Tag: Smoke + Mirrors

Lifehouse – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic18 Comments

Lifehouse started in 1996 as the band Blyss.  This was while they were in high school and by 1998, the recorded a bunch of Demos.  In 2000, the band went back and re-recorded 12 of the 15 original demos and those demos became their debut album, ‘No Name Face’.  Apparently, they decided to change the band name for this release to Lifehouse because the songs were about lead singer, Jason Wade’s life and other people’s life.  The name  was believed to be a good fit to encompass all that.

The band would go on to release 7 studio albums between 2000 and 2015.  They have had their ups and downs as a band, they have had hits, been popular and not so popular and have taken the typical roller coaster of success.  I have followed the band from the debut album all the way to today and still one of my favorites even if I haven’t liked everything they have done.  But there is more that I like than I don’t like and that is what matters.

I am going to go through all 7 albums and tell you what I like and don’t like about each as well as rank them from the Worst album to their #1 album in my book.  If you are not familiar with them, I hope this will spark an interest and you will give them a try.

WORST – STANLEY CLIMBFALL (2002)

After the success of the band’s debut, their sophomore release was a rather big disappointment for me.  It wasn’t all bad as there were some great songs such as “Spin”, “Wash” and “Take Me Away”.  Heck, the album sold 2 million copies so people liked it. It was a heavier rock sound then the first album and normally that is a good thing for me.

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Lifehouse – Deep Dive Playlist

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Lifehouse has been around since 1999 when they were known as Blyss, but it was their debut album under the name Lifehouse in 2000 that made them stars.  The album was ‘No Name Face’ and the song was “Hanging By a Moment” that brought them to my attention.  They have quietly been releasing albums ever since and now have 7 studio albums.

I think part of my enjoyment of the band is due to Jude Cole.  One of my all time favorite albums is by him called “A View From 3rd Street”.  Jude has been producing and writing songs with them for most of their career (around 2005) and that has shown through in the maturity of the songs and albums.

They finally released a greatest hits compilation back on July 14th, 2017 and it was pretty good as it had 18 tracks.  However, it was missing several songs that are better than some of the ones on the compilation.  So I figured why don’t I do a deep dive and give you the non-singles I think are the best.  I hope you enjoy.  They are in no particular order except my #1 favorite song is the last one on the list!

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Imagine Dragons – ‘Evolve’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic6 Comments

After taking 2016 off as a little break, Imagine Dragons is back on the scene with their 3rd studio album, ‘Evolve’.  After the overwhelming success of their debut, ‘Night Visions’, the 2nd album, ‘Smoke + Mirror’s, was not as successful and didn’t have as big of hits.  It was still a successful album, so hard to call it a sophomore slump.  Now on their third album, there is a little pressure to come out swinging.

‘Evolve’ is a true evolution of their sound, but they do deliver some outstanding pop rock music.  The music is actually a little bordering on arena rock, but since the guitars aren’t the main focus or real drums I guess it is a more of an electronica version of arena rock. I hear more electronic keyboards and drum machines than actual guitars or drums.

The first half of this album is why I call it arena rock.  It is full of slick productions and pounding beats that give it that arena rock feel.  It is one of the best opening 5 songs of any pop rock album out this year.  The second half is a little all over the place and no real direction.

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