Album Preview - Nickelback - Here and Now

Today, I had the unique opportunity to preview an album prior to release, Nickelback's "Here and Now". Although I've been labelled a lover of "redneck rock" by my step-son, the talented record producer Nathan Horst, I still possess somewhat of a negative bias toward Nickelback. For those not in the know (including me), I believe that the "redneck rock" genre defines itself by the likes of Kid Rock, Godsmack, Creed, and yes, Nickelback.

I imagine that we need to establish somewhat of a background or parameters before really reviewing this new CD. Drop D tuning, or C or however low you want to go has been around for quite some time. Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi pioneered this method after losing the tips of a couple of fingers in an industrial accident to enable playing and transitioning between power chords. Niravana and KorN perfected this sound, Creed's Mark Tremonti added the technical virtuosity, and now every band on earth feels that guitar should always be played this way and vocals need to closely resemble the baritone of Eddie Vedder. Nickelback certainly makes no exception to this new rule.

My prejudice toward Nickelback stems from the fact that most of their music sounds the same. It's difficult to differentiate one tune from another. But I must admit that if you realize this and only desire to own one of Nickleback's releases, this is the one to buy. The songs are well written, the riffs are tight, the production is good and it's very typical Nickelback, songs about rock 'n roll living, hard drinking and loving, then whining about lost love.

Released back in September, the first single from this CD, "Bottoms Up", a hard partying, tune about drinking everything in sight surprises no one but sure rocks as do "This Means War", "Midnight Queen", and "Gotta Get Me Some". The first half of this CD really cranks with typical Nickelback tunes about partying, sex with sluts, and heavy drinking but then it slowly fades into more of a Wizard-of-Oz type of dreamland with some very slow ballads about lost love like "Lullaby", "Trying Not to Love You", and "Holding Onto Heaven".

The real surprise from this CD is the song, "When We Stand Together", a song about ending war and world hunger, with lyrics that echo more U2 than Nickelback, and a nice danceable beat.

Nickelback attempts to change it up a bit with the faint techno background on "Kiss it Good-Bye" but I believe that Chad Kroeger knows his limitations, feels comfortable with them, and stays well within those boundaries.

Ironically, the CD ends with something as close to a love song as I've ever heard from Nickelback, another ballad titled "Don't Ever Let it End".

So as a critic, I'm forced to say that "Here and Now" is like all other Nickelback recordings but as a fan of redneck rock, I say this one gets your feet and butt moving so rock on! If you own no Nickelback, this is a good place to start and if you are a fan, I know you'll be racing out for the pre-sales to line this one up with the 6 others in your collection.

Enjoy this clip of the single "When We Stand Together"