Search - Urge Overkill :: Saturation

"Watching you and Fidel Castro in the sand"

mwreview | Northern California, USA | 04/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Saturation is worth a spot in the CD case for the hit "Sister Havana" alone! Ever so often, I clean out my CD collection, and this one usually ends up in the "maybe" pile until I listen to "Sister Havana" again, and then it quickly goes into the "keep" pile. Actually, there are other awesome tracks on Saturation. "Tequila Sundae" also kicks! Blackie O's drumming flies and the opening guitar riff really rocks! "Positive Bleeding" blends a heavy rock sound with a very catchy melody. I'm not sure if this was ever released as a single, but it would have been another perfect choice. It also sports some of Nash Kato's best vocal work. "Back on Me" is a slow, pleasant track. It sounds like Tom Petty (in fact, Nash's vocals could be mistaken for Petty's here). I like the whining guitar on it. "Woman 2 Woman" rocks hard but is also catchy, especially at the verses. "Bottle of Fur" is a slower classic rocker similar to the Black Crowes.



So far, this album is almost perfect. Unfortunately, the latter half is not near as good. "Crackbabies," at first, sounds very cool with the simple opening keyboard notes and the driving verse, but I end up not liking it as the chorus is repetitive and annoying. "The Stalker" it a lot of noise. "Dropout" is a different-sounding track. The keyboards on it are unique, but it is kind of a weak-sounding song (well, it's about a dropout, so I guess that is appropriate). "Erica Kane," about the All My Children character, of course, is a catchy rocker. Anyone whose watched the show can relate to the line "you find yourself in such a mess." The high-pitched vocals at the bridge detract from it, however. "Nite and Grey" is a decent track. I like the chorus. "Heaven 90210" is a slower rocker that is, again, a classic style. It is OK, but not spectacular. There is also a hidden bonus track which scared the heck out of me one day when I didn't push "stop" after the CD ended and forgot about it. It is not worth the wait. It is a very noisey song with lyrics that are indecipherable (they almost sound backwards). The CD is not "saturated" with great songs. To me, it has always seemed like a 6-track EP because the first half is so much better than the second. I was going to give it three stars, but have added a fourth because "Sister Havana" kicks so much fanny.

"

Out of print!?

mwreview | 07/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this CD. I bought it when it came out and went to see them play in Athens. I still listen to it all the time. I'm about to buy a 3rd CD because I've worn the others out, but I've been unable to find one. Now I know why. Why no one has heard of this band is beyond me. Since UO is back together and touring, I don't see why this CD isn't on a shelf somewhere. It's a crime! Can't wait to see the show though."

Roll With Them!

Sal Nudo | Champaign, Illinois | 07/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Am I reading this right? Is "Saturation" truly out of print? If so, that's a tradgedy. Urge's major-label debut was premium guitar rock and roll, mostly upbeat, bright-sounding songs that somewhat clashed with the heavy grunge environment that infiltrated the times upon its release. This was a 3-piece outfit with a sense of humor and great songwriting skills. They reveled in their mostly unironic tunes, their fast image, and rough-and-tumble, refreshingly angstless attitude. "Sister Havana" starts things off with an absolutely irresistable riff, and the chorus - "girl you've got to rooooll!" sums up Urge Overkill's basic attitude throughout "Saturation." It's just somewhat of a mystery that these guys didn't explode into big-time popularity; afterall, song after song on this album is loaded with meaty, catchy hooks, and sing-a-long lyrics everywhere. Urge were definitely part of the rising apex of all those great guitar bands that led off the 1990's. Only the funky, clean beat of the atypically gloomy "Dropout" veers from the straight-out, down-home riffage that makes this album such a true classic. Here's hoping these guys reform, and that "Saturation" will soon be around and in print for others to enjoy."