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Our Lady Peace – Gravity

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Jun 21, 2022.

  1. Melody Bot Jun 21, 2022
    Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    The creative circumstances surrounding Our Lady Peace and their fifth studio album, Gravity, were tumultuous to say the least. Longtime guitarist Mike Turner was having creative differences with lead singer and band leader Raine Maida, and although he appears on nearly half of the songs on this record, Turner would eventually be replaced by Steve Mazur by the time the album was released. Maida was quoted in interviews by saying, “I don’t know if Mike was born to be a guitar player. The studio was a tough place for him and we were working too hard to make up for it – we felt like we were cheating ourselves. Four albums is way too fucking long to put up with that. I’m sure he’ll do great things, just not with six-stringed instruments.” Out of this conflict, however, would come some of the band’s best material since their landmark Clumsy record. Gravity was front-loaded with superb singles like “Somewhere Out There,” where the lyrics in the chorus inspired the record title, and crowd favorite, “Innocent.” By the time the promotional cycle had ended, Gravity would go on to sell over half a million copies in the U.S. alone.

    The album starts off with a brooding, heavier-tinged guitar chord in “All For You,” where Maida bellows the opening lines, “A suburban man at my door / But I don’t think I’ll let him in / He wants discipline, discipline / Control over the way I live / He wants the best for me / An old-school philosophy / So I can’t turn my back on him / He’d buy me anything / But I just need a friend.” The sound the band went for with producer Bob Rock was a bit more mainstream, and fit well with most of the Alt Rock going on during this part of the 00’s. While most critics ultimately panned this direction that Our Lady Peace went for on songs like this opener, there’s still plenty to enjoy on Gravity.

    ”Do You Like It” prominently features Maida’s strong vocals as he sings on the powerful chorus, “I don’t wanna be a puppet for you / Don’t wanna bite the hand that’s feeding / I don’t wanna be a sucker for you, oh yes you / I hate myself for begging / I hate myself for staying / I hate myself for listening to…you” It’s a solid enough song in a set that features the majority of its best material in front half. “Somewhere Out There” follows and it’s easy to see why the song did so well 20 years ago; it’s got a great build up, an anthemic and hooky chorus, and plenty of lyrical imagery about “Falling back to me, defying gravity” that Incubus did so well on their Make Yourself and Morning View albums.

    Other tracks like the second single, “Innocent” initially reminded me of the P.O.D. song “Youth of the Nation,” with the similar-sounding “we are, we are” parts, yet I’d definitely prefer OLP’s take on the “style” over the former. What detracted a bit from the delivery of Gravity was the production of Bob Rock trying to mold the band into a more marketable sound, and songs like these sound a bit forced after some time to reflect on them. “Made of Steel” is another song that fits into this category, as its delivery is ultimately flat and forgettable. The song was even released as the final single from the record, and yet it never charted, which tells you something after the massive success of “Innocent” and “Somewhere Out There.”

    The back half opens with the quieter, brooding and slow-building “Not Enough” which occasionally features memorable lyrics like, “When they say you’re not that strong / You’re not that weak / It’s not your fault / And when you climb / Up to your hill / Up to your place / I hope you’re well.” Things never get off on the right foot with “Sell My Soul,” and “Sorry,” with its needed up-beat tempo, is the best hope of saving grace in the back half of tracks that kind of run out of steam by the time they reach the finish line. “Bring Back the Sun” is a well-crafted ballad, but seems kind of dull after repeated listens. “A Story About a Girl” ends the set on the right footing and leaves the audience with an overall favorable listening experience.

    Overall, I remembered liking this record a lot more when it came out, and at times I thought it was their second best, nipping at the heels of Clumsy. But after further review, it seems like this record that came out of such conflict ultimately feels a bit unrealized, even with its lofty goals. The singles are great, but it’s really a shame of a missed opportunity that the songs that surround them could’ve been more fleshed out.

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  2. Penlab Jun 21, 2022
    Penlab

    Prestigious Supporter

    Our Lady Peace is a band that's very near and dear to my heart, but Gravity always struck me as one of their weaker records.

    The songs aren't bad, and some are indeed favorites of mine, like "All For You" and "Not Enough", but overall it felt like a very half-baked record.

    It's interesting to me that your review appears to start extremely positive and goes downhill as it rolls on, like you were listening while reviewing and your opinion changed as you were writing the review.

    Not a criticism, mind you. Just an observation.

    But some of their best material since Clumsy? Can't say I agree with that. My personal feeling, of course.
     
    arcarsination and paythetab like this.
  3. cricketandclover Jun 21, 2022
    cricketandclover

    Trusted

    This is my favorite OLP album ... not their best by any means, but my favorite.
     
    Patterns in Traffic and paythetab like this.
  4. Phil507 Jun 21, 2022
    Phil507

    Resident NYC snob Supporter

    “I don’t know if Mike was born to be a guitar player. The studio was a tough place for him and we were working too hard to make up for it – we felt like we were cheating ourselves. Four albums is way too fucking long to put up with that. I’m sure he’ll do great things, just not with six-stringed instruments.”

    Yikes, that is....some put-down. Can't believe Mike is back on stage with them these days.
     
