McFly 'Radio:ACTIVE' - The Review
so let's talk radio:ACTIVE, shall we?
i haven't read any reviews so far. cos i wanted to hear the album without any prejudice from others.
so here goes my own review of the album.
also, i don't have the actual album yet, like the proper cd with a booklet and stuff. i just have the songs that were on the 'one for the radio'-singles and downloaded me the album from mcfly_daily.
so if i'm making assumptions on who wrote which songs, i'm just going by my gut feeling.
so good you got to abuse it sums it up basically.
on the dvd the last thing said is said by doug.
"it's the album i've always wanted to make."
i wish i could reply to it. know what i would say?
"it's the album i've always wanted you to make."
it's true. this is the mcfly-album i've been hoping and waiting for ever since 'wonderland'.
i honestly believe that my prayers were answered. finally.
gone are the days of songs like 'obviously' and i couldn't be happier about that.
don't get me wrong here though. i do like some of the old songs.
but i love all of the new songs.
and there you have the difference. liked some of the old, love all of the new.
i was a bit sceptic about the whole 'leaving the record company thing' but i'm so glad i got proven wrong. so glad!
i've seen bands make progresses, noticed changes between albums before.
but nothing has ever been like what happened between 'motion in the ocean' and 'radio:ACTIVE'.
and i don't think it has that much to do with the fact that the guys grew up.
i think it's down to the fact that they're finally themselves. it's 100% them and they're 100% real!
this album has always been inside of them and now they finally could let it all out. and good gracious, did they let it out.
do ya
pretty happy-go-lucky i'd say. a bit oldskool even. sounds like you put one of those happy carefree songs from the 50s into a time machine and send them into this century to get it finished. still, you could put it in 'grease' and it would fit in easily. or maybe on one of the first beatles-records. it's the whole vocal arragements that make the song so oldskool i think.
i know that james bourne helped writing that song. and maybe that's just me but you can hear his influence. you hear james bourne shining through. which isn't a bad thing. think about the guy what you want (i surely do) but if he knows one thing, it's how to write a really catchy song.
falling in love
that's gonna be so good live with all the 'whoa' and 'oh'. i already see arms in the air, swaying from side to side.
i like danny's voice in the first verse. it's softer than usual, i think. he doesn't sing like he normally sings. i can't really explain it better. really goes well with tom's voice too.
also like the guitar solo and the little middle-part where the lines overlap and get a bit louder as it goes on.
and i like how the song fades out in the end.
it's a great song for a morning in bed of doing nothing.
and i'm sensing the bourne again.
the acoustic-version is absolutely killer though. i think it’s even a bit better than the album-version. tom’s and danny’s voices come out so much better.
everybody knows
didn't they say on the dvd that it sounded very 80s rock in the early stages?
i think it still does. which isn't a bad thing. definitely not.
it's a great rock song.
the guitar-sounds are amazing! but if there's one thing to complain about, it is that they almost overpower the vocals.
the chorus is wicked! proper good for screaming along to and clap your hands until they’re all red or about to fall off.
and i do hear a riffed-over ‘fuck’ ;)
smile
the song should be the official anthem for everyone who doesn't feel good about themselves.
put that song on and stand in front of your mirror. and listen to the song.
after listening to it three times in a row you'll be jumping through your room and eagerly await someone who dares to destroy your day just so you can tell and show them how fabulous you are, despite what everyone else is saying.
you cannot possibly feel bad about yourself after listening to the song.
it's one of those positive songs but not in the 'i wanna beat that smile of your face cos your positive attitude is annoying' way.
it's a song that just makes you happy and, surprise, smile.
it's the perfect monday-morning song. or every work-day morning song even. it's perfect to start your day with.
the beginning with the snapping and the vocal arrangements make it sound very 50s again. but that's only until they start the proper singing and the instruments.
and here comes the danny jones with his powerful voice and tom goes right with it.
i already have a feeling that, when they play this song live, they'll make everyone sing 'smile' for approximately 10 minutes ;)
the song would go as a single. listening to it gives you great inspiration for a video to it.
one for the radio
nothing new that i love the song.
and it's definitely the only song on the album that worked as a first single.
and it's most definitely a song that never would've been released or put on an album from record company mcfly. because, in all honesty, it's not a very nice song, is it?
the song is in.your.face and sarcastic but it's perfect that way.
it was good that the song was released as a single before the album came out because it really shows the difference between old and new mcfly.
i think it should be played to all the mchaters out there. cos it's a right "fuck you!" in their faces.
if mcfly had a my chemical romance-style army, this would have to be their anthem.
pov
the "it's inspired by +44" song.
only, it's better than +44. about a million times better.
it's one of the (two) best songs of the album.
your typical tom fletcher ballad. and what can i say … the guy just knows how to break your heart with his ballads, he’s done it again with this one. i know he gets compared to gary barlow a lot. i think he’s better, way better.
and i have to say i prefer the album-version to the acoustic version. the way it starts like your typical ballad and then basically explodes at the chorus. especially the power of the chorus is completely lost in the acoustic-version.
the song is a work of genius. simple as.
i looooooooooove how tom sings the chorus. it's his best vocal job to this date.
and i wish i knew who this song is to. cos there can’t be any way in hell this song is just made up. and whoever it's written to better feel really bad about themselves. if that song was written about me and i knew it was me, i wouldn't leave the house for the next few months or so in fear of getting attacked by angry fans, asking me what i did to their tom.
this song is perfect to play to an ex or someone close to you who hurt you. it tells them "i hate you!" better than anyone could ever say it.
i really feel this song. every time i hear it. it's so full of heartbreak and pain. it brought tears to my eyes just by listening to it, without me having a background story attached to it. and that never happened before.
this song should be a single actually. just so mcfly can show off how good they really are.
