Weight of the World

Excellent.

2002 was a great year it had some top quietly rock albums but why this is not up there with THE FOO'S ONE BY ONE or THE QUEENS SONGS FOR THE DEAF or even BY THE WAY from THE CHILIS & also the debut from AUDIOSLAVE is ridiculous. & has this is not only my fave HS album but one of my all time fave albums i'll be doing it song by songWHAT DO I GET ?This album has everything you could possibly want,it's not just a great HAREM SCAREM album but just a fantastic album in general with its great melodies constantly running through it,big singable choruses with even bigger riffs witty clever & heartfelt lyrics + well constructed solos this gave melodic rock a good kick up the arse not that i've ever considered HS just another melodic hard rock band but still.WHO ARE YOU ?the unmistakable lead vocals of HARRY HESS are a must to hear with his great light & shade & vast coloring of a lyric then you have PETE LESPERANCE'S guitar work which clearly puts him at the top of any must hear guitar slinger list I mean you're sadly never gonna hear him mentioned along the lines of SCHON,MAY or even ADRIAN SMITH of IRON MAIDEN & this is the school of playing he comes from ! well thought out vocal lines that let the guitar speak to you.then we have the rhythm section of BARRY DONAGHY & CREIGHTON DOANE or though this was only CREIGHTON'S 2nd album with the guys & 1st has HAREM SCAREM ( previous was the 2nd RUBBER album ULTRA FEEL ) he & BARRY set about laying a foundation of rhythmic proportions that you could safely build a sky scraper on.SOUND & VISION !Previous albums the drums were great but on here they are epicly big I don't know how the guys got them like this but they did not repeat this again (I WISH THEY HAD) the best thing this does though is show what a great drummer CREIGHTON is if anybody had doubts after DARREN SMITH left & was not reassured on ULTRA FEEL this should do the trick.& talking of that album were there was a definite SQUEEZE influence on the album this time it sounds like they have locked themselves away listening to CHEAP TRICK for days on end at times. ( no bad thing in my book )The over all sound is of a really high standard & still sounds fresh even now its gonna hold up for many a year to come i'm sure & for a band from the late 80s they really know how to move things on no wonder pete & harry have been sort after producers in Canada if this is what they can come up with.The album is basically BIG BANG THEORY with some left over RUBBER with elements of MOOD SWINGS & the debut here & there everything is up front to really fill the sound out it crunches & it punches all the way through but when a bit of smoothness is required it has no probs providing that also.& to add DARREN SMITH came back to do BVs on this & you can hear what a great job he does ! Welcome back MR SMITH.LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING !WEIGHT OF THE WORLD : From the very 1st opening strummed chords of this track you know your in for something very special with HARRYS broken vocal a smashing of a power chord then in comes LESPERANCE with one of his most monstrous riffs in a long time then into some familiar territory with a great big chorus that only these guys can produce & then another fantastic solo by pete not just every track on here is great here but every solo moment from LESPERANCE is of the highest standard this track really opens up the album so well.KILLING ME : Has RUBBER written all over it ! we open with that very well trodden path of the vocal melody done by the 6 stringer something i'm glad they've kept & this is one of the many should of been hits on this album its just great commercial pop/rock vibe to it even though its still got the RUBBER element attached they have the big punchy sound that cuts right through & your be singing this for days & yes another fantastic solo.OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW : Is like on every HS album something completely new it has that mid paced swing feel to it & you finally get to here BARRY DONAGHY plodding along beautifully which would of been nice to hear more becuase hes a great bassist that really knows how to lock into a groove with the drummer no probs ! which is a key element for any band.this would of been the sing along/arm waving moment for the crowd if these guys had become stadium fillers,& the arpeggated acoustic brings something else to the track another layer of greatness if you will.ALL I WANT : After a great little intro riff then we have that familiar BRAIN MAY vocal intro guitar line & then everything drops off & the into the classic HS bridge section then another RUBBER type chorus they really did bring HS & RUBBER into beautiful harmony on this album & this is another head filler your love it I promise.THIS AIN'T OVER : Yeeeeah the ballad !!! now has always this is the time for HESS to shine more than ever this is another sorter tribute to queen ( one of there biggest influences ) with HARRY doing his best FREDDIE & QUEEN type BVs also add a nice touch,But it really is the messure of a great singer when they can deliver a ballad like this its just fantastic & up there with HONESTLY,RAIN,HIGHER,GIVE LOVE GET LOVE, to name but a few but this is quite remarkable & a perfect example of HESS using the light & shade just like a great guitarist would during in a solo.But the guy tbh can sing anything & the outro BVs of the (let love shine) line finish it off with a lovely touch.....nice glimpses of strings are there to GREAT JOB GUYS !!!!!INTERLUDE : Is 56 seconds of acoustic calamity & the 1st instrumental on the album petes ideas are just great its quite brilliant & very well thought out big strummy chords with some very fast runs over the top....something you wouldn't expect coming up on an album like this but it's here ! sorta like an after thought but where on some albums you wish they had kept it to themselves on here your be saying thankyou pete & Dad would be proud i'm sure.............which then leads into.YOU RUINED EVERYTHING : This is a very angsty track something you could hear BLINK 182 or GREEN DAY doing but this is so much better & with a great simple pounding rhythm & HESS giving it some vocal bite.the RUBBER sound is here this could of gone on the debut ( NOT THE HS DEBUT ) but you don't notice has much with the volume knob turned up to 11 lol but I always likes the rubber period this shouldn't be pull off......this should be a plan that has not come together it should be a failed attempt,But again the scarem boys triumph easily they really do this well & this should really come from a band half there age but it doesn't haha ! & theres some cracking riffage from LESPERANCE thrown in & yes another mind blowing solo funny enough.CHARMED LIFE : Love the intro to this one DONAGHY is laying down a great smooth has hell groove with CREIGHTON I just wish we could hear him more on other albums ! & this is another very new sound they have going on.it does have a bit of RUBBER but just like OUTSIDE theres something different about it yes off course it has that classic HS chorus but it also has that something to grab your ears & tug you along but just in a new way.IF YOU : My fave on the album I love this !!! yes the rubber vibe is still going strong there but the lyrics are some of there funniest ever & is plainly about someone you've broken up with & just can't get rid off ( IF YOU NEVER GO AWAY HOW CAN I MISS YOU ) indeed.....& also you would of thought this was some new alt band if you heard this 1st time around.& this should of been a big hitter of course but life isn't fair sometimes. Also love how LESPERANCE knows when not to play the golden rule that alot of guitarists never learn.SEE SAW : So heres the 2nd instrument this is fantastic i've said before that if PETE made a instrumental album it would be has good has anything that VAI or SATCH could produce & this is another perfect example of why.Your be humming along to this even with it being lyricless & there a superb breakdown section in the middle just to mix it up & keep you on you're toes & is just so so very good this is up there with MANDY & BABY WITH A NAIL GUN.PETE your awwwwwwwwesome !VOICE INSIDE : & lastly the almost straight ahead rock out this is foot down & go for it stuff not has upbeat has say the title track from the BELIEVE album but this is a cracker with more great riffage & big HESS vocals with BARRY & CREIGHTON just going for it this is enough to have you jumping about the room.Final thoughts.BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT !!!!! your love it I promise youit has everything a great album should have & more if you don't like this then you just don't like great rock music.right i'm off to listen to it for the 200th 300th time ? I don't know i've lost count.