Search - The Vines :: Vision Valley

Solid effort

Paco | MA United States | 11/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Short and sweet -- some would say too short, but in a world of shortening attention spans and sound-bite news, the Vines may be onto something. This CD delivers without lingering. Check-out the first two tracks and the pop-sounding "Don't listen to the radio." Yes, the lyrics are sometimes ridiculous, but it's pretty clear that Craig Nichols has always been more about the sound. He's not penning manifestos; he's writing great-sounding songs. I liked this CD better than "Winning Days" though it lacked that CD's monster hit, "Ride with Me" as well as the beautiful title song. There's enough genius in Craig Nichols to produce a truly complete CD that meets all the promise of his first 3 CD's. Hopefully, he'll overcome his personal challenges and demons to realize that prospect."

Vision Valley

Mark Twain | Florida, MO USA | 02/08/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After three albums, it's hard to believe that The Vines' music has not changed one bit. Still recieving comparisons to The Beatles and Nirvana, these energetic Aussies haven't changed anything but bassists since their explosive debut Highly Evolved in 2002. For diehard fans, Vision Valley was just another great album by the band, but the critics obviously disagreed. I think by the time they'd heard Winning Days, the band's sophomroe album, they had had enough and wanted to hear something new (I think we can all agree that it was a breath of fresh air after Winning Days). I'm sure these guys don't care what critics have to say now that they have such a loyal fanbase, but some of us fans would like to hear something new. Vision Valley was a pretty solid album, but I'd like to hear a little bit of experimenting. Also, it would be nice if they could make more songs that last for more than two minutes. It seems that all of their best songs end before you want them to, and when they are long, like "Spaceship" (6:07), they end up sounding dull after a minute or so. I guess that could be my answer..."