All the Right Reasons - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Throughout their nine-year career, Nickelback have stayed true to their roots, releasing five CDs of straight-up, unapologetic rock & roll. So how have things changed for the Canadian boys since the massive success of Silver Side Up and The Long Road? Well, brothers Chad and Mike Kroeger still live in the Great White North, and they still write hook-laden rock songs. The only difference now is that they have the satisfaction, 10 million CDs later, of smugly knowing that even some of their biggest naysayers will guiltily admit to singing along with Nickelback's catchy hits. On All the Right Reasons, one track definitely ranks high up in hum-ability: the first single, "Photograph," reminisces about the bittersweetness of high school in a small town--once again reconfirming frontman Chad Kroeger's ability to write memorable hooks. Regarding the rest of the disc: standard rock topics like love, lust, jealousy, and breakups abound, with riff-y delivery that longtime fans will love. The guilty pleasure bunch will also find what they need within the grooves, on the ballad "If Everyone Cared," the riff-heavy "Fight for All the Wrong Reasons," and the Metallica-inspired "Savin' Me." The disc's most impressive and simultaneously surreal moment, however, exists on "Side of a Bullet," a passionate revenge tale written about the killer of Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, which features one of the late Abbott's guitar solos as donated by Pantera bandmate and brother, drummer Vinnie Paul. --Denise Sheppard

Customer Reviews: Read 370 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

"All The Right Reasons" To Listen October 6, 2005
123 out of 169 found this review helpful

On the surface, Nickelback has always appeared a band arguably too hard for pop radio but perhaps too mainstream for most diehard rock traditionalists; however, ALL THE RIGHT REASONS gives fans of all music the chance to enjoy what they have to offer. It's one terrific album with crossover potential that should please the group's strongest followers as well as endear new listeners to the fold. "Photograph" is one great track -- written clearly by minds who've learned the lessons of looking forward by looking back -- but it's hardly alone: "Far Away" is equally introspective with a broader sound if not a tad more anthemic; "Fight For All The Wrong Reasons" is a head-shaking rock rattler written to please the band's core fans; "Someone That You're With" blares out for eventual audiences in arenas around the world; and "Rock Star," "Savin' Me," and "If Everyone Cared" round out just one tremendous listening experience. The album's definitely worth its spins.

4 out of 5 stars

Good rock with old school feel for the new century February 13, 2006
43 out of 66 found this review helpful

After again, being saturated in a multitude of new bands for what seemed like the millionth time, the cream finally rose to the crop, and to me Nickelback seems to stand out.

The key to their success isn't necessarily innovation or creativity, they aren't Pink Floyd. But then again they don't want to be, and that's what makes their music fun. Nickelback gives us some traditional rock and roll that can be fast, slow and fun. Melodies we haven't heard before and entertwined with themes that we are very familiar with: hurt, love, loss, rage, fun, and regret.

With the release of "All the right Reasons", Nickelback makes a very "complete" album that flows well throughout. The song "photograph" is a power ballad for the modern day rock scene and one who's popularity has not seemed to die down. "Fight for all the wrong reasons" has a great beat to it and is explosive as it is soothing. "Rockstar" is a great rock track that, like other songs of the theme, talks about what it takes to be one and the wants and needs that go along with the dream. A really fun, groovy track. Perhaps the best written song off the whole album, extremely well done.

"Side of a bullet" and "Savin Me" are more down and dirty fast paced rockers that defitley don't take away from this albums overall senuine appeal. If Nickelback can continue putting out records like this, they'll be talked about for a long time to come.

1 out of 5 stars

No "Right Reasons" to buy this album... December 9, 2005
32 out of 43 found this review helpful

Listening to this album, I constantly asked myself how anyone could possibly enjoy it. It seemed so shallow, predictable, and lifeless compared to anything else in my CD collection. But after some rumination, I've arrived at an explanation. Allow me, at the risk of sounding incredibly pretentious, to present the allegory of Plato's Cave. Suppose a group of people are raised from birth inside a darkened cave, chained to chairs facing a wall. Now, on this wall shadows of forms are projected. Now, given that these people are raised from birth inside the cave, these shadows and forms are all they know of the world; in their minds, they ARE the world. But suppose one of them is dragged to the surface, and sees for the first time what the world is really like, full of color and life. And if they went back down into the cave, they'd never be able to look at the pictures on the wall as anything but mere shadows.

So it is with music. For most people, their only experience with music comes in the form of sanitized, corporate radio-rock, typified by Nickelback. But once you listened to music beyond the mainstream; been "dragged out of the cave" so to speak, you never really look at the mainstream with such fondness as you did before.

