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Rating: I have some good news and some bad news.
The good news is that the "five cents change," which is more or less the meaning of their name, is not a nu-metal band, which is not really a given these days, in my opinion, considering how, back in 2001-2002, that genre was everywhere.
The bad news is that these four Canadians from Vancouver, led by frontman Chad Kroeger, lack a crucial element: originality. Let's make it clear from the start, Nickelback haven't invented or discovered anything new. I like to define them as a band with “hard rock with the handbrake on”, basically they are part of that line of bands (another that comes to mind is Creed) that take (almost) hard rock riffs, the big "American highway" rock, even a bit of grunge here and there, and shake it up with some melody and a powerful, rough voice just enough. The result is an energetic rock aimed at pleasing everyone, and in this sense certainly “commercial.”
“Silver Side Up” is actually their fourth album (they have been active since 1996, the year in which two albums were released along with the later “The State” in 2000), but it can be considered a debut CD since with this work they made a name for themselves in Europe where they broke through, thanks in particular to the single “How You Remind Me”.
This album consists of good rock tracks, some more intense, others less so, all built on the classic scheme of voice, guitar, and drums. It starts with “Never Again” which really promises a lot with an initial drum line that vaguely reminds me of “Come As You Are” on which a riff that will accompany us throughout the track is inserted. Take a look at this and other lyrics, here the autobiographical element prevails: the fights between Chad's mother and his drunk and violent father, which he watched as a helpless spectator.
Then comes that little masterpiece “How You Remind Me”, a song that made me discover this group and kept me company during a time when I was angry (and that's an understatement) with the entire world. What more can I say? It is built on calm, spoken moments, which explode with the power of the chorus with such potent bass that makes (empty) vodka bottles on the sink tremble! (I speak from experience). It continues with “Woke Up This Morning” and another gem, “Too Bad”, another autobiographical text in which Chad expresses regret for the failure of the relationship with the father who abandoned him “When I needed you the most”. “Just For” follows closely, where the theme of love, so far treated marginally, explodes into a mad jealousy. The lyrics are chilling: “I want to take his eyes out/ just for looking at you/ I want to take his hands off/ just for touching you” and so on.
After the decent “Hollywood”, we move on to “Look What Your Money Bought” where Chad takes on a spoiled and deceitful woman. The riff here stays in your head from the very first listen. But Nickelback hasn't fired all their shots yet because “Where Do I Hide” and “Hangnail” are yet to come, which deal with one of the most classic American myths: the criminal on the run from everyone and everything. To conclude, Nickelback says goodbye with an epic and melancholic ballad titled “Good Times Gone”.
If you are interested in Nickelback or just curious, skip their subsequent, decent albums, and start with this one. It may not be a masterpiece that will go down in history, but at least it gives the impression of having been created with grit, passion, and energy. All elements that have begun to be lacking in their latest works, watered down in a sea of repetitiveness and unnecessary and obvious sentimentality.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Never Again (04:23)
He's drunk again, it's time to fight
She must have done something wrong tonight,
The living room becomes a boxing ring
It's time to run when you see him clenching his hands,
She's just a woman... Never again
I hear her scream from down the hall,
Amazing she can even talk at all,
She cries to me... "go back to bed,"
I'm terrified that she'll wind up dead in his hands,
She's just a woman... Never again
Been there before but not like this,
Seen it before but not like this,
Never before have I ever seen it this bad,
She's just a woman... Never again
Just tell the nurse you slipped and fell,
It starts to sting as it starts to swell,
She looks at you... she wants the truth,
It's right out there in the waiting room with those hands,
Lookin' just as sweet as he can... Never again
Seen it before but not like this,
Been there before but not like this,
Never before have I ever seen it this bad,
She's just a woman... Never again... Never again...
Father's a name you haven't earned yet,
You're just a child with a temper,
Haven't you heard "don't hit a lady,"
Kickin' your ass would be a pleasure oh ohhhh......