corrupted
i'm quite surprised this is a tom-song. on the dvd he said he wrote it with the matrix.
to me, this song screams dougie poynter. i don't know, it just does. the whole style of it, the fast pace, the lyrics, everything.
cos dougie is probably your main man if you want a fast-paced rock-song with an edge (i'm tempted to say 'punk-ish' cos that's what it probably is). he is the one for songs like this one.
the song reminds me of ‘ignorance’ actually.
but seeing that tom wrote it ... it shows how much of an amazing songwriter he is. it's something that is, in my eyes, completely unlike him. awesome nonetheless, but totally not tom fletcher.
so good you got to abuse it is one of those powerful lines that just didn’t leave my head and sooner than i knew i was singing it all day long.
also, when it comes to vocal sounds and playing around with different sounds, this song is the best on the album.
tom's voice almost sounds spooky during the verses. creepy. malicious.
there are about 10 rhythm-changes in the song but they all fit. into the song and with each other.
and i can't wait to hear that song live. it's perfect to go mental over, jump about, maybe do a bit of attempted headbanging.
the heart never lies
even after about a million times of hearing it, the song just doesn't get old.
i loved it when i heard it for the first time.
i still love it. after about a million and one times of hearing it.
i kind of see it as a goodbye song. old mcfly, record company mcfly, said goodbye with that song.
when i heard that song for the first time i knew that mcfly would probably never be the same again.
and hey, was i right or what?
going through the motions
if 'corrupted' screams dougie poynter (which it really does, regardless of tom writing it), this one screams danny jones.
very pure and raw rock n roll, very guitar-ish.
danny jones in living colour. his time to shine and show off.
everything on this song literally bursts with energy. listening to it, i can't sit still. at all.
the guitar-sound is so powerful.
it reminds me of something. i don't know of what or who. probably a more vintage song, from the 80s or 70s. and it has a bit of queen-edge.
i can actually see harry giving all he has on his drums when i listen to this song.
and dougie going mental in the studio while recording. and i already see him running from one side of the stage to the other during a show.
cos that’s what the song does to you. it makes you go mental and you can’t help it.
and i really believe that recording the vocals for that gave danny a headache. because you can't not scream along to the song with everything your lungs have got to give.
another one that will kick arse so much played live.
the last song
with 'pov' my favorite song on the album.
and another piece of genius. pure genius. more genius than 'pov' actually.
best song on the album, by miles.
it's weird thinking that it's on this album though. because this song is the perfect song to end your career with.
or maybe it's the hello-song. like, if 'the heart never lies' was the goodbye of old mcfly, maybe this one is the hello of new mcfly?
i think … how do i explain it best? maybe the guys thought that the album and the whole idea of being independent could backfire. but hey, if they had flopped, at least they would have gone with a bang like this song is.
the song is very queen i think. very big, really epic actually. a bit similar to 'bohemian rhapsody'.
vocally it's absolutely ... it blew me away.
if the vocals on 'pov' are tom's best to this date, this song is danny's best job to date. he really stands out, vocally. just at the beginning of the second verse he gets overpowered by the music again, which is a bit of a shame.
i'm quite sure that danny plays lead guitar on this track. and it's surely his masterpiece. he’s already so good, give it a while and he’s gonna be next in line after brian may or slash. his talent was already peeking through on 'transylvania' and other old songs but now you can actually hear what this guy really is able to do on the guitar.
(also, just from the danny-aspect … the final two songs of the album, this one and ‘going through the motions’, they show you everything danny jones can do and how well he can do it.)
i love how the song is built up. how it starts like your typical tom fletcher-ballad with the piano and then goes into this epic chorus (which, just music-wise, sounds a lot like dougie with a bit of danny mixed into it)
and you know what? this song was written by tom and danny. i’m 1000% sure of it. cos the verses sound so much like tom but the chorus sounds like danny. and you hear their deep love for music shining through each and every line, how they love, live and breathe music.
oh, and this one line so bury me with my guitar and all the way to hell i'll play ... danny much?
from the songwriting aspect, this is the best song mcfly probably ever wrote.
i think tom and danny could very well be one of those twosomes who used to write some of the best songs in music history. you know, like john lennon and paul mccartney for the beatles or mick jagger and keith richards for the rolling stones. they are up to be something big, huge even.
this song has to be released at some point. preferably at the end of mcfly's career, whenever that will be (hearing this album, i hope it's never!) cos then it's gonna go down in history. it'll be mcfly's 'thank you for the music' or 'we are the champions'.
even people who'd not normally listen to mcfly, they'd probably listen to this song and like it.
this song is the perfect end. for the album and probably for the mcfly shows in the future.
if this is the last song they’ll ever play i guess it’s time to say we thank you all.
all in all, there's really just one word that i have for the album.
perfect
it's a pop-record. a rock-record. but most of all, it's a band-record.
it's the best new album of a band this year. and there's been plenty of good ones released already. but to me, none matches up to this one.
if anyone ever shrugs mcfly off as a teenie-pop boyband again, they obviously just do it because they've done it before, not because they actually bothered to give them a chance and really listened to this album.
you don't even need to really listen to it. just put it on and you immediately hear that the old mcfly-times are over.
i like the purity of this album. there's no mucking about with computers and none of this clean-ness from previous albums. apart from 'corrupted' it actually sounds like a low-budget album.
played live the songs probably sound like they sound on the album.
also, i've never heard guitar-sounds as good as on this album.
i can only say that mcfly really showed what they're able to do with this album and how restricted they've been before.
i mean, thanks to universal and stuff because without them there probably would be no mcfly to begin with. but breaking away from the label was the best thing they could have done.
seeing that they're all just in their early 20s their talent is even more admirable. outstanding actually.
and i really can't wait for whatever they're up to in the future.