Finally a great studio album!
11/10/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Commmon Sense is a great live band that in my opinion hasn't been able to carry that sound over to their studio albums until now. This disc is full of great new songs and the production is fantastic. Sweet Life and Take It Away are reason enough to buy this disc!!"
When are these guys going to nail it?
10/22/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I grew up with this band in Laguna Beach and have heard them through the years. In high school, it made for a great night out to go hear them at the local Sandpiper. I have followed their fortunes over the years and waited for them to bust out onto the scene, but to no avail. I am beginning to understand the ceiling they are bumping into. Each of them has the musical talent to hit stardom and Nick's voice has always been fantastic (best appreciated on their cover of Sexual Healing from early album), but as we've grown and matured, this music hasn't. It's too bad they fell into a "pop reggae" category and that that is a fitting label. Not that every reggae band has to sing conscious lyrics or sound deep and rootsy, but these guys are the muscial equivalent of whipped cream- tasty for a sampling, but too much of it leaves you feeling sick for lack of substance. My greatest wish is that these talented musicians would take an introspective turn, deepen their soulfulness, drop the pop flavor, and bang out some solid, driving reggae music that is engaging. Steel Pulse, for example, is a band that hit near perfection with True Democracy, and went all downhill from there. See them today and they are a shell of their former selves. I wish upon Common Sense that they do just the opposite- take their current light sound and deepen it to near perfection in the future. Maybe they just want to hang out having a good time playing these light tunes and that's for them to choose. I feel they have the potential to take it further if they can just find the right groove."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1