    BradBradley and paythetab like this.
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  6. Former Planets Jun 21, 2022
    Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

    I always found his playing superior to Steve's and I thought that was the general consensus. Sometimes having a little bit less technical prowess makes a player more creative and approach things in a different way.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  7. Former Planets Jun 21, 2022
    Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

    Maybe now that Raine's range is down to like 4 notes he felt bad dissing Mike's abilities.
     
    jeff.dart and paythetab like this.
  8. .K. Jun 21, 2022
    .K.

    Trusted Prestigious

    Somewhere Out There and Innocent are great single choices. Really pushed them into the American market. Album is very alt rock radio, but I don’t think it’s bad at all. There are other OLP records I do t care for as much.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  9. Penlab Jun 21, 2022
    Penlab

    Prestigious Supporter

    Alright, I'm convinced to rank.

    Happiness
    Spiritual
    Clumsy
    Healthy
    Naveed
    Spiritual II
    Burn Burn
    Gravity
    Somethingness
    Curve
     
    Hugo G. and paythetab like this.
  10. Former Planets Jun 21, 2022
    Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

    Mine would be pretty similar

    spiritual
    Happiness
    Naveed
    Clumsy
    Gravity
    Spiritual 2
    Burn burn
    Somethingness
    Curve
     
    Penlab and paythetab like this.
  11. paythetab Jun 21, 2022
    paythetab

    Chorus.FM Album Reviewer (Adam Grundy) Supporter

    I did have it on in the background as I was writing it, so not far off! Haha I have probably listened to this one more than any other OLP album, so it was a strange revisit the other day.
     
    Penlab likes this.
  12. KyleK Jun 21, 2022
    KyleK

    Let's get these people moving faster!

    My cousin's husband is their tour manager these days, and as Canadian rock icons, I feel a sense of pride when they get attention on here. Oddly despite their heavy presence on the radio growing up, I don't often think to listen to their music much - but maybe I should change that.
     
    R.J. Carlos and paythetab like this.
  13. Hagysaurus Jun 21, 2022
    Hagysaurus

    Newbie

    This album is easily my favorite from the band and the one that I have the most memories to. It also inspired me to into their back catalogue and revisit some deeper cuts that are now some of my favorite OLP songs (Hello Oskar, Julia - both album and the slower version immediately come to mind). I guess you could say that even though Gravity isn't as good as their other albums, it was the album that got me on board the OLP train.
     
    paythetab likes this.
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  15. Hagysaurus Jun 21, 2022
    Hagysaurus

    Newbie

    I forgot about Curve. I heard the song Rabbits and I loved it and got excited to listen to the rest of the album and....well...yeah. I don't know what I expected but Curve wasn't it. I don't think it's terrible it's just not what I wanted and ultimately forgettable.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  16. Former Planets Jun 21, 2022
    Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

    Seems they threw you for a curve there
     
    artbynickferran, BradBradley and paythetab like this.
  17. .K. Jun 21, 2022
    .K.

    Trusted Prestigious

    They’ve been getting so love lately which is kind of neat.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  18. Penlab Jun 21, 2022
    Penlab

    Prestigious Supporter

    That's interesting because I think Rabbits is actually my least favorite song on that album, next to Mettle.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  19. satellitexyears Jun 21, 2022
    satellitexyears

    Death Touches Us, From the Moment we Begin to Love Supporter

    The last album I listened to by OLP. I still have Naveed on cassette and a few of their cd's. I do have Clumsy on vinyl but it sounds like garbage.

    Think I only ever seen them once Summersault 2000 (their summer musical festival, back in the day.)
     
    paythetab likes this.
  20. Ryan Jun 21, 2022
    Ryan

    Might be Spider-Man...

    Gravity is my favorite record of theirs. It's so catchy, sonically huge, and is such throwback.
     
    paythetab and .K. like this.
  21. VivaLaPopPunk Jun 21, 2022
    VivaLaPopPunk

    Regular

    Happiness will always be my favorite album of theirs. To me, it is perfection from start to finish. Spiritual Machines is a very close second.
     
    Hugo G., paythetab and Penlab like this.
  22. .K. Jun 22, 2022
    .K.

    Trusted Prestigious

    I probably listened to Clumsy the most based on when it got released.
     
    paythetab likes this.
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  24. Sean Murphy Jun 22, 2022
    Sean Murphy

    Most Prestigious Supporter

    i still frequently get 'somewhere out there' stuck in my head.
     
    paythetab likes this.
  25. bd007h May 16, 2023
    bd007h

    chorus.fm's resident Meg Myers fan #GoSabres/Bills

    Happiness
    Spiritual Machines
    Naveed
    Clumsy
    Gravity
    Spiritual Machines II
    Curve
    Burn Burn
    Somethingness
    Healthy In Paranoid Times
     
  26. bd007h May 16, 2023
    bd007h

    chorus.fm's resident Meg Myers fan #GoSabres/Bills

    I absolutely love Rabbits
     
  27. Penlab May 16, 2023
    Penlab

    Prestigious Supporter

    I love rabbits too, they're cute and fluffy animals, but this isn't the thread for that.
     
  28. bd007h May 16, 2023
    bd007h

    chorus.fm's resident Meg Myers fan #GoSabres/Bills

    Well played haha
     
    Penlab likes this.