ALL THE RIGHT REASONS
There isn't a whole lot of middle ground when it comes to Canadian
rockheads NICKELBACK. People either love them or they hate them. I'm
one of the knuckleheads who loves this band for the simple, memorable
songs, and chest-thumping riffs. I first picked up on Nickelback with
The State
when I heard it cranking through a local record shop in Jersey, and
every review I've done since then has been favorable. I guess you could
say I'm biased.
Chad Kroeger has figured out his formula, that's for sure. Big fat riff
+ lyrics about screwing and fighting + a handful of ballads =
multi-platinum Nickelback record. I'm not a huge fan of their first
single, "Photograph", although I do understand why they released it.
That kind of material resonates with the female fans and for lack of a
better term...the kids.
"Follow You Home" features a guest solo by ZZ TOP's Billy Gibbons, and
"Side Of A Bullet" is a dedication to the late Dimebag Darrell (who
collaborated with Kroeger and KID ROCK on the "Saturday Night's
Alright" cover for the
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Soundtrack. The song also features a posthumous solo from Dimebag donated by brother Vinnie Paul.
I think the amount of ballads on
All The Right Reasons
is excessive, and the song "The Next Contestant" has some of the most
sophomoric, jealous-boyfriend-meathead lyrics I have ever heard...and
for this, I am shaving one star off this review. It's a fun disc if you
just want to bop your head around and smash your hand into the steering
wheel while you're driving. Fantastic, mindless, headbanging
arena-friendly, crunch-rock is exactly what the scene needs every so
often, and Nickelback knows how to do it perfectly.
