Number 7 of 2003 — Evanescence: Fallen

Ah, the Amy Lee Band. A bit of a surprise this one, and it certainly wasn’t on this list the first time I listened to it. It all sounded the same. Same arrangements. Same guitars. Same everything. But there’s more to it than that — you just need to dig. It’s this digging that keeps me coming back to this album. I could play it for a hundred years and never get bored of it. Do you want your music handed to you on a plate? Well I don’t. I want to work for it sometimes. Music is my life, and I like life to be interesting, to challenge me and to make me think. This album does all of that for me. I didn’t write "predominantly secular" in an earlier post for nothing, you know

Four myths about Evanescence:

• That it’s all about the guitars. Not true. It’s all about the voice. Amy can sing. Really sing. Dido cannot (well, apart from four well chosen notes). No Amy’s voice doesn’t grate – it just means you’ve got a poor hi-fi.
• That it’s nu metal. Not true. The beard count is too low for that.
• That they are spiritually neutral. Well, that’s what Amy reckons. Please, who is she trying to kid? Sure, the teenies that buy this might just pick up on Tourniquet, as a bit, whisper it: religious, but this album is drenched in their faith. Don’t be so defensive!
• That it’s depressing. Not for me it ain’t. I’ve been in some dark places at times, and come through them.

Now, I won’t pretend I buy into the beliefs documented in this album, so there will be no in depth examination of the lyrics for this review. However, I will say this: why do secular bands steer clear of spiritual terminology? I could write a whole blog, never mind one entry about this issue. Does life mean nothing to them? Yeah, like it’s all Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking. I don’t buy that: the scientific struggles and wild hypotheses caused by String Theory and the race for a Single Unified Theory is evidence of that. To think I wanted to be an astrophysicist when I was in my early teens. Sheesh! Just leave it alone.

Anyway, back to the album in hand. This is their second album, after Origin, of which some tracks have been reworked for this album. Fallen irritates me no end. So, why is it in my albums of 2003? Because of the potential. Strip away the production and you have two people who write proper songs (that’s not meant to be patronising). There’s talent here and it needs harnessing. Aside from the occasional misfired lyrics, which may be there just to scan well, Amy’s words are beautiful, heartfelt and real. What she sings she means. The scarce times when we have the opportunity to hear just voice and piano shows what’s good about Ben and Amy.

Musical points to note: The orchestral bridge between Tourniquet and Imaginary. The second best bridge I heard last year. (The best bridge appears on my Number 2 album which I’ll disclose much later in this blog. It’s not even a bridge though. Curious? Wait and see.) Neither am I sure about the choir at the end of Whisper. It’s all a bit melodramatic and obvious. They should have tried something innovative to sign off with. Try Abwoon (Our Father) from Lisa Gerrard and Patrick Cassidy’s album Immortal Memory for innovation. That’s flawless.

So, my tips for the next album. Firstly the flippant. Amy and Ben, come round to my place and I’ll give you some great ideas. Bring that piano guy too.

Now, the more considered:

1. Ditch the electric guitars. They do sound the same on almost each track. The same two note riffs that pound percussion-like are tedious. Only on the last few tracks do we get some genuine fluidity (My Last Breath). Witness the disaster caused by them after the beautiful intro for Taking Over Me.
2. Ditto with the drum loops. Or spend some more time preparing them. Some bands spend weeks sorting these out. They’re critical parts of the arrangements, and should be treated as such.
3. Listen to Faith in Space by Lida Husik. Ideas in spades there.
4. Spend some more time examining the structure of your music. On first listen, the album is crescendo piled on top of more crescendo. It’s not quite that bad — it’s all relative I guess — but there needs to be more dynamic.
5. Listen to Tori Amos’ Winter and cry your eyes out. Or just read the lyrics. It does the same to me either way. No other song in the world does this to me.
6. Make some space for Amy’s voice. My Immortal works phenomenally well because of this, despite the Enya piano trills. Less is more. Cowboy Junkies recorded The Trinity Session live, in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, direct to tape with one omnidirectional microphone in one day for 250 canadian dollars. It can be done.

So, what will we have for the next album? Will it improve on this? Will it be more of the same? Will Evanescence go all secular on us, as is being touted on the rumour mills. Will they sell out? I can’t wait to find out.

when you cried I’d wipe away all of your tears
when you’d scream I’d fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
but you still have
all of me

Says it all really.