Vertical Horizon - Running On Ice

Finally, the long awaited Running On Ice review. I had forgotten I promised to review my all-time favorite Vertical Horizon CD (right there with Live Stages).

Vertical Horizon is a very under rated group, their music as many may not know, spans well over a decade. They started in 1991 and made their first CD in 1992 titled, "There And Back Again." Basically an acoustic CD with two vocalists, and it sounds a lot like James Taylor. Running On Ice, their second studio album, sounds more like DMB. Also, the drummer who plays for most of their songs on Running On Ice is Carter Beauford of DMB. Matt Scannell (now lead vocalist) and Keith Kane sing on Running On Ice. I'll Make a brief review of each song carefully.

1. Heart In Hand - The starter for this album "Heart In Hand" is sung by Matt Scannell. I've heard this song countless times on repeat. Matt sings with a lower range on Vertical Horizon's earlier albums than he does nowadays; and it's beautiful. Everything from the low tone of Matt's early days with Vertical Horizon to the emotional setting of the album (including it's front cover) fits all too well. I think the opening song was performed perfectly.

2. Wash Away - And THIS is a good follower to a song like Heart In Hand. Kieth sings the second track titled "Wash Away." You'll notice right away his raspy voice, I always thought it was the best when Matt combines his voice with Kieth's raspy voice. It just sounds beautiful fitted all together, and Wash Away is no exception.

3. Fragments - One of Matt's more serious takes on songwriting. Not that Matt's songwriting is typically silly or anything, just that Fragments was written with a deep tone of depression. That's basically how the song flows, it sounds kind of depressing, not in a bad way, that's just how it's supposed to be. It doesn't take too long for the song to suddenly change shape. At some point the song shifts sound and things lighten up, as if things just suddenly got better for the singer. Whereas the song then sounds much more happy, and Matt begins to say, "It's better now..." I just love that about this song. The way it suddenly shifts is amazing and wonderful.

4. Famous - I heard somewhere that Matt and Kieth don't really like this song anymore (or that they never really did to begin with). Either way, this is where you'll get to hear Matt and Kieth sing different parts at the same time, and it sounds beautiful. I'm not sure I could use any better words to describe it, but the song itself is mostly sung by Kieth Kane.

5. The Man Who Would Be Santa - This song is probably the most deep and personal song I've ever heard. There's actually a long story behind this song and as to what it means, but I won't get into details as to what it was. The song is just so emotional and sad sounding it makes you want to cry. It's another beautiful song sung by Matt, the chorus just gets me every time. "All I want is for you to have a life you love and live. Take from me all I have to give, cause you are in my heart..."

6. Angel Without Wings - Another Kieth song, probably my least favorite song on this album, but not a bad song in any way. Only that it could be mistaken for a country song, but that's ok. It's mostly just an acoustic guitar with vocals by Kieth Kane (and some vocals by Matt).

7. Answer Me - This song is a little slow going, but not in a bad way. It's how the song builds up for the chorus that Matt sings on this song. Kind of like Fragments it sounds like depression, only things don't get better from there on out.

8. Life In The City - This is where the balance from Matt to Kieth Shifts mostly towards Matt. As the album starts of with Matt singing then switches back and forth from Matt to Kieth. The album from here on out focuses more on Matt's singing then it does Kieth. This song really brings some great memories and fits the title perfectly. Sounds a lot like a city song acoustically, and Matt captured it perfectly here.

9. Japan - Now it's back to Kieth with Japan. This is actually based on his trip to Japan for several months; as you might tell from what he says in the song (you'd have to check the lyrics to know what I mean) you could tell he didn't have a very pleasant experience. Basically, it's a song about lack of identity in an unfamiliar land. Things can get quite confusing, and they sure did for Kieth. He also happens to speak Japanese at the end of the song.

10. Call It Even - Back to Matt with Call It Even, this one's based on a party Matt had in college. The incredible ignorance of people and how rude they could be around others is just amazing, and Matt certainly didn't like it. It's about people pushing others to get their way and typically, neglect. All the negative impacts you could get from a simple party with too many people. A good song overall.

11. Sunrays And Saturdays - Another Matt song, this time completely acoustic. No drums or anything else here. This is probably the most like their previous effort "There And Back Again." Which of course, sounds a lot like James Taylor, and it sounds most wonderful.

12. Candy Man - Now back to Kieth Kane with Candy Man. There's this really awesome acoustic solo in this song that's hard for me to pass. It's one of those moments in music where you just have to keep rewinding the song just to hear that one part again. Much like Neil Peart's drumming on Tom Sawyer, you just have to hear it over and over again. Other than that, I once heard someone say that Candy Man is sexual, but I have no idea of that's true or not. I personally don't think it is though.

13. Falling Down - Back to Matt with a killer song. Both the live version and the original studio version of this song is just over the top awesome. The lyrics, the sound, the vocals...everything in this song was just done right. This is one of those songs I think pretty much everyone can follow. There are times we all feel small as a molecule in the pavement, but it doesn't mean you don't have what it takes to be someone.

14. Goodnight My Friend - My mother's personal favorite song; Matt sings the last song as well. This is a good closing song for the album, although you will notice the song is well over 6 minutes long, after about 3 minutes the song will stop. There is a hidden track on here called "The Reprise" which is a cover of some of the songs from the overall album Running On Ice. And let me tell you this hidden track is amazing...it's like a summary of the entire CD. It takes a few songs and mixes them together, as it may sound like it doesn't work, it actually does...and it works very well. It's the chorus from The Man Who Would Be Santa (of all things to surprise me by) and the end segment to the song Fragments. Also, Matt and Kieth sing together with Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce, along with a few other people. Everything just sounds beautiful and emotional...it's all just an emotional masterpiece.

Overall, everything sounds perfectly fitting for it's own title; meaning songs like "Life In The City" Really does sound like a city song. Everything was just done right on this album. One of the other things I love about Vertical Horizon is their album art. The picture of the car wreck on the album cover fits nicely with the theme of the music. It's emotional, sometimes dark, but in a good way. It just fits nicely. And the pictures in the manual to accompany the lyrics like a poem looks beautiful; it's all photography of landscapes like a sunset in the desert, or a spiraling staircase of a city. It just all makes out to be a wonderful CD to have in your collection. This album, along with my other review for Switchfoot's New Way To Be Human, is one of my top 5 favorite music albums ever. It's that good, and I hope you'll look into getting this wonderful CD. For some odd reason, Vertical Horizon's older efforts can't be found on itunes. All the more reason to purchase and own the actual CD than to virtually own the tunes on the computer. Trust me on this one, get this CD, you won't be disappointed.

Also check out my re-written review on Switchfoot's New Way To Be Human; I wanted to say more good things about the album, so check it out in one of the older posts here.