3 Doors Down - The Better Life
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Music CD Cover
Artist: 3 Doors DownEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2000-02-08
Music Label: Republic
Soundtracks:
- Kryptonite
- Loser
- Duck And Run
- Not Enough
- Be Like That
- Life Of My Own
- Better Life
- Down Poison
- By My Side
- Smack
- So I Need You
Free Music Notes for The Better Life
Free Music Review: Accessible rock that's rough around the edges
Hit: 4 Stars
3 Doors Down's 2000 debut "The Better Life" is an appealing album from a band that exudes a lot of potential. While they don't really distance themselves from familiar sounds of lots of 90s alternative rock, they display some good songwriting and instrumental talent. Singer and drummer Brad Arnold speaks of anger, depression, and troubles in life, but his delivery and raw emotion set him apart. Musically, their sound is unrefined rock, often pretty hard. The heavy guitars and rough percussion are tough, yet the songwriting is clever enough to put them to effective use. There are some well-constructed pop songs here, as well as some deep-album tracks that are equally worthy. The songwriting is not consistent to the point that every track is as good as the last, and towards the end there are a couple skip-worthy songs. But overall, "The Better Life" is a worthy modern rock album.
The first song is the monster single "Kryptonite," an unforgettable pop rock song. Arnold's lyrics emit loss and confusion, yet very emotionally. The guitar riffs at the end of the song and early pluckings are part of what make this song so great. The next song was also a single, "Loser." I like this song a lot. The lyrics speak darkly of depression and addiction. My favorite part is towards the middle, when the song breaks into a furious guitar battle, before dipping back into the spinning midtempo of the beginning. "Duck and Run" is an inspiring song with a great performance from Arnold, a highlight. I think my favorite song, though, is "Not Enough," a well-written and memorable song about a struggling relationship. "Be Like That" is a slow, sad songabout troubled yet hopeful folks, I remember this being a hit too, and for good reason. "Life of My Own" comes off as very similar to "Not Enough," but it's pretty good too. The title track is fast, classic-sounding hard rock with a great guitar line. "Down Poison" is the album's most disturbed song by far, an eerie and loud but quite effective track. "By My Side" is not bad but forgettable, and the faster "Smack" is better. The final song "So I Need You" isn't very memorable either.
"The Better Life" is a very solid and enjoyable album of late-90s styled alternative rock, but it's a very accessible sound that should appeal to many types of listeners. Except for a few slight missteps towards the end of the tracklist, it's a very nice album to have and I recommend it.
The Better Life Poster
The Mississippi-based quartet 3 Doors Down has only one thing that sets them apart from other hard rock bands: lead vocalist Brad Arnold is also the drummer. The group shops the sounds of Pearl Jam and the Goo Goo Dolls, pointing at what they like, picking it off the shelf, and throwing it into the stew. While the music on The Better Life, their debut, sounds overall both competent and confident, the songs themselves are equally uninspired and clich?d. For example, the riff from the track "Loser" is straight out of the Alice in Chains songbook, adding much more cringe-worthy lyrics ("Addiction needs a pacifier, the buzz of this poison is taking me higher"). In fact, most of the lyrics zero in on well-worn rock themes of aggravation, confusion, and frustration, feelings that 3 Doors Down will easily coax out of discriminating listeners. --Jason JosephesAlternative Rock Music CDs
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