We need something else (the death of a Sanctus Real fan)
Posted February 08, 2008
By Nathan,
Sanctus Real's sophomore album Fight the Tide really was an impressive rock album, numerous hits off of it and it set up for many more. The Face of Love came after that with a handful of number 1 hits ("I'm not alright", "face of love", and "don't give up") but the rest of the album was okay. We need each other, Sanctus Real's newest album, had many good impressions starting with the smash hit single "we need each other". But is this how rock music dies?
The beginning of the album certainly sounded like prime time Sanctus Real, as "turn out the lights was a gritty, but still a good rock song. The title track "we need each other" is excellent, it has a great intro, and it flows nicely. "black coal" is rough, and "whatever you are doing" is a soft song boarding on light rock, after that lose all the impressions of a once rock band. The song "Sing" is upbeat but is a worship song, not something the Band has really done.
The album moves closer too really soft and father away from rock. "Leap of faith is pretty okay, and songs don't get much slower than "lay down my guns". "Eternally yours" is, guess what, a slow song, and so is "Legacy" which has an odd sound to it. One of the great things about Sanctus Real is the way they threw original rock tune, but sadly that is not the case here. By the time the upbeat medium rock song "legacy comes around, it's too late to same "One of the top Christian rock bands, rock CD's".
The music slightly excusable, a band changing their music happens all the time, but what happened to Sanctus Real's cleverly written lyrics, and the original ways they conveyed in their messages? The album starts with "turn out the lights" which says absolutely nothing of meaning. "We need each other" is a wonderful song about relationships and people and their value, after that is "black coal" is a good song but the message is oddly told. "Whatever you are doing", "leap of faith", and "lay down my guns" all have good lyrics but nothing listeners have not heard and It isn't different way either. Same goes with the rest of the album.
Let's look back to older Sanctus Real: catchy tunes, original lyrics, and clever ways of conveying them. Now let's look at We Need each: not many infectious songs, slow tunes, basic messages, and bland lyrics. There is a major difference, while change is good this peculiar "rock" band may not have been than great. This Sanctus Real CD is not for long time fans or rock fans.
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