The subject of today’s review has been the target of ridicule for ages. Considered by the massive majority of music fans to be repetitive, highly commercial, vapid, and giant sellouts, it may surprise a lot of you at one point that the band in question actually had potential for future greatness. A band that, at least in their earliest material, came across like they actually producing good music for people to listen to, and it holds up shockingly well to this day. What band & what album is an example of this, you may ask? Well, sit back, relax, and let’s take a look at my review of Curb.....from Nickelback.
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“Curb is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback. Recorded at Turtle Recording Studios in Richmond, British Columbia, with producer Larry Anschell, it was originally released exclusively in Canada by FACTOR (the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) on May 15, 1996. The album was reissued locally later in the year by Shoreline Records. After Nickelback signed with Roadrunner Records in 1999, Curb was remastered and released internationally on June 25, 2002. However, the remastered edition is controversial for its audio quality compared to the original issue as its dynamic range was significantly reduced and introduced severe clipping problems throughout.
After releasing their debut EP Hesher earlier in the year, Nickelback recorded their debut full-length album in 1996. Much of the material dates back as far as 1993, and was written primarily by the band's lead vocalist and guitarist Chad Kroeger, although all four band members are credited equally. Two songs from Hesher, "Where?" and "Left", were re-recorded for the album, while the original versions of "Fly" and "Window Shopper" were only remixed and remastered. Chad Kroeger, in an interview in 2000, described Curb as "raw" with "a lot of good songs".
In 2000, according to Nickelback's website, Curb sold more than 10,000 units. Upon its international re-release in 2002, Curb registered at number 182 on the US Billboard 200 and number 185 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was certified gold by Music Canada in 2010 and silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2015. "Fly" was issued as the only single and music video from Curb.”
Basic Description
There’s something here.
Like I alluded to earlier, there was potential for Nickelback in their first 3 albums. The band seemed far more about jamming, rocking out, and putting out good music for people to listen to, and it’s felt on Curb. Maybe not fully (More on that later), but it’s evident from a majority of the songs on this record that everybody definitely put in a lot of effort. The instrumentation is on game, Chad Kroeger’s vocal work doesn’t sound phoned-in for the most part, and the recording & production on Curb is great (But there is a catch). It’s surprising at how good I thought this was the 1st time I listened to this album a few days ago, and while I will probably never seek it out again, I won’t necessarily ask someone to switch albums if they’re playing it.
Best Track
Sea Groove for whatever reason just works for me. Though the first part of the song’s name is just confusing to me, it easily embodies the 2nd part very much so: this tune is very much in the Groove Metal realm: the guitars & bass bring the groove, the drumming brings the groove, and even Chad Kroeger’s vocal work seems more groovy on this song that the others. While you could easily compare this to other similar songs of it’s time, there just something about Sea Groove that got it’s hooks it me almost immediately, and it hasn’t loosened even a few days after listening to it for the first time.
Sea Groove
Worst Track
While I said that the band showed potential on their first 3 albums, and I still stand by that, there are some unfortunately obvious hints as to what they would become after their 3rd record. There’s some repetition with the instrumentation, the beats & rhythms are a little in the commercial realm, and some of the lyrics are vapid adjacent. They’re not all the way in that space on Curb, but little blemishes are certainly seen.
Also, there’s the matter of the releases. Like practically every album I listen to for these kind of reviews, I use Youtube. The version that I had listened to was the 2002 reissue version of Curb (Along with it’s album cover), and that had some issues back in the day. Mainly, the 2002 edition’s audio had it’s dynamic range significantly reduced and introduced severe clipping problems throughout the record. I did not notice this when listening to it on Youtube, but that’s more than likely due to how it was edited.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:
Curb
Overall Impression & Rating
Curb definitely deserves criticism, that’s for sure. However, it doesn’t deserve every bit of that criticism. Nickelback definitely come across like they’re trying to be genuine musicians on this album, as a giant majority of the music really feels good. Yes, what the band would be eventually criticized for has some noticeable spots, but they don’t overwhelm the otherwise good parts of the record. As I said above, I’m certainly not going to go out of my way to listen to Curb, but I’m not exactly going to complain if someone else does.
Curb gets a 7.5 out of 10.
And that was my review on Curb. Certainly surprising to anyone that’s only even known about Nickelback’s most modern material, it definitely catches any first-time listener off guard with how good it can be at times. Definitely not great, but certainly good. Well, the Summer Of Grunge has now concluded, so see you all sometime in September. Until then, take care.
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