Full Speed Ahead

Pain

Vegas Records, 1999

http://painworldwide.com

REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/12/2000

The way things usually work for me, a band gets into my heart on one record and then they release a CD that positively sucks. Dokken did that with the awful Shadowlife. I was fearing/dreading the same thing would happen with Pain's follow-up to the stellar Wonderful Beef. That CD lived in my player for months on end, captivating me with the band's stories about bottlerocket wars, a 7-inch cowboy, and wanting to avoid outside activities when the speaker would rather read a book. So I was quite apprehensive when I put Full Speed Ahead in. Was this going to be another 'live in" CD or a $50 night of passion?

Luckily for me, this CD is destined to be a life-long companion. While I don't like it at the same level as my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Beef, I think I'm being overly critical. The CD is growing on me and perhaps one day, I will prefer it to Beef. I liken it to the Metallica fans I converse with that say, " Kill 'Em All was the first CD I ever heard by them and it will always be my favorite." Same thing: Beef just blew me away and it will always be my favorite.

That's not saying that there aren't appealing traits on Full Speed Ahead. Quite the contrary. The CD starts with an acoustic guitar strumming which collapses into a "Nah nah" vocal pattern with an upbeat drumbeat. I thought, "Oh this is going to really suck." But by the time the intro, titled "Juice," merges into "Right On," I knew things would be okay. Frontman Dan Lord is back to leading the band and immediately I remember why Wonderful Beef was so appealing to me. Lord must possess a degree in English because only an English major could write such elegant lyrics. To get the full idea of his lyrics, though, you have to read the entire song and I'm not going to re-broadcast them here. Let's just say that Lord twists words into his own.

"Full Speed Ahead" and "Upright" continue the upward momentum. "Who Took Botu's Picture?" starts with what sounds like a mixture of Big Band stomp music from the 30s and 40s before turning into a 90s punk/ska band. It's an interesting twist and my favorite track. "Futz Said Julie" is another beautiful lyrical landscape. "The White Recluse" includes the brilliant lyrics "If I were a Negro/ all my friends would call me Brown Recluse . . .so go away/ don't bother me." "Jonathan Fallow" is a character sketch of a cartoonist.

The last track, "Beanbag," talks about a person who is a "bean bag with no beans inside you . . . he's bored, thin, low on beans." It's an interesting twist of words.

In all, then, Full Speed Ahead demonstrates quite easily why this band has a long road ahead of it. They have been gathering national exposure, with non-stop touring and songs appearing on various Cartoon Network projects. Pain is a band to watch for as the year goes on. I predict by the end of the year, everyone will be writing to me saying, "Thanks for writing that positive review of them on 'The Daily Vault.' I went out and got their CD and it kicks ass! You were right!"

Rating: A

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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