He's drunk again, it's time to fight,
Same old shit, just on a different night,
She grabs the gun, she's had enough,
Tonight she'll find out how fuckin tough is this man,
Pulls the trigger fast as she can... Never again
Seen it before but not like this,
Been there before but not like this,
Never before have I ever seen it this bad,
She's just a woman... Never again x2
02 How You Remind Me (03:47)
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Tired of living like a blind man
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feelin'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
It's not like you to say sorry
I was waiting on a different story
This time I'm mistaken
For handing you a heart worth breakin'
And I've been wrong, I've been down
Been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head
Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"
Yet, yet, yet, no no
Yet, yet, yet, no no
It's not like you didn't know that
I said I love you and I swear I still do
And it must have been so bad
'Cause living with me must have damn near killed you
And this is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
It's not like you to say sorry
I was waiting on a different story
This time I'm mistaken
For handing you a heart worth breaking
And I've been wrong, I've been down
Been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head
Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"
Yet, yet, yet, no no
Yet, yet, yet, no no
Yet, yet, yet, no no
Yet, yet, yet, no no
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
It's not like you to say sorry
I was waiting on a different story
This time I'm mistaken
For handing you a heart worth breakin'
And I've been wrong, I've been down
Been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head
Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"
Yet, yet, are we having fun yet?
Yet, yet, are we having fun yet?
Yet, yet, are we having fun yet?
Yet, yet
03 Woke Up This Morning (03:52)
I paid my last respects this morning on an early grave
Already said goodbye nothing left to say
A tiny church, a tiny town and not a tear was spent
Not how I wanted it I'm hating all of this
Well I'm hating, All of this, I'm hating,
All of this, All of this, All of this
Now I know why I hide my love from you some days
No I don't mind keeping this bottled inside me
You came along and tore this wall down around me
Looks like you found me, now I know why
I felt like shit when I woke up this morning
I've been a loser all my life I'm not about to change
If you don't like it, there's the door nobody made you stay
There ain't a woman on the planet who can deal with it
Just how I wanted it I'm hating all of this
Well I'm hating, All of this, I'm hating,
All of this, All of this, All of this
Now I know why I hide my love from you some days
No I don't mind keeping this bottled inside me
You came along and tore this wall down around me
Looks like you found me, now I know why
I felt like shit when I woke up this morning
Well I'm hating, All of this, I'm hating,
All of this, All of this, All of this
Now I know why I hide my love from you some days
No I don't mind keeping this bottled inside me
You came along and tore this wall down around me
Looks like you found me, now I know why
I felt like shit when I woke up this morning
(repeat)
04 Too Bad (03:54)
Father's hands are lined with dirt
From long days in the field
And mother's hands are serving meals
In a cafe on Main Street
With mouths to feed
Just trying to keep clothing on our backs
And all I hear about
Is how it's so bad, it's so bad
It's too bad, it's too bad
Too late, so wrong, so long
It's too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk (let's talk)
You left without saying goodbye
Although I'm sure you tried
You call the house from time to time
To make sure we're alive
But you weren't there
Right when I needed you the most
And now I dream about it
And how it's so bad, it's so bad
It's too bad, it's too bad
Too late, so wrong, so long
And too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk
It's so bad
It's too bad, it's too bad
It's too late, so wrong, so long
Too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk (let's talk)
Father's hands are lined with guilt (guilt)
For tearing us apart
Guess it turned out in the end
Just look at where we are
We made it out
We still got clothing on our backs
And now I scream about it
And how it's so bad, it's so bad, it's so bad, it's so bad
It's too bad, it's too bad
Too late, so wrong, so long
It's too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk
It's so bad
It's too bad, it's too bad
It's too late, so wrong, so long
It's too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk
No time, last one, let's go
06 Hollywood (03:07)
Please don't be too long while you're gone
There ain't enough to keep me here too long
Not like the last time I stood in line
Just enough to keep me bouncing off the wall, yeah
The new day, the new tray that comes around
Pills and all, enough to kill him while he sleeps
Is this the alley we drag him to,
Just off of Hollywood and Normandy
If it worked like she said it would
Just like livin' in Hollywood
Just like a bad dream, or so it seems
Just like I'm back in emergency
Please don't be too long while you're gone
There ain't enough to keep me here too long
