I had a conversation about Napster with a coworker at work. She told me that she didn't see the difference between taping a song off the radio and listening to MP3; I was inclined to agree with her. But she said she wouldn't like it if someone stole her artwork off her website, and that she wouldn't burn CDs or copy tapes because of that. But she was very interested in Savage Garden, and I remembered their first album, and decided to see what was so big about "AFFIRMATION."

What I like/dislike about it:

I bought both "SAVAGE GARDEN" and "AFFIRMATION" from CDNow. I was pretty open-minded, ready to give the AFFIRMATION album a chance. I read the lyrics and thought it would be a good album. Affirmation the song was pretty cool, I am satisfied with it. But the next couple of songs, although well written just didn't have the musical oomph! to meet my musical standard of quality. It seemed as though Darren & Daniel were speaking the lyrics instead of singing anything.

Usually I think that songs the radio plays are not necessarily the best songs on the album. But I think that "Affirmation" would not have received the positive response it did if "Crash and Burn" wasn't the appealing song.

Do I think it's a sophomore jinx?
I am not sure about the answer to this one because if I had been more attentive to the popular music out there today, I would be more sensitive and openminded for anything better and say that this was a good album. The same way there is formula fiction, there is formula music. Understand the mindset of your audience, and write songs that appeal to their interests.

Would I recommend this to others?
If you are an avid Savage Garden fan, I am pretty sure two or three good songs can save the album. But others may be understandably bored with it.



Recommended: Yes