“All Sides” was an album meant to represent the different styles of O.A.R.: the ballad, the up-tempo fun, and the serious epic tones that the group has come to be famous for. However, like many of the greatest groups that stray from their roots as artists, this album only leaves the listener longing for the good old days of “The Wander” and “Souls Aflame.”Long time fans of the college rock group have grown to love their moderate folk style with uplifting themes and the listener being left with a warm, joyous feeling. However, after attending O.A.R.s most recent trip to Philadelphia (at Penn’s Landing) it became apparent that lead singer Marc Roberge has left his party tunes in the back of the van and moved on to a more depressing sound.
According to Rolling Stone magazine “All Sides” is just “a poor man’s Goo Goo Dolls.”
The band now closes their show with the usual finale; their most famous tune, “Crazy Game of Poker.” Yet before the big payoff that fans have grown to expect, the band sets up their exciting conclusion to the concert with a track that Roberge refers to as “the most important song I’ve ever written.” The song comes off the new album and is the final track, “On My Way.”
“On My Way” is as generic as songs come these days, a slow moving pop song that tells the heart wrenching tale of love gone wrong. Basically, the aforementioned “most important song” O.A.R. has to date is the same as most of the other bland pop songs heard on the radio.
The painful escape from classic O.A.R. does not end with just “On My Way” but the song that was created to be the first single off the album, “Shattered” is another song that seemed to be released for the sake of mainstream success.
“O.A.R. wasn’t designed for Top 40 radio,” Allmusic said about the album.
With all the complaints about O.A.R.’s venture from their classic style of indy, college rock, “All Sides” still offers a few new songs that their fans can take solace in being more ‘classic’ O.A.R.
“This Town” may be the most popular of new songs among long time O.A.R. listeners as it is a song filled with catchy melodies and plenty of saxophone blaring exuberance, one of the trademarks of O.A.R.’s style. This song was written to be performed live and to raise the morale of the crowd after some of the more depressing songs the band might perform (a.k.a. “Shattered” or “On My Way”).
Among some other surprises on the album was a hidden gem that a long time O.A.R. fan and Penn State graduate called “the greatest song they (O.A.R.) have come up with since 2003.”
That track is “War Song,” an epic-feeling six-minute piece that leaves the listener craving more. The song begins slowly with Marc’s voice being heard over the slow playing of Richard On’s guitar. The slow build is almost excruciating as the listener knows that the song is due to pick up the pace. After almost a minute of a slow opening the big pay-off comes in the form of a guitar riff that is on par with any of the most popular guitar sounds today. The song continues to build on the tempo like a runaway avalanche speeding towards an exciting conclusion.
The song talks about being away from home and the ones that they love, pleading for those important to the song writer to “wait, wait for my love.” Though the track is familiar to some early tunes with similar themes like “I Feel Home” or “52-50,” this particular song hooks the listener in with a lack of repetition and gathers enough steam to have the audience at the edge of their seats.
Like all epic songs, the audience is rewarded with the big payoff in the end.
The guitar riffs and drum beats go away for a brief moment and Roberge is left to deliver his heavy-hitting a capella line “oh my god, tell me this won’t last for ever.” The feeling of the line sends goosebumps down the spine. After the solo lyric On’s guitar returns with a purpose joining Roberge in one final heart stopping bridge before a final chorus and the listener can relax as their heart continues to beat furiously.
Other than the epic classic and the party track “This Town,” O.A.R. offers a few more fun songs that fit into their old mold. “Living In the End,” is the only folk-sounding song (even if it is more heavy on the electric guitar than the traditional sense of folk). “Something Coming Over” and “Whatever Happened” are the new style O.A.R. that listeners of late 1990s fans can enjoy along with the newer breed of listeners.
O.A.R. has become famous for their incorporation of an instrument rarely used in Rock N’ Roll music these days, the saxophone. “All Sides” leaves the listener craving Jerry DePizzo, the group’s saxophonist, to play a more active role in the songs. “It is like they forgot what made them famous,” the Penn State graduate later stated. “They forgot to use the saxophone.”
Though O.A.R. missed largely on this album with an attempt to make a splash on the billboard charts, the album is still worth a listen for any fan of the band. The sixth album from O.A.R. might be the furthest from the roots that most college-age followers have grown to love but just to hear tracks like “War Song” are a reminder to why it was that we became enamored with the group in the first place.
Ken Schmidt is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at KS609536@wcupa.edu.