The last in my series of the 5 most under-rated albums of the 90s. And yes, while the others weren't in any order, this one IS the most under-rated album released in the musical mixing stew that was the 1990s.
You all remember Candlebox. To most, including this reviewer, they seemed to be a Seattle Scene version of Warrant, a band that came in looking to copy Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and Alice in Chains's sound, sell a few records, and then ride off into the sunset, leaving behind a couple of hits that we would all look back on and laugh about in future years.
And with their self titled debut album, they did leave a couple of hits. First was the hard rocking (but rather generic) You. And then came their version of the 90s power ballad, Far Behind. Hell, even I thought the song was pretty catchy and I admit to listening to it if it came on the radio. But neither of these songs screamed at me to go buy the album.
In October of 1995, Candlebox looked to score with their sophomore effort, simply titled Lucy. The first single, Simple Lessons, didn't appeal to me at the time, but now that I go back and listen to it, I realize it has a good amount of musical power and emotional depth to it. Like I said though, at the time it wasn't anything that impressed me, so I figured Candlebox would have a couple of hits off this record and then fade with the next one.
I was wrong. Simple Lessons bombed at radio. The band tried to make up for it with Drowned, which also bombed. Ironically though, this is the song that drew me to this album, that made me stand up and take notice and say to myself "you know, maybe I need to give this band a chance."
Drowned is kind of cryptic in its message, as it moves from a stream of consciousness piece about feeling confused and abandoned to a song that seems to be about the end of a long term relationship. The music behind it is incredibly powerful, it streams through with a fluidity that few bands have matched in recent years.
The band explores the more poppier side of hard rock with Best Friend, a song that's very simple both in it's message and it's music. It's basic 4/4 hard rock but it's got a sweet vocal hook and a simple guitar one as well. Drummer Scott Mercado shows off his chops nicely too.
I love the creeping in feel of the music on Understanding, although in some ways, I look at it as just a bit darker version of Far Behind musically, if not lyrically. But most of all I like the way Kevin Martin's voice sounds on this song. While some passed Martin off as someone who stole his style straight from the 80s, in reality, he was just born with a powerhouse set of pipes that when used effectively can stop you in your tracks in complete and utter amazement. Sure, he doesn't have the soothing baritone of an Eddie Vedder, and he isn't quite in Chris Cornell's league, but he's not far off.
But what puts this album into the stratosphere of "classic album" status is without a doubt Butterfly, a song that is sonically and lyrically gorgeous. Long before the contrast of soft verse/heavy chorus became popular, this song is like a blueprint of how it should be done. However, even before the "fuzz box" chorus, so to speak, the feeling of restraint permeates throughout the song, and on the reprise which closes the album.
To be truthful, I still don't think Candlebox is anything that special. To me at least, this is them shooting their proverbial "load," where they went into a studio and had the best 6 months of music making any of them will ever experience.
Like I said above, this album bombed and pretty much took any spotlight that might've remained from Far Behind away. After trying to push two singles, rock radio gave up and never got behind anything else that Warner Brothers might've released. Candlebox has only released one album since this one, 1998's Happy Pills, which once again radio tried to push modestly before just giving up. I'm unsure of Candlebox's current status, whether they are still together or broken up or on the infamous "hiatus," I don't know. But at least they left us this one gem, their own diamond in the rough.
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