There's no big back story before I actually put in the first CD and began taking notes. My first step was acquiring a CD player. I bought one for $20 at Big Lots and promptly plugged it in to an available outlet in my living room. My living room is where I am 90% of the time. It's where I watch tv, eat, hang out, and work from home. My job, fortunately, is not all day Zoom meetings or phone calls, so I am lucky I am able to listen to these CDs while working. Of course, typing these posts are not done on company time.
I have a big case full of CDs and listen to them in order I have them in it. Luckily for me, it was in some sort of order. The first half was where I only had one CD from the artist and the second half was where I had two or more CDs from an artist. I never said it was a good system, but it does make for interesting listening some days. I jot down my favorite song(s), least favorite song(s), overall rating out of 10, and various notes.
As I settled into another day of working from home, coffee made, TV on mute (I like the background visual), legs crossed with my work laptop in front of me on my comically large sectional, I had my system in place and popped in the first CD.
Day one of my project had me listening to the following:
Thursday - A City by the Light Divided - 6.5/10
Thursday - War All the Time - 7.5/10
Thursday - Full Collapse - 7/10
Matchbox 20 - Yourself or Someone Like You - 5/10
Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want - 8/10
Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane - 9/10
What surprised me about this day was two things: one, how much I disliked Yourself or Someone Like You and two, how great Everything You Want is.
Vertical Horizon was formed in 1991 by two students at Georgetown University, Matt Scannell and Keith Kane. Its current members are Scannel, Ron LaVella, Donovan White, and Mark Pacificar. Everything You Want was the band's first major label release. The album was released in 1999 and had four singles - We Are, Everything You Want, You're a God, and Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning). Although We Are was the band's first single from this album, it was overshadowed by its Billboard number one single Everything You Want. In 2001, the album was certified double platinum, selling over 2,000,000 copies. Most recently, the band released The Lost Mile in 2018, selling it exclusively on digital platforms.
For me, We Are was always the better single, even back in 1999. It had that rock sound, it was heavy hitting, melodic. It is one that I could, and still can, bop my head to and sing along with. This isn't to say Everything You Want is bad. But between the two, I enjoyed the less pop sounding song more. However, you don't hear We Are on the radio in 2021, you hear Everything You Want.
Other songs on this album that I liked were - You're a God, All of You, and Miracle. You're a God seems to be a lover putting their love on a pedestal but the relationship is "covered in lies." At the end, he finds the strength to let his love go. You're a God was featured in the movie Bruce Almighty. All of You seems to be fighting with the concept of needing and wanting someone while thinking the singer needs to change. Miracle sings the song of someone down on their luck, a person needing a miracle. To me, Miracle is the quintessential "slow" pop song of the album. What these songs have in common are the fact that all are easy to listen to. There's no crazy guitar riffs or drum solos or gnarly bass lines; they're just easy to enjoy songs. I am sure you could call them simple, but the fact is, all the songs on the CD are great. They all flow nicely. There is nothing jarring. The best thing about this album is that it is inoffensive to the ears. No songs assault your ears and no song sounds out of place. It was a very pleasant experience listening to this album.
The notes I wrote immediately after Everything You Want ended were "holds up well," "pretty good," and "no overall terrible songs." It's been a few weeks since I wrote those notes, and I still agree. For a CD that came out in 1999, it still holds up in 2021. That is what was surprising to me. I feel like this CD could be released today and it would not sound dated. I remember enjoying this CD as a 14 year old, so when I found myself bopping my head and tapping my feet to it over 20 years later, I was pleasantly surprised.
What are your thoughts on Everything You Want or the other albums listed? How do you feel my ratings are for each album listed?
