell that they're on the same album. Not that all songs sound the same- the variation is quite gargantuan between the title track, which is the song most reminiscent of their debut album, and "Sometimes," the beautiful ballad that functions nicely as a centerpiece for the album. But still, the same underlying tone exists in all of the music on this album, which hint at a more mature and more calmed down Candlebox- almost like they actually did take some happy pills. Overall, it's quite solid even if it strays into "boring" territory on occasion- for example, the monotonous "Belmore Place," but still other songs dare to depart into the outright weird (the bold and amazing closer "Look What You've Done.") My only complaint is that they appear to have lost a little bit of their youthful "edge" they exhibited in songs like "Arrow" and the aforementioned "You." But that is to be expected. They are older now and have obviously settled into the kind of music they really want to write, and good for them."