http://www.tunelabmusic.com/reviews/reviewid145.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1191723242&archive=&start_from=&ucat=5&
10-08-07
Posted:
07
October
2007
Contributed
By:
Nick
|
|
Purchase
the
album
here
through
Amazon.com |
Overview:
If
you
went
to
the
record
store
on
July
24,
2007,
the
original
scheduled
release
date
of
Puddle
of
Mudd's
third
opus,
attempting
to
purchase
their
latest,
you
would
depart
empty
handed,
as
the
album
has
been
pushed
back,
re-recorded,
and
songs
have
been
added
and
subtracted.
Originally
entitled
'Livin'
on
Borrowed
Time',
the
third
installment
of
Puddle
of
Mudd
has
quite
an
impressive
standard
to
live
up
to,
like
their
ass
smackin'
debut
which
spit
out
multi-platinum
sales,
with
its
sequel,
2003's
'Life
on
Display'
surpassing
the
gold
sales
benchmark.
With
a
chart-climbing
single
that
has
been
toiling
at
radio
since
early
May
in
"Famous",
Puddle
of
Mudd
and
Geffen
Records
are
finally
ready
to
drop
the
band's
newest
offertory,
now
branded
'Famous',
on
October
9th.
Look
for
Puddle
of
Mudd
in
a
town
near
you,
as
the
band
is
currently
out
on
tour
with
Saliva
and
Deepfield.
The
Good:
'Famous'
is
the
perfect
balance
of
the
meaty
cuts
of
grungy-tinged
rock
from
'Come
Clean'
and
the
ethereal
melodies
of
'Life
on
Display',
and
Puddle
of
Mudd
also
capitalize
on
their
ability
for
inking
tunes
with
heartwarming
and
all
too
memorable
catch
phrases
and
riffs.
"Famous"
leads
things
off
and
although
gritty,
the
song
is
nauseatingly
catchy,
and
it
should
surprise
none
as
to
how
it
has
managed
to
propel
up
the
charts
and
remain
there.
"Livin'
on
Borrowed
Time"
is
one
of
the
strongest
tracks
'Famous'
has
to
offer,
as
its
driving
and
anthemic
personality
makes
it
an
easy
repeat.
Single
number
two
does
not
fall
far
from
the
tree
in
"It
Was
You",
soaked
in
infectious
melodies
and
complete
with
some
of
Scantlin's
more
memorable
sermons.
Puddle
of
Mudd
get
an
"A
for
Effort"
for
effective
dynamics
in
"Psycho",
as
the
tip-toeing
verses
make
the
already
muscular
choruses
that
much
more
explosive,
and
"Moonshine"
is
an
easy
listen,
striking
the
right
blend
of
high
octane
energy
and
attentive
sensitivity.
"Thinking
About
You"
is
a
poignant
tug
on
the
heartstrings,
and
the
song
is
followed
by
the
Beach
Boy-ish
retro
vibe
of
"Merry
Go
Round",
one
of
Puddle
of
Mudd's
most
exploratory
approaches
to
songwriting.
One
of
the
real
gems
of
'Famous'
is
"Blurry",
er,
I
mean
"Radiate",
which,
despite
generously
borrowing
from
the
introduction
and
progression
of
the
band's
crossover
smash,
emanates
compassion
and
blissful
harmony;
'Famous'
culminates
with
"If
I
Could
Love
You",
the
sum
of
the
many
parts
of
'Famous',
as
Puddle
of
Mudd
cruises
through
the
album's
final
moments
with
a
shrewd
melodic
sensibility.
'Famous'
is
a
dangerously
clingy
record,
and
even
if
you
curse
every
second
from
front
to
back,
I
guarantee
you
will
be
retreating
to
the
album
to
serve
as
your
guilty
pleasure
fix.
The
Bad:
When
Puddle
of
Mudd
decided
to
abandon
the
album's
original
release
date
to
reconvene
in
the
studio
and
tweak
'Famous'
one
last
time,
it
is
reasonable
to
assume
that
the
band
wanted
to
right
some
of
the
parts
of
the
album
the
band
felt
were
lacking;
God
only
knows
what
went
wrong
the
second
time
around,
but
'Famous'
is
a
listless
and
standard-fare
rock
affair
that
flatlines
all
the
way
to
the
finish
line.
The
eleven
song
amalgam
that
is
'Famous'
suffers
in
all
departments,
from
the
stale
and
homogenized
guitar
riffs
to
the
woeful
whirring
of
Scantlin,
ironically
enough
most
prevalent
when
Puddle
of
Mudd
attempt
at
moments
to
pass
as
sincere;
infact,
the
most
bastardizing
fault
of
'Famous'
is
the
vocal
work
of
Wes
Scantlin.
The
man
is
able
to
take
an
actually
solid
song
in
"Thinking
of
You"
and
rip
it
to
shreds,
as
his
lackadaisical
and
somewhat
sheepish
delivery
deprives
this
song,
as
well
as
many
others,
the
chance
to
go
anywhere.
Scantlin's
range
is
unbearably
challenged
in
"We
Don't
Have
to
Look
Back
Now",
and
at
one
point
in
"Moonshine",
it
sounds
as
if
Scantlin
is
being
unmercifully
beaten,
as
he
aimlessly
wails
and
wallows.
The
hallmark
example
of
the
tragedy
that
is
Wesley
Scantlin's
oral
performance
can
be
heard
in
the
how-can-you-take-seriously
chorus
of
"I'm
So
Sure",
which
broadcasts
an
ear
blistering
screech
that
will
send
you
dashing
for
the
exit
door.
Lyrically,
'Famous'
is
littered
with
Dr.
Seuss
level
structures,
failing
to
inspire
or
create
any
sense
of
dignity
at
all.
In
the
end,
even
if
Scantlin's
performance
was
vastly
improved,
the
music
behind
which
he
sings
is
far
from
enough
to
help
buoy
the
album,
as
monotonous,
shoe-gazing
musical
patterns
are
all
the
rampant.
'Famous'
has
the
potential
to
be
a
solid
album
with
a
decent
chunk
of
credibility,
but
with
lyrics
like
"Everytime
I
walk
in
the
door/You
put
me
down
a
little
bit
more/You
think
that
you're
better
than
everyone
else/But
everyone
knows
that
you're
stuck
on
yourself"
and
a
penchant
for
hiding
behind
a
copious
amount
of
forgettable
song
structures,
there
truly
is
no
saving
this
disc.
Bottomline:
The
sad
part
about
'Famous'
is
that
Puddle
of
Mudd
actually
have
the
right
ideas
for
scrap
booking
an
album
with
notoriously
hook
savvy
anthems
and
power
ballads,
but
the
band's
implementation
is
so
poor
that
'Famous'
is
nothing
short
of
a
musical
clusterf--k.
Everything
on
here
is
a
complete
mess,
from
the
syrupy
nursery
rhyme
lyrics
to
the
musicianship
with
a
gossamer
depth,
and
while
'Famous'
has
its
few
moments
in
the
sunshine,
the
listener
is
sadly
reminded
that
there
is
still
more
of
the
song
left
to
plow
through;
Puddle
of
Mudd
better
be
thankful
that
they
are
arguably
already
"famous",
because
this
album
is
going
to
get
them
nowhere.
Rating:
3
out
of
10