Release Date: Mar 21, 1995
Label: Sony
Genres: Post-Grunge, Alternative Pop/Rock
Number Of Tracks: 11
Our Lady Peace yearns to achieve a musical position, and Naveed is a decent introduction to the group's own musical spirituality.
Naveed
Reviewed by:
SameOld, on september 10, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: Rarely has there ever been as cohesive and slick a debut album as 'Naveed' by Our Lady Peace. That is to say that Our Lady Peace, while caught in an era of post-grunge, comes off as extremely polished and heavy. From the unnerving opening riff of 'The Birdman' to the stormy crunch of 'Neon Crossing' Our Lady Peace rarely lets up. The highlights musically are Mike Turner's guitar playing, which is very complex, and a treat to listen to even if it remains drowned out for the sake of heaviness. Complementing Turner is young Jeremy Taggart on drums, who displays astounding aptitude on tracks like 'Denied' and 'Julia'. Taggart was still a teenager during Naveed's recording, and his skill at such a young age truly foreshadows future recognition. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: It has often been said that Raine Maida's lyrics are bizarre, and I say this with all honesty - they are. Full of twisting metaphors, strange images, figures and landscapes on such eastern-inspired tracks as 'Naveed', 'Starseed' and 'Under Zenith'. His lyrics are extremely difficult to make sense of,
"Don't you worry and don't be afraid
does it send you to the world appealing
where there is spoken word that I can't take"
An excerpt of Neon Crossing demonstrates what is commonality in Maida's lyrical palette. Regardless, they do evoke thought; perhaps that is what Raine Maida wanted? Maida's singing is what Our Lady Peace is most often associated with, up until Gravity he was unique in his ability to sing extremely high and varied falsetto, most notably on Clumsy. Here we are given a taste, his vocals are powerful here, ranging from dementedly furious to mournful and then taking a right turn into colossal roars that pull you in, hook line and sinker. Of all his album singing, I believe Naveed, surprisingly, is the best. His voice from Clumsy up to Spiritual Machines got increasingly pitched, and while it was manageable, I can't say that I would listen to Clumsy more than once in a sitting; and his new, deeper singing style feels bland and commercial, almost forced, and truly it is a pain to hear him struggle to reach notes he once easily could on Naveed. // 8
Impression: My favorite Our Lady Peace album. Though lyrically it can get a bit outlandish, 'Naveed' remains one of my favorite CDs of all time, as Maida's vocals and the amazing musical abilities of his band-mates tie together extremely well, the end result being a hard-hitting masterpiece of post-grunge rock. Check out 'The Birdman', 'Starseed', 'Naveed', 'Denied', 'Julia', 'Under Zenith and 'Neon Crossing'. // 10
Naveed
Reviewed by:
alex_hnatiuk, on march 18, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: This was the second album I'd ever owned in my human life, and I don't think I'd be the person I am today if I hadn't received this CD. The debut album of Canadian alt. rock group Our Lady Peace presents a unique take on the grunge rock feel that was already blossoming at it's release in 1994. The album is characterized by the sometimes nasal, always fitting falsettos of frontman Raine Maida and very colourfully shaped guitar structures provided by the founding member, Mike Turner. The bass and drums also form memorable musical canvases and foundations, as in the intro to Naveed, the titular track. The songs themselves vary in terms of quality and staying power, but there is not a single element throughout that feels out of place or poorly done. I do however feel that many of the over-layed guitar tracks are mixed too low; there are just so many gems buried under an otherwise well produced and written album, such as the harmonic chirps buried within Supersatelite. The timbre and use of dynamics throughout the album are very well thought out and delivered; the entire song "Hope" is a masterpiece due to it's diversity of tone, dynamic, and the overall feeling. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: The singing is definitely the most remarkable aspect of this album (which serves to overshadow and in many ways bury the equally impressive instrumental work); Raine Maida delivers a unique blend of falsetto with an angst-laden, nervous energy. Some of the best moments in the album are delivered by his wail. The lyrics on the other hand are hit-and-miss; they deal with a range of topics, touching on politics, jealousy of love, and social commentary, but often fail to make their case poignantly. It doesn't exactly lessen the quality of the music, but it prevents many of the songs from being exceptional instead of just great. // 7
Impression: This album is not without fault; of the eleven tracks on the album, there are maybe four or five that have any real lasting qualities. The problem is not with quality but with diversity. Many of the songs seem to project the same vibe and feeling. Julia, Dirty Walls, and Neon Crossing in particular feel lackluster, however there are moments in each of those songs that make them worth their keep. For a debut album, there is an awful lot of talent going on. The musicians clearly have a grasp of the sound they want to create, and they do it with finesse and zeal. It is the perfect prelude to their sophomore album "Clumsy" and has a very significant place in my music collection. // 8
Naveed
Reviewed by:
TheBirdman, on october 17, 2006 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sound: Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace debuted with their album Naveed. Naveed, meaning bearer of good news, is a collection of some of the most powerful and exploding sounds Our Lady Peace has produced to date. Almost every song in this album is stuffed with stunning vocals, mind-numbing high falsettos, and catchy riffs. Songs like Starseed and Is It Safe, capture a classic rock feel while songs like The Birdman and Hope fit into a genre of their own. Singer, Raine Madia has never gone back to produce vocals as powerful as the ones in Naveed. Once you hear this album, you’ll see how much power and emotion went into every song in this disc. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Every song in Naveed paints a picture in your head. Raine Madia doesn’t put any lid on his creativity with lyrics like, “I can't focus in, on the lies in his head, Convinced oh that his blood is blue, But it's red, red, red yeah!” and, “Hopelessly the man starts to feed your day, Once he was there you never looked back. How do you think that his words might just fade away, He seemed harmless enough so you let him in and now you'll pay.” Lyrically, Naveed was a masterpiece that formed poetic lyrics into classic songs. // 10
Impression: Our lady Peace brought rock music to a whole new level with Naveed. It’s 4 times platinum rating in Canada is living proof of that. The album has many buried treasures like Julia, Supersatellite and Under Zenith. If you have yet to hear this band, you must listen to Naveed. Its strong lyrics, amazing vocals and killer music will satisfy you, garenteed. // 10
Naveed had great tracks like The Birdman, the title track, Starseed, Julia and Dirty Walls, but the group was also still stuck in one sound at the time. The above tracks are the only ones that really stand out (and not even so much for Dirty Walls, but it's about the heaviest song on the CD, so it deserves some credit.) Clumsy was a large step forward for the band, and in my opinion their best work. Nonetheless, a good review.
Naveed will always be their best record to date. Mike Turner puts on a muscial show via his guitars. There's crunches galore, harmonics everywhere, layered guitars, and chimes which bring the sound closer to Dean Deleo's of STP. Eevery single song on this record is listenable and each one has it's own uniqueness. Nothing here to skip. Chris Ecearett(the original bassist) provides thunderous bass and is better than Duncan Coutts in my opinion. Jeremy Taggart really hits it hard here. And Raine's vocals are superb.
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