OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud
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Free Music Notes for Dreaming Out Loud
Free Music Review: Dreaming Out Loud
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD rocks and is very inspiring. The lyrics make you think about life in general and all the things around you. Love it. Love it.Would recommend to buy.Free Music Review: The good outweighs the bad on 'Dreaming'
Hit: 4 Stars
It's not very often that a band from my home state of Colorado hits it big, but that's precisely what OneRepublic has done. With the help of Timbaland, the band scored one of the biggest hits of this decade to date with the remix of "Apologize", which spent 25 weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100, is one of only three songs to date to surpass three million in U.S. digital downloads, and spent 14 weeks at #1 on the United World Chart to name a few of its accomplishments. Needless to say I had to check out the band's debut album, especially considering how addicted I was to "Apologize." The album is one of those "singles" albums in my opinion, where about 5 of the songs are great and sound like big hits, but a lot of the album is filler.
Unsurprisingly to me, I did not find another song I liked as much as the Apologize remix, which is a bonus track on the album. Although I dislike that the remix is credited to Timbaland featuring OneRepublic (it should be vice versa), I have to admit there's something about the remix that sends the song into that upper echelon of mega hit that only happens rarely, and the original version of the song just can't compete. The song is much more than just a hit though, as everything about the remix is the total package of lyrics, beat, hooks, and vocal performance that seamlessly meshes to make it one of those universally likable songs. Enough about that song though, the rest of the album has some other tracks that are worth talking about, starting with second single "Stop and Stare." The song seems to be about evaluating your life and questioning why it is the way it is. The song has a big chorus and is one of the most re-playable tracks on the album. "Mercy" is a more rock tinged affair that first gained the band notice when they put it on their MySpace. It is somewhat reminiscent of a song U2 would do, and is well written and produced. My favorite track besides "Apologize" would have to be "Say (All I Need)" a song that crescendos from a gorgeous soft rock ballad into a soaring melodically layered piece of music. Most definitely a hit, but more importantly a superb song, and I have to also note that lead singer Ryan Tedder gives an exceptional vocal as well on it. The album isn't all good news though, as about exactly half of the tracks are filler that go in one ear and right out the other. Songs such as "Prodigal", "Tyrant", and "Won't Stop" to name a few just leave no real impression on me.
What saves "Dreaming Out Loud" from being disappointing is that the good half of the album overshadows the unmemorable portion. It's been a while since I've heard tracks as overall well put together such as "Apologize", "Stop and Stare", and "Say (All I Need)." Other highlights are "All We Are" and Coldplay esque ballad "Come Home." The band also seems to be talented lyrically as well, and Ryan Tedder might be quite the up and coming producer/songwriter already having huge production/writing hits for other artist such as Natasha Beddingfield's "Love Like This" and the mega worldwide smash "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. "Dreaming Out Loud" is a promising debut that is satisfying but leaves plenty of room for future growth. 4/5 Stars
My Top 5:
1. Apologize (Remix)
2. Say (All I Need)
3. Mercy
4. Stop and Stare
5. All We Are
Free Music Review: I'm Hearing Voices That Say Stop and Stare and Buy
Hit: 4 Stars
Ryan Tedder is the hottest thing in the music world right now. Everything he seems to touch either turns to gold, or mush. Whether it's the current #1 "Bleeding Love," Ashley Tisdale, or even Blake Lewis. And if that wasn't enough, his own band has been the phenomenon on the phenomenon MySpace. But due to all that success, Tedder still wasn't ready to put out an album for the band. But then came "Apologize" remixed by Timbaland, and even though they didn't have a big credit for the phenomenon, they took the cover of Rolling Stone, and became the biggest thing in music. Then they realized they didn't have an album out. The result, is the best pop/rock CD of the year, and certainly the surprise album of the year.
The album starts off amazing with, "Say (All I Need)" which takes on an epic feel all its own, and immediately gets you drawn into the album. "Mercy" could be considered extremely radio-friendly, and standard pop/rock fare, but as a album song, not on radio, the song actually works quite well But if the song ever did cross the line, than love with the song would quickly sink.
Their current phenomenon, "Stop and Stare" which seems like it's fixing to crack the top 10 of the carts, and for good reason. The song has a very nice structure, starting off slow, before building up to, and taking off at the chorus in an unexpectedly amazing effort, that could be the highlight of the CD.
The original version of "Apologize" is next, which starts off with violins, and a soft piano, with a slow clapping in the background. The only thing really different between this and the remix is Timbaland. I personally don't care for this version, reminding me more of Fort Minor's "Remember the Name," without the rap. This version is also somewhat less emotional, as it seems pretty straight-up.
"Goodbye Apathy" is also pretty straight-up, and the structure stays relatively the same throughout the song, without really ever taking off. "All Fall Down" continues the trend, and ends up seeming overdrawn and rather boring. "Tyrant" starts off good, starts to fall apart towards the end, as again, it's too drawn out. But it a shortened version could be good for rock radio.
"Prodigal" could again be better on structure, and somewhere towards the beginning of the song, it takes some elements from, "Across the Universe," which may sound strange, but it's there. "Won't Stop" gets the album back on its feet again with an upbeat, poppy tune that is again one of the highlights of the CD. "All We Are" hints at some country pop elements in its verses, but jumping to its chorus, which feels uneven, but still winds up good.
"Someone to Save You" actually continues another bad trend of bad song titles that are again, overdrawn. The song would have been better if it was titled, 'Honesty'. But for the song itself, yet another highlight that is well-done from verses to chorus, to bridge, and back again. And at the last minutes of the song, it has with an amazing ending, that takes elements of The Beatles, The Afters, and mixes in themselves for good measure, making for an amazing song.
"Come Home" is a piano driven track that is exactly what type of song as its amazingly accurate title says. An emotional song that some may criticize for being unoriginal, but it's still good with its rather impressive chorus. And for the 13th track, we have the song that started the phenomenon, the remixed version of, "Apologize." Simply put, no apologies needed with this song.
Overall, a great debut, and probably the best thing to come out of MySpace. An impressive band that is still searching for their sound, which makes for many a hit, but just as many a miss. The best pop/rock album of 2007, and I'll be looking forward for the follow-up album, and the continued success of OneRepublic.
But wait! That's not all! If this review wasn't long enough, there's bonus tracks that you'll find if you get the album from venues such as Target. I imagine you could also find them on their MySpace also. Since there's so many, here's the best of them.
Dreaming Out Loud: Surprisingly, the title track isn't part of the actual album, but still a very good song that has more of a darker tone in its verses, before breaking into a rather impressive chorus that doesn't fail to impress, before going back to its verses that don't seem to fit the song.
Hearing Voices: Another impressive track that is actually better than most of the songs on the actual album. The verses are great, and the chorus is soft but powerful, making for a great listen overall. And again, this song has a great structure.
Free Music Review: Consistent
Hit: 4 Stars
This CD was consistent and good. No song is 5 stars except Apol., but all the tracks were good, unlike many CDs where only a few songs are worth listening too more than once or twice. Free Music Review: Don't Know Why I Like It
Hit: 4 Stars
i typically only like one or two songs off of an album like this. but surprisingly, i like 90-95% of its content and i never knew why. then, a couple of weeks later, i found that one of my favorite singers (Ryan T.) was in the group and happens to be the lead singer. then it all made sense to me. "oh that's why i liked it so much" plus it doesn't hurt that timbaland produced it. i highly recommend this album. it really is a good one. no lies. coming from someone who doesn't listen to this music genre a whole lot.