Search - Danger Danger :: Four the Hard Way

Pleasantly surprised!

C.J. Haldeman | Lewiston, Maine USA | 07/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Back in my college days in the early 90s, I had D2's self-titled, and Screw It CDs and thought they were pretty great. Since those days, I had gotten away from listening to hard rock much. Just lately I've had the itch to start listening to some of those bands again, and one of the albums I tried is "Four the Hard Way". To be honest, I really wasn't expecting much from this album, but after a couple listens I was very pleasantly surprised. Sure there are a few songs that don't really rank for me in the upper echelon of Danger Danger tunes, but hey, that's true of every band, isn't it? Can't love everything. But frankly, there are a couple of songs on here that I believe are better than anything from any of the first two albums. "The Girl Ain't Built to Sleep Alone": if you heard this one on the radio, you would swear that it was Bon Jovi. And I mean that as a compliment. This is a great melodic rock song. I played it for my wife cause I thought she'd like it, and I asked her to guess who it was. Right off the bat she said Bon Jovi and thought it was some great new song of theirs that she hadn't heard. "Heartbreak Suicide" is just a great melodic rock song. Kind of reminiscent of Cheap Trick if you really pay attention to it. Nothing wrong with that! I'd say 6 of the 10 new songs (#11 is an acoustic remake of Comin' Home from the Screw It album) are keepers. Paul Laine is an improvement, I believe over Ted Poley, who I always felt was a bit of a whiny, weak singer. Yes, he sings well and hits the notes, but there's nothing past that. Paul Laine definitely has some power in his voice, not to mention has songwriting and guitar skills as well. The majority of the songs are written by Bruno Ravel and Steve West, as they have been from the beginning, so you know that there will at least be a winner or two in the bunch. This certainly isn't a waste of money, and is a fairly strong album. Some of the reviews mention an alternative sound to the album...truthfully, I don't hear it. When you've got the two main songwriters still in the group, the sound isn't going to change that much, and it still sounds like Danger Danger to these trained ears. In fact, it's made me go out and get "Dawn" and "Return of the Great Gildersleeves" as well, which I'll be curious to hear since they're slightly newer albums. So, if you're looking to try something that you may not have heard yet, take a chance on this album. You'll certainly find something you like about it if you like Danger Danger at all already!"

Four The Hard Way

jason | Milton, Pa USA | 04/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This alblum was one of the most difficult alblum to track down in the United States.I had to order this alblum and wait 2 months for it.I own the first two and this one.I feel that Four The Hard Way is far better than the first 2 alblum's.You can listen to this alblum from start to finish and not be disappointed.Good alblum to reminiscent about the good ole days in high school.Excellent alblum to buy."