Sound: Candlebox had a tight and heavy hard rock sound in their debut album that also accented their blues, jazz, and 80's metal influences. Their best single, 'Far Behind', is a common track in the rotations of hard rock and modern rock stations today. Peter Klett's Les Paul sings lightly during Kevin Martin's Verse singing, then gets heavy during the choruses and outro of the song. The solos in each song were also fairly technical but very well done. Peter mostly based his leads on mixed pentatonic and major/minor scales. The drums and bass were also great, steady during vocal passages and pushing the dynamics of each song from slow to fast, soft to loud. The engineering of the tracks was excellently done too, giving the instruments and singer a full sound. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Kevin Martins vocals are pretty good. He has a good tenor range that varies from sweet lyrics about love and relationships to a spiteful growl in the opener 'Don't You'. The opening lyrics in 'Change' are a good example of what to expect:
"As I stand here, I ponder greater things
You're no longer a part of.
A part of your lover's dreams...
So much for your Common complications
So much for your Constant desperation
For what's to come It's all been written down"
The rhyming lines are not always there, but deep thoughts on various relationship struggles are. // 8
Impression: This album has sold over 4 million and the group has always been a great live act to see as well. Other than their radio singles, the songs I liked were 'No Sense' and 'Rain' for their bluesy sound and awesome guitar solo work, and 'Blossom' for its nice soft riffs and use of flange effects. The only thing I didn't like was from time to time I thought Kevin's vocals were lacking strength at times, but the instruments were top notch. I would buy this again if lost since its a great CD to jam to and give your fingers a work-out. // 9
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