THE RIDDLE - FIVE FOR FIGHTING
Sad-sack storyteller Five for Fighting — the larger-than-life persona of singer/songwriter John Ondrasik — returns with “The Riddle,” refreshingly more uptempo and optimistic than previous “Superman” and “100 Years,” albeit still probing for the meaning of life. This time around, after discussions with a wise man and his kid, Ondrasik concludes, “I guess we’re big and I guess we’re small/If you think about it man you know we got it all/Cause we’re all we got in this bouncing ball/There’s a reason for the world/You and I.” The sap factor is pretty high here, limiting the song’s appeal to moms and wistful philosophers, and there’s little remaining doubt that Five for Fighting is pretty much a one-trick pony.–Billboard
