Search - Samiam :: Whatever's Got You Down

I can't believe you people

the last unitard | chapel hill | 03/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is not only a good Samiam album, it is a great Samiam album. In fact, as a longtime fan of the band I can say without hesitation that this is THE BEST Samiam album.



That's right. Better than Clumsy. Better than You Are Freaking Me Out. Better than Soar. Better than Billy. Better than Astray (another unfairly maligned album).



The production is stripped down. That's not the same as bad. It's what happens when you take off some of the gloss and studio magic. This is how it's supposed to sound. Jason's voice is older and rougher, but the harmonies are still beautiful. There's all kinds of great guitar sounds that have never been heard on a Samiam record.



The songs are coming from an older, wiser, sadder perspective. The angst and anger of the early days are replaced by wistfulness and regret. It's for grown-ups. Maybe that's the reason for the bad reviews.



All I know is that if you listen to "Do You Want to be Loved" and it doesn't make you feel something, you just haven't lived yet.



"

Incredible, but the sound engineer needs to be given a heari

K. Beres | Daytona Beach, FL. | 10/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It really is a fantastic album, song wise, but what is up with the sound? It's tragic that an album as good as this one should succumb to something like poor sound. It's not even an issue of lacking polish...it's all mids, sort of like an MP3 ripped at 32kbps. The drums are so muddy sounding that at times they sound like they're being played in a room far away from the rest of the music. It does vary slightly from song to song, but overall, it's not good. I have to agree with the other reviewer who stated that Samiam are best with a nice clean sound. Listen to Clumsy, then put this in.



What a shame that one has to go and f**k up a Samiam review by ranting about sound. But the upside is that the record is, indeed, another great slice of Samiam.



Here's to band reformations, and hi-fi."

I hated to only give it 4 Stars, but.......

jdesk0911 | Dallas, TX USA | 03/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great record. The music on here is good and the lyrics are good. I have only two complaints about this record and they are the reasons why this did not get 5 stars. The sound quality of the actual recording is weak. It sounds a lot like a demo or something. I am not very impressed with the recording. The vocals on the CD are great but I really would not know it is SAMIAM if I did not have disc to prove it. When you listen to Soar or Billy the vocals have a certain sound to them that make it SAMIAM. Don't get me wrong I love the vocals on this and I love the music. It is just a different tone and sound for them and it may take a little getting used to. I listened to Soar all morning before recieving this CD in the mail and my first impression was "This music is awesome, but it doesn't sound like SAMIAM really." The stand out tracks on here for me are WHEN WE'RE TOGETHER, DO YOU WANT TO BE LOVED, COME HOME, and ARE YOU ALRIGHT. Great Cd, great songs, bad recording. That about sums it up. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who is a longtime SAMIAM listener or someone who has never heard them at all. It is great that they are back. I hope they play in my town soon."