Customer Rating:  
Summary: Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment: all i got to say about this album is this.Way to feel shannon hoons shoes travis warren.and ohhhhhhhh yeah one more thing i would not go as far as saying this album sounds like soup (i guess your a little cocky travis) it sounds nothing like soup (to me).But still i put this album in 2nd place out of 4 blind melon albums (soup,for my friends,nico,self titled). this album is good but if you want blind melons best buy soup (4 stars).
not a huge fan of this band but i still like em.
Rob
Customer Rating:
Summary: So glad they are back!
Comment: I grew up in Columbus, MS 10 minutes away from West Point... Needless to say I knew who Blind Melon was before they ever had a record deal. When Shannon passed away, a peice of music died forever.
When I heard there was a new album and a new singer I was extremely concerned I was going to hate it and that I would be further reminded of the loss. I was mistaken. I had the pleasure of seeing Blind Melon play again in march '08 with Travis behind the mic, and the show was amazing. It was a night I will never forget. To see the guys jamming out again and to hear my favorite songs again was un-believable... and then there were the new songs...
They are GREAT! The whole album is classic Blind Melon musically (only sounds like Blind Melon and not this bubble gum crap thrown at us all the time) and the singing is great as well. Travis does NOT attempt to mime Shannon, tho he does sound a bit like him from time to time. I chalk that up to him being a fan of the band his whole life.
I recommend you pick up this album. You will not hear Shannon Hoon... but you will without question hear Blind Melon!
Matt R
Nashville
Customer Rating:
Summary: Empty shell
Comment: This album may sound like Blind Melon of old musically (even vocally) but the depth that Blind Melon possessed years ago is sadly missing. Shannon Hoon was much more than a neo-hippy all the kids playing hackey sack could look up to, he was a brilliant lyricist whose life was spiraling out of control as evidenced by the words he put to music. Without the meaning in the lyrics, all you get from this album is a feel-good facsimile of the Blind Melon of old. This is Blind Melon for the people who liked the scene more than the band.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Start
Comment: This is their first CD in a very long time. And while no one can replace Shannon this new guy isn't half bad. However, there is a few disconnects in the songs. I think more time together will fix these little wrinkles. The second CD will really be the one that tells if this band will be staying or not.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A worthy entry into the Blind Melon Canon
Comment: Facing an uphill battle by coming back after 12 years (and with a new and much younger singer and frontman!) it's kind of amazing this album isn't the disaster it had every right to be. In fact, it's a reason to have real hope about the band's future. New singer Travis Warren sounds enough like Shannon Hoon that the band's sound is still recognizable, but not so much so that he sounds like a cheap imitation. His range is similar to Hoon's but his vocals tend to be a little rougher and perhaps a bit more structured. Not a bad thing; he may lack the wild-eyed soul which made Hoon perfect for the job, but when the songwriting really comes together on the new album, Travis's vocals can really shine. Remember, too, that Blind Melon was always a group effort. Shannon may have been the singer but as a songwriter he was merely part of the creative process. The rest of the band proves their worth by playing their hearts out, really putting forth an outstanding musical collaboration.
This is not to say that the album is perfect. It's actually closest in tone, probably, to the original Blind Melon album, with a few standout tracks, and a bunch of interesting but not-quite-there numbers. "Wishing Well" comes across pretty strong, as do tunes like "Father Time" (featuring a nicely evocative guitar lines) "Make a Difference" "Last Laugh" and the wonderful but atypical "Sometimes". Other songs, ("Tumblin' Down", "Harmful Belly") have some nice parts but ultimately come across as kind of meandering, without real solid pop hooks and melody. Like the first Blind Melon disc, this one tends to rely too heavily on mid-tempo Zepplin-esque rockers, and suffers for it in a way which the more diverse "Soup" and "Nico" don't (nothing like tense, mostly acoustic "mouthful of cavities" or even weirdo cannibal ode "Skinned" to be found here). More troubling, the lyrics here are often a bit on the weak side. They can tend towards being something which Blind Melon never was before, and should never be: literal.
Still, ultimately the CD plays like the start of something really cool. If it has it's flaws, they're probably the result of a band overjoyed at being given a second lease on life, and still trying to shake off the rust and get back in the groove. It's not a home run, but I think it qualifies as a solid base hit to prove to the naysayers that Blind Melon definitely deserves a second chance.
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