Disco de Five for Fighting: “America Town”

"America Town" is an album I thought would never happen. No offense to the band but the last album was so GREAT and SO dismissed, by their previous label, I never thought I would see these guys again. Good News, now listen up.

Step one buy this album if you.... a) enjoy Elton John, Counting Crows, & Toad The Wet Sprocket b) enjoy lyrics deeper than the ocean but manage to fill a small void in your mind. (most importantly) c) love GREAT MUSIC!

From beginning to end you move from one mood to the next beginning with "Easy Tonight" a tune dealing with a man/woman on the verge of leaving the planet "Shotgun fire, anybody home, I got two dimes in the telephone, alright It's not easy tonight". Optimistic right? Well, there is the inevitable hope in the music that carries you from depression into evolution.

The last track "Alright" is an optimistic number touting "Well I'm alright, alright, I feel alright I've never been better in my life". This song is actually a bit more complicated but point made.

Their first album, "Message For Albert" is just as good if not slightly less focused but more daring than this release. In fact, both "The Last Great American" & "Love Song", originally found on the first album, are retooled for this release. Better on the first(TLGA) and not quite as effective on the later(LS). I really can't recommend this album enough. I have had a pre-mix version in my possession for over a month and this release is even more engrossing. Trust me and the other reviewers here, You are listening to one of the finest budding musicians on the scene today. You go J.O.!

I heard "Superman" once (that's right, ONCE) on the radio here in Baltimore and became instantly committed to buying this album. I think "Superman" is a fantastic tune, comprised of great songwriting and performance. Though I had never heard any music from Five for Fighting before, I guessed that the single song I heard on the radio was evidence of this band's potential for excellent music. My first listen to the album confirmed my speculations. Five for Fighting has compiled a set of great songs on America Town, all of which are accessible music on the softer side of rock. The songs on this disc were written with special attention to poetic lyrics, often poignant and moving, that combine with solid musicianship to deliver a highly entertaining musical experience. "Superman" continues to be one of my favorites on this disc, but a number of the other songs are also quite engrossing, including "Bloody Mary (A Note on Apathy)", "Jainy", and "Boat Parade". Interestingly, after I bought this disc here in Baltimore, I took a business trip to Salt Lake City, where I heard "Superman" played all over the radio! Quite different from Baltimore, but I was glad to see this band getting some radio play in another part of the country - they deserve it. I definitely recommend this album to you Amazon.com listeners!

I feel I must point out that this album is not for everyone. It seems that a lot of the comments here are from disgruntled buyers who would sooner criticize the artist's abilities than admit that maybe this particular type of music just didn't appeal to them. I think this only leads to useless comments that don't help anyone else decide whether this is a CD they should add to their collection or not. You'd be better off listening to the constructive criticism of people who gave this an average or better rating than the ones who didn't like it much.

The only song I heard before I bought this CD was "Superman" and so, like some of the critics, I was expecting a CD with more pop/rock music typical of the mid to late 80's. However, I think the music is more soft rock/late 70's/early 80's music overall, but that does not detract from the quality of the music in my opinion.

When I first listened to the CD I didn't really like it and only liked 3 songs, "Easy Tonight", "Superman" and "Alright". However, I listened to it a few more times anyway. I discovered that this is one of those CDs that can easily grow to your liking if you give it a chance. The sound of the music seems very original to me, and the lyrics are obviously well-written and different from similar artists out there. Sure, maybe they don't make sense at every point, but realistically, you'd have a hard time finding any artist who's lyrics always make sense to everybody. After all, music is art - you either appreciate a piece of art and "get it" or you don't. During my initial assessment of the music, I thought the songs sounded a lot alike, which you could consider a complaint. However, upon further listening I found the songs to be quite different from one another, but not so different as to disrupt the harmony of the CD.

The editorial reviewer's comparison between Elton John and John Ondrasik is quite accurate in my opinion, at least in terms of musical ability. Each song does indeed seem to tell a story. I'm not a fan of Elton John's music and can scarcely name any of his songs, but if you like Elton John then you may certainly like John Ondrasik. Even if you don't care for Elton John's music, I think many people could appreciate this album. It's true that different isn't always better, but I think John Ondrasik was trying to go back to the basics of music with understandable lyrics and well-played musical instruments. Still, I advise that you listen to the music samples a few times to get an idea of what you're buying, keeping in mind that you can't necessarily get the full effect from a 30 second sample.

Finally, if you're just looking for some of the better tracks from the WB's series "Smallville" (which is what led me to this CD), you might take a look at one of the "Smallville" soundtracks instead of this CD. Also, I wouldn't recommend buying the Five for Fighting "Superman" single because you'll only end up paying about the same price for less than half the songs that are offered on this CD. Aside for "Superman", the songs on the single aren't really the best ones.

This album is filled with some very emotional piano, acoustic guitar, and even a few tracks that have an elecyric guitar pieces. This is in no way a heavy band, so if your looking for some hard rock or metal look elsewhere. The piano and acoustic guitar are the primary instruments here.

There are songs about the insecureties (Superman (its not easy), and songs about relationships that don't work out (Easy Tonight, Bloody Mary), and other sad stuff. This is very emotional work, but this is not one of those whiny emo bands like Dashboard Confessional. This is a talented man just getting some stuff off of his chest in a non-whiny way that a lot of people can connect with and appreciate.

A+ stuff here baby.

In America Town, Five for FIghting produces a piano based record with beautiful (and opportune) guitar accoompainments, that are complimented by a soft-sad voice in this second release which could easily be Satchel's pop-effort-third album, or a melodic contemporary release by Billy Joel's younger 30ísh alter ego.

Most tunes are composed un a melancholic manner where remembrances and memories play an important role. The happy-sad combination tends to surprise in the first half of the record.

"superman" and "america town" deal with issues of nationality and american ideals as well as the humanizatiooon of a great popular american icon.