All The Right Reasons
by Nickelback

Poor Nickelback. They don't deserve the most hated band tag. The commercial radio fodder does not give them justice. There's some decent rock tracks with a bit of oomph on this. However, it's easy to have divided thoughts due it also having a fair amount of saccharine fluff.

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Ok - quite extraordinary the responses. This is a pretty good album and anyone marking it down must be doing it for other reasons than the music! Not one of my favourite albums, but I have a whole load that I assess as less.

Nickelback get a lot of flak. They get scapegoated as the face of radio single soul-less rock which isn't fair. They aren't awful and whatever mish-mash this band puts together is popular for a reason, so they get some points just for that.

Kroeger has a unique vocal delivery and sex witty-ness with the balls to say stuff that men do think and won't admit.

Photograph is one of the best Nickelback songs. Title track has a decent riff during the bridge. Ballads Far Away and Savin Me are stand balladry fare but done well.

I think Animals verses are pretty clever even if they are trashy. It's fun and has more sexual banter than most lyrics that are offered by modern hit makers. The chorus is a bit bland.

Rockstar is pretty stupid and I can't believe it was a popular single.

Next Contestant and Side of a Bullet sounds like by the numbers Nickelback.

The highlights here are good and that makes this Nicelback's best. But it still has 4 or crap songs like any other Nickelback album.

And most people thing their schtick is crap anyway so my ranking is higher than the average I'm sure

From junodog4 02/18/2015 03:47 | #135209

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From Eastwood 01/29/2015 20:40 | #133027

Great post-grunge/hard rock/alternative rock/alternative metal/heavy metal album. Best 10 songs average is 93,2/100 and the album can get great 95/100. Hit on hit. Best songs are "Photograph", "Far away", "If everyone cared" and "Rockstar" all great 95/100. All other songs very good 90/100, except "Follow you home" and "Fight for..." good 85/100. Clear favourite! And 15 Mio. buyers can't be that wrong...

From poppmusic 01/14/2015 02:08 | #131497

It's bad, but it was a smash. That's something. "Rockstar" is a candidate for worst song ever.

I wish there were negative numbers to rate this album.

Their best album from not a very good band. Has some solid tunes.

From soundguardian 02/21/2013 20:36 | #65766

It's loud and relatively mindless. The lyricism is nearly non-existent, defaulting to relationship issues and devious sexual topics, and the music composition is reflective of catering to a broad general audience. Worse still is Chad Kroeger's consistently constipated vocals and lazy enunciation.

The closest things to unique lyrics on this album include the nostalgia seeping through "Photograph", the (not so subtle) satire "Rockstar", and the grotesque (and not in a good way) comedy-story "Animals". None of these can be salvaged, though. The imagery used in "Photograph" is juvenile, the gravelly, grating way Kroeger sings "Rockstar" makes me gag, and "Animals" is deplorable.

"Side of a Bullet" and "Someone That You're With" are pointless filler, and most of the rest of the album is underwhelming.

Slightly better executed are "If Everyone Cared", "Saving Me" and "Far Away", which, admittedly, are personal guilty 'pleasures'. Typical idealistic why's-the-world-so-mean-why-can't-we-all-get-along outcry, hopeful I-can-change-my-ways tale of redemption, and mushy we're-parted-but-I-still-love-you-and-want-you-back romance ballad, respectively.

I still can't get over how bad the vocals are and how predictable the instrumentation is... a band can afford terrible lyrics if they can compensate somehow. Nickelback fails to do this.

Highlights: nothing really, but if I had to choose
"If Everyone Cared" - 70/100 [for Kroeger's attempt at lyricism]
"Savin' Me" - 70/100 [for the lyricism and execution]
"Far Away" - 65/100 [for the melody]
"Rockstar" - 60/100 [for its social commentary]