Secondhand Serenade Album: “A Twist In My Story [Digipak] [2/3]”

I remember the first time I stumbled upon Vesely's Myspace page. I thought to myself, "This is what I've been waiting for." After two utterly disappointing Dashboard Confessional releases ("A Mark, A Mission..." and "Dusk and Summer"), tracks off of Vesely's "Awake" seemed to take me back to the simpler days of Dashboard, when it was just a man and his guitar, pure sincerity stripped of all pretension.

And so here I am today, listening to Vesely's latest offering, "A Twist in My Story." And, in a sad way, my original comparison to Dashboard Confessional may have been more on the mark than I once thought. The man and his guitar have been ripped through the production ringer, with the addition of every instrument to boot. That raw sincerity and charm of "Awake" isn't necessarily nonexistent, but you might have to sift through a couple of layers of "recording magic" to find it.

One thing you simply cannot take away from this album is that, for the most part, the songs have that remarkably moving quality that we've grown to love in Vesely's work. And for that, you'll love this album. Songs like "Fall for You," "Like A Knife," and "A Twist in My Story" are more than worth the price of admission. In fact, there's not a legitimately bad track on the whole album. So why the little rant at the beginning about Vesely going the way of Dashboard?

The most disappointing part of this release is the re-recordings. For one, it seems like somewhat of a copout to just re-record old songs. Really, that's three less new songs that Vesely had to write and that we got to hear. But more than that, some of the re-recordings just sound so lifeless when compared to their originals. Now, I'm not just some fanboy that indiscriminately prefers old over new. In fact, I almost enjoy the new version of "Maybe" more than the old version. But "Your Call," and to a lesser extent, "Stay Close, Don't Go," just simply didn't need to be re-recorded.

Remember that hip, new, high-budget remake of Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio? If you don't, check out the $1 DVD bin at your local gas station. Point is, just because you throw money at something doesn't mean it'll be worth it's weight in salt. And that's exactly what is so tragic about the re-recording of "Your Call," and this whole album, really. With the money of a major label driving its production, of course the new version of "Your Call" sounds more crisp and clean than the original. And of course all of the songs on this album have that 'radio-ready' feel to them. But what you lose in the process is the sincerity, the raw sincerity of a man and his guitar. When that's what brought you to the dance in the first place, why go and change it?

So, is this album worth it? Yes. Absolutely. It's not just some pop-rock affair that's only good for one or two songs. It's a solid offering, start to finish. But fans of "Awake" shouldn't expect the same sound they've grown to love.

I don't normally like this kind of music but I find it impossible to ignore the melodies on this album as they stick in my head and circle round and round. I don't even know what the words are half the time but it seems that has nothing to do with my enjoyment of the music. I normally like heavier music as you can see from my other reviews but there's something about this album. The production is as slick as it gets - layered vocals, acoustic verses, electric choruses, key changes, building drums rolls, and more layered vocals! This version of the album has a few bonus acoustic tracks and a DVD with some film clips. I like the extras and think the bonus track called "Last Time" is good enough to be on the album proper. Recommended to fans of over-produced anthems such as Greenday and Roxette - 2 of my favourite bands of all time. Looking forward to hearing the new album to see if it reaches the level of those two legendary bands.

I heard Secondhand Serenade a few times on Pandora and liked them so much that I purchased this album. I was dissappointed with the quality of sound... it almost sounds like the instrumentals were too loud. It sounded much better streaming over Pandora for some reason. Perhaps this is just an isolated incident, but love their music - the sound quality just sounds off.

I Fell in Love with Secondhand Serenade after I heard his first song "Fall For You." I bought the CD and Loved it.

I own 3 of this CDs but this is one of my favorite records of him, If you're into romantic songs, This CD is for YOU.

All the songs in this record are Amazing!

I love Secondhand Serenade. and this cd is excellent, it includes the lyrics for all the songs and an invitation for a website where u can purchase some stuff from the band. A1