The Reckoning Review

Awesome Review: The Reckoning

by Mat Tuck

   After three years of waiting the band Needtobreathe came out with their newest album, "The Reckoning." It's very rare that I will enjoy most of the music on one album. Usually I find one or two songs I like and move on to a different album. However, this is not the case with "The Reckoning." Even though not every song on this album can be Needtobreathe's next hit, it sort of feels like any one of them could be. If I were to take each of these songs, put them on a dart board, blindfold my eyes, and throw a dart at them, which ever song the dart landed on could be the best one. I literally enjoy almost every song on this album.

   Now I may be a bit biased when it comes to my opinion of this album. I have seen Needtobreathe live in concert twice, and one of the times I had a pretty girl pulling me through the crowd to get closer to the band. I've sung two of their songs live in front of my youth group in the past. It should definitely be noted that Needtobreathe is one of my favorite bands and cannot do much wrong in my eyes.

   The first track on this album is entitled "Oohs and Ahhs." I'm not sure why, but the music in this song gives me a mental image of an old smoky bar. Like a bar from the 1920's. It's a dark room and there are gangsters playing poker in the corner. There's something sort of Hispanic sounding about the guitar playing in the background. The music starts off really quite and blasts the listeners will soulful and powerful music about a minute into the song. The words to this song don't really go along with this feel though. They talk about the past and going from then to now. The lyrics explain that they used to be so susceptible to the evils and false promises of the world. Bottom line, this song sounds really cool and gets the album off to a strong start.

   The next song in this album is "White Fences." This songs music sort of has a happy summer-time down by the lake sort of feel to it. Although the music is happy the beat makes it sound almost as if someone is walking uphill. This makes sense because the song is about everyone's dream of living in a nice house with white fences surrounding it. This is what Bo Rinehart, backup vocalist and guitarist, said in an interview. He explained that the song is about trying to have a perfect life and what happens when things don't work out the way you want them to. This is evident in the song's lyrics when it says, "It's cold living in a fallen home." It's definitely a good song with a nice rhythm and a message about coping with the everyday struggle of life.

Oohs and Ahhs (Live)

The third song on this album, "Drive All Night," is a toe-tapper. Its bass sounds like a running engine. I get the image of exactly what the lead singer, bear Rinehart is singing about, driving all night into the darkness. This song is about taking some time to get away from things and sometimes just being spontaneous, hoping in your car, and seeing where it takes you. It's also a song about finding a girl who is willing to join you for the ride and can be spontaneous with you.

   I'll mention this next song briefly. It is called "A Place Only You Can Go." It is a nice love song, but the thing that makes it really cool for me is the bagpipes in the background. I love bagpipes.

   Then comes the song simply known as "Slumber." This is a good song about waking up from a slumber in order to live life. It is a song that reminds me of driving in the rain. That might be the music or maybe I heard it on the radio while driving in the rain. Either way, I like rain and I like this song. It has a nice steady beat thanks to the drummer, "Joe Stillwell" and is very easy to sing along to. This is one of the two songs from this album I have actually heard on the radio and I think its catchiness and message make it well deserving of its popularity in comparison to most of the songs on this album.

   Next is the song the album was named after, "The Reckoning." This is a song about a juorney. It talks about running away from home with only a suitcase. It is a song of self-discovery. The song shares wisdom when it says that you should never "run away a boy, when you can walk away a man." It seems as though these are all my favorite songs, but I hold this one higher than most of the songs on this album because of that one line I quoted. I believe in this songs message of choosing your fights and being man enough to walk away when the fight just isn't worth it. The lead singer, Bear Rinehart, is an absolutely amazing singer. He is very soulful and has a wide range in his voice. This song, and the next song after this one, "Able," really emphises his voice.

   Keep Your Eyes Open (Live)

   Skipping a few songs we find ourselves at track number ten, "Keep Your Eyes Open," which is sort of a flashback to Needtobreathe's first album. While most of the songs on this album have more of a southern feel to them, this one it has a pop rock sort of feel to it. It is one of my more favorite songs on the album. It is also the second of the two songs i have heard on the radio, thus proving its popularity among the rest of the album. It is about keeping yourself open to all of the possibilities in the world. It pretty much says that you will regret your life if you don't "Keep Your Eyes Open."

   If we skip ahead to track twelve, "Devil's Been Talkin," we find a song that reminds me of the music off of Needotbreathe's last album, "the Outsiders." It is very southern feeling with heavy banjo in the background, like in "the Outsiders." Don't confuse "southern" with "country" though. This is not the kind of music you would find on the country station. Either way this song is definitely a good reminder of their previous album. It has a great steady beat, and some cool backup vocals from the other members of the band.

   The last two songs, "Angel at my Door," and "Learn to love" are good, but forgettable. They are both love songs, and they both have great lead vocals. All in all I'd say this album is one of Needtobreathe's best albums. In my opinion it beats the album prior to it, "The Outsiders" only because it has more songs on it that I like than "the Outsiders." There are some songs in the earlier album's I really don't care about mixed in with songs I completely love. This album, however, is listenable for me from start to finish. The best thing about this album is Bear Rinehart's voice. There is also more guitar on this album. This is good because Bo Rinehart (Bear's brother) is really skilled. All of the musicians in Needtobreathe are very skilled. They improve on this skill in every album they release. I obviously look forward to any future albums to be released by this band.

   If you want to listen to this whole album, without having to pay for it, here is the link to the album's playlist on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQmMBiRvRL8&playnext=1&list=PL708487FBC8A1E45A&feature=results_main. You can select any of the songs from the album on this playlist, and even listen to some songs from earlier albums. Needtobreathe's official website is http://needtobreathe.net/. You can find information about the band and show times. I'm not sure if every member of the band has a Facebook account, but here is the lead singer's: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bear-Rinehart/152863634779782