It took a while to get Scott Slapp off his ass to turn in this review, but after his reaction to it and Hobo’s I knew we needed to run both in our “Tag Team” series because the two polar opposite reactions perfectly illustrates that concept of “to each their own” and also inherent the strength and weakness of musical criticism. Read on to see how Scott and Hobo viewed the CD, click over and listen to the samples and then post your reaction and who you most agree with in the Fan Speak section. Should be interesting to see how things line up. –  ed

Puddle of Mudd – Life On Display
Label: Geffen Records
 

Tracks: Away From Me Heel Over Head Nothing Left To Lose Change My Mind Spin You Around Already Gone Think Cloud 9 Bottom Freak Of The World Sydney Time Flies

Scott Slapp's review - he gave it a rating of 

You don’t get a second chance at a first impression. That is true unless you happen to know our editor. 

A few weeks back he played a little trick on me. He handed me a CDR and asked me to listen to it and tell him what I thought. So I gave it a spin and thought, “hey, this is pretty good.” So the next day I asked him who the band was and when he told me “it’s Puddle of Mudd”, I was a little shocked. 

Before this my only real exposure to the group was when I was flipping channels one day and came across their video for “Control” and hearing that silly line “I love the way you smack my ass”. I wasn’t impressed and a few days latter I found out there was a Fred Durst connection and thought “that figures” and I more or less wrote them off. 

Fast forward to the present and this new CD, “Life On Display”. The opening track “Away From Me” immediately grabbed my attention. I grew up with Alice in Chains and Nirvana as my sonic idols and this song seemed to strike a balance between the two. 

I’m not one of those that automatically hates a band just because they are derivative. I know some people feel that way, but if I like the original and if a good clone comes along why should I not like it? When it’s a far inferior copy, then there is a problem but almost every artist borrows from someone that came before them. 

Puddle of Mudd aren’t exactly a killer copy of either AIC or Nirvana but they are better than most and since we won’t be getting new music from either group, it’s cool that POM is filling the void somewhat. I know some will see that as heresy, but it’s how I see it. 

“Life on Display” starts out real strong with “Away From Me” from the opening guitar lines to the Nirvana meets AIC verses and choruses. It’s a killer way to kick off a CD. Although some of the lyrics border on the lame.  

“Heel Over Head” is a strong follow up and has a far more original sound. “Nothing Left To Lose” opens with a cool fuzz guitar lead and then kicks in with nu-metal riffage. They enter ballad territory with “Change My Mind”, a song that grows on you after a few listens.  

“Spin You Around” displays probably the best songwriting on this CD but Wes overdoes it a bit with the accent in his vocals. “Already Gone” is a Nirvana like rockers and the closest POM comes to capturing that energy. “Think” is a cool mid tempo song with a hooky chorus. “Cloud 9” kicks it back into high gear and has some of the best lead guitar lines of the disc and once of the most experimental songs on the disc with POM appearing to try their hand at “nu garage”. 

“Bottom” reaches into the greatest AIC copiers Godsmack territory with it tribal beats but the vocals come out more like Faith No More and is one of the tracks you should definitely listen to if you’ve only been exposed to the singles from this group. It will give you a different perspective of them. 

“Freak of the World” is a righteous rocker that gets in your face. “Sydney” is POM’s best exploration into the AIC sound, a band that was much more mid-tempo than the grungers that came after. The accent used by Wes, works perfectly in this tune. 

“Time Fly” kicks off as more or less and extension of “Sydney”, and again shows us that the group has more substance that a lot of people give them credit for. I for one fell into that camp. As far as sophomore albums go, there is no slump here. POM have redeemed themselves in my opinionated eyes and I think they are definitely worth a second listen from those readers that may have felt the same way about the group one first listen. It was those last four tunes that kicked this CD up in my opinion from 3 stars to 4, so that’s a good place to start if you dare to give them a second chance. 

(Sorry it took so long to get this out. The soap opera that is my life delayed things a bit. Better late than never!)

Hobo's Review - He gave it a Rating of 
After Puddle Of Mudds highly successful (and surprisingly listenable) album Come Clean comes the bands sophomore effort Life On Display. 

Surely you wonder as much as me, ‘can the band possibly maintain the quality of songwriting established in the first album? Or are they doomed to miss the mark, slipping slowly into the realm of inconsequential one hit wonders?’ Well, lets wait no longer and find out.

What becomes obvious after a few spins of the disc is the reuse of melodies from the last album. Some songs sound hauntingly similar to ones past, while others fail completely to deliver what the #1 Nirvana clones promise. At the end of it, the entire album can be classified as ‘the same crap’ – with each song slowly melding to become one, horribly bland super-song. We start with Away From Me, the fairly stock-standard first single from the album, boasting average songwriting coupled with a catchy little ditty, perfect for trying to suck in mallcore kids for quick sales.

Next comes Head Over Heels a song that can be summarized in four words; ‘soft, s***ty, and uninspired.’ The track Nothing Left To Lose represents a derivative attempt at heaviness-through-downtuning. The god-awful solo mid-way through illustrates why lead lines are few and far between on the album – the musicians suck. The song Change My Mind again hits a softer note in a mediocre progressive peak that is almost passable.  

Then comes Spin You Round, starting off as a catchy little track, but minutes later it becomes monotonous and overdone. In Already Gone Wes screams ‘I wanna dance with the devil, yea’ – songwriting is obviously something to be desired on this album. Again the constant use of powerless downtuned guitars just weakens songs and exposes the ‘Avril Element’ of the band – be that an attempt to appear different from what they truly are. Think is what I like to call a ‘wanker ballad’ – soft, whiney and predictable as hell. Cloud 9 is simply abysmal and Freak Of The World is just another melodramatic vent for Wes’ boring, self-inflicted, depressive crap.

It seems like Puddle Of Mudd fail to live up to expectations. The clever riffs and hooks from Come Clean are long gone – and it would seem without them, Puddle Of Mudd are little more than another trendy grunge rock band and self proclaimed ‘freaks of the world,’ stuck in the world of shallow popular music where bands come and go like sleazy old men at the local brothel.

As one clever little ex-fan muttered, ‘this is a Puddle Of Crap.’ Puddle of Mudd’s time is up already. If this is Wes’ life on display, then hell… that’s one boring, monotonous, crappy life. Be thankful I didn't have enough energy to be angry.
 

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