What's sad about "All The Right Reasons" is that Nickelback, either through a conscious decision on their part or by pressure from their label, refused to expand, develop, or otherwise alter their sound at all. Rest assured, if you liked "Silver Side Up" or "The Long Road" you'll love "All The Right Reasons." But if you found those albums to be soulless, manufactured and repetitive, you'll be able to say the exact same thing about this album, too. Nickelback exemplify 100% safe, watered down, exceedingly simplistic and generic Hard Rock. This is the kind of music you can imagine Soccer Moms "rocking out" to. Listening through ATRR painfully reminded me why I had left mainstream "verse-chorus-verse" rock behind a long time ago.

"All the Right Reasons" hits all the right cliches for generic, formulaic rock. We've got the more aggressive track "Animals" so that the band can establish some kind of hard rock credibility. We've got the made-for-a-hit-single "Photograph," the supposedly angry swagger of "Next Contestant" and syrupy, cheesy dreck like "If Everybody Cared" or "Far Away." By far the worst track has to be "Rockstar," where Chad brags about how good it will be when he's a big rock star, which is a pitiful attempt at being sarcastic and ironic, but only comes across as being unintentionally honest, given that the band clearly have their sights set on money-making and nothing else.

"All the Right Reasons" is yet another bland offering from the masters of mass-produced, corporate rock. Nothing dangerous, nothing new. The sound of Nickelback is not of a band wishing to express themselves artisticly; it's the sound of a band who have found a very profitable trend and are going to milk it as long as they can. Spend your money elsewhere.

1 out of 5 stars

What a pathetic excuse for music and a band... November 7, 2005
31 out of 42 found this review helpful

Nickelback is one of those bands that are highly suitable to describe how shallow and pathetic mainstream rock music has become over the years. There is no talent involved, no discernable changes between songs. Every song is built upon the same tried-and-true, incredibly boring song template. The band just keep churning out the 3 same chords over and over again. Songs never go past the 4 minute mark, which could be considered a positive in some way, because I can't put on a track for more than 2 minutes before it gets unlistenable. For instance, Photograph is um, pretty much every other Nickelback single released so far. A plodding acoustic riff, pointless nostalgia tales drenched in angst and misery, heavy 3-note melodies kick in. I'm yawning.

The vocals aren't better: Chad Kroeger is certainly no great vocalist: his voice is annoying and it never ever change tone through the album, so it soon starts to grate. If the lyrics were any good, one would be ready to forgive the vocals, but it isn't that easy. Nickelback just has a knack for writing the most godawful lyrics that mankind has ever witnessed. Cue "Rockstar", which is plain hypocritical, featuring Chad and company whining about celebrities: "I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame - I'd even cut my hair and change my name". What? That isn't what you guys did all the time? We like the attempt at sarcasm guys, but it doesn't work.

This review is probably pointless. Due to the massive advertising of this band and album down our throats, it's obvious that there will be millions of suckers coming in to buy this regurgitated crap despite any claim made for/against it. The casual Nickelback fan brings up for defense the "It's fun so it's a good band" argument, but how is listening to what is basically the same song for about 40 minutes without looping a single track fun? Listening this album is like reading this phrase over and over again. Listening this album is like reading this phrase over and over again. Listening this album is like reading this phrase over and over again. There's a point where you get sick of it, so you turn it off and become a better person in the end.

Avoid this album and band at all costs. There is NOTHING noteworthy about Nickelback.

1 out of 5 stars

Formulaic, Predictable, and Stupid July 7, 2006
30 out of 40 found this review helpful

Someone said earlier that people who don't rate every song individually obviously hasn't listened to the album, or we would know how great it really is.

How would she know? The songs all sound the same. Compare Someday, How You Remind Me, Savin' Me, and Photograph. Will you look at that, they're all the same song. When I first heard Savin' Me on the Radio, I honestly thought it was a different version of How You Remind Me, or something. How can you fans continue to buy into this formulaic rock?

Second, his voice. What the hell. It sounds like he has a freaking hernia when he sings. I don't know about all of you, but I like my singers when they don't have hernias. That's just my opinion.

Last, the lyrics. Take this beauty from Photograph for example:
And this is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we'd ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneaking out

So they rhymed "up" with "up" and "out" with..."out." Oh yeah, that's classy. And don't forget the thoughtful lyrics either, like "I never knew we'd ever went without." Wait a minute, that doesn't even make sense. Oops.

Oh well, it's not like you can really understand him, what with the whole hernia thing and all.

So yeah, this album is terrible. But if you want formulaic, repetitive, and stupid rock, this is THE album to buy.

And Nickelback is on a heavy metal record label too; what's up with that?

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