Not like the last time I stood in line
Just enough to keep me bouncing off the wall
If it worked like she said it would
Just like livin' in Hollywood
Just like a bad dream, or so it seems
Just like I'm back in emergency
07 Money Bought (03:28)
Cherry stem in her mouth she could tie in a knot
Favorite trick she does, One of ten that she's got
Makin' friends, setting trends, hardly having to try
All her looks, by the book, best that money can buy
Look what your money bought
It's all that she's got
It keeps her company
Straight from Mom and Daddy
Last chance to dance out in the back of the bar
Shakin' hands, nice to meet you, I don't know who you are
She has a toke and makes a joke about the alley man
Never pleasured from the treasure in a garbage can
Look what your money bought
It's all that she's got
It keeps her company
Straight from Mom and Daddy
Cherry stem in her mouth she could tie in a knot
Favorite trick she does, One of ten that she's got
Makin' friends, setting trends, hardly having to try
All her looks, by the book, best that money can buy
Look what your money bought
It's all that she's got
It keeps her company
Straight from Mom and Daddy
08 Where Do I Hide (03:40)
Got a criminal record, I can't cross state lines
First on the bad list, and you're last on mine
Lookin for a scapegoat, long past due
Walking down the aisle, staring straight at you
I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"
And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"
He said, she said, No she don't
Be back before morning, You know she won't
I remember that summer, like yesterday
And I remember his mother, As he was dragged away
I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"
And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"
A whole lot of memories
Yours and not mine
And he asks and I say "hurry inside"
Got a criminal record, I can't cross state lines
First on the bad list, and you're last on mine
Lookin for a scapegoat, long past due
Walking down the aisle, staring straight at you
I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"
And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"
A whole lot of memories
Yours and not mine
And he asks and I say "hurry inside"
09 Hangnail (03:56)
My hopes just fell and I can't see
the reason why
why there is blood on my sleeve
And all this time, I thought it was mine
But it's not, it's yours and It's not worth it for me
gets harder every time I call you
This life you lead
like living in a shiny ballroom
Next time you bleed, right about this time tomorrow
Next time you steal, better ask before you borrow
And I don't see too well, don't sing too well
And so I settle to scream
Just grab your shit and leave with it
They won't make no statues of you
It's not worth it for me
Gets harder every time I call you
This life you lead
Like living in a shiny ballroom
Next time you bleed, right about this time tomorrow
Next time you steal, better ask before you borrow
This label theif, what a better title suited for you
This tidal wave, its coming down upon you
This time I forgot it
I swear this shit was rotten
This time I believe it
Cause I've seen the shit you're needing
10 Good Times Gone (05:18)
Lost it on the chesterfield
Or maybe on a gambling wheel
Lost in it a diamond mine
It's dark as hell and hard to find
Well you can climb to the top of the highest tree
You can look around but you still won't see
What I'm looking for
Where the good times gone
Where the good times gone
All that stupid fun and all that shit we've done
Where the good times gone
Well I still don't know
Out in the back in the old corn field
Underneath the tractor wheel
Thought I'd dig 'till I found it first
Broke my back and died of thirst
Well you can bribe the devil, you can pray to God
You can sell off everything you've got
And you still won't know
Where the good times gone
Where the good times gone
All that stupid fun and all the shit we've done
Where the good times gone
And you still don't know
Saw it on the silver screen
Preacher says "don't know what it means"
Last page ad in a comic book
Bought me a map, told me where to look
It ain't carved of stone or made of wood
And if you pay for it then it ain't no good
And you still won't know
11 Hero (03:21)
NICKELBACK: HERO LYRICS
I am so high. I can hear heaven.
I am so high. I can hear heaven.
Oh but heaven, no heaven don’t hear me.
And they say that a hero can save us.
I’m not gonna stand here and wait.
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles.
Watch as we all fly away.
Someone told me love would all save us.
But how can that be, look what love gave us.
A world full of killing, and blood-spilling
that world never came.
And they say that a hero can save us.
I’m not gonna stand here and wait.
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles.
Watch as we all fly away.
Now that the world isn’t ending, its love that I’m sending to you.
It isn’t the love of a hero, and that’s why I fear it won’t do.
And they say that a hero can save us.
I’m not gonna stand here and wait.
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles.
Watch as we all fly away.
And they're watching us
(Watching Us)
and they're watching us
(Watching Us)
as we all fly away.yeahaahh...ooouuhh (#3X)
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