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Semisonic - All About Chemistry Audio CD

A fair review of the Semisonic "All About Chemistry" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Semisonic reviews here, or go back to the Semisonic tabs.

Semisonic Band: Semisonic
Title: All About Chemistry
Rating:
Release Date: 2001-03-06
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Chemistry 2: Bed 3: Act Naturally 4: She's Got My Number 5: Follow 6: Sunshine and Chocolate 7: Who's Stopping You? 8: I Wish 9: One True Love 10: Get A Grip 11: Surprise 12: El Matador

A Pretty Good Album
I bought this after hearing a couple of hooks on "Chemistry" the lead single and really liked what I heard. It's too bad a lot of people overlooked this album. "Closing Time" is a good song but here on "Chemistry", the band really begins to shine and mature and what a pity it stayed under the radar and worse yet, was negatively reviewed.

Dan Wilson is a great songwriter. He's not just OK or good but a great songwriter. He really has a gift for song structure, arrangement and lyrics. Elements that are really difficult to find in one person. Within the music community he exists in, he has much respect from the likes of Sheryl Crow, The Dixie Chicks and Rick Rubin. He's a songwriter's songwriter.

One of the things I keep thinking as I listen to this album is: "wow, these are GOOD songs, ALL of them and this guy knows what he's doing. " Well he certainly does as he went on to win a Grammy with the Dixie Chicks.

The last 2 songs "Surprise" and "El Matador" are worth buying this CD alone. Yes, Semisonic is straightforward and simple pop band but when it's this good, how can you not listen to it.
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The title is right, in a way...
. . that is, there is little chemistry between this album and me, and without that chemistry I can't give this CD a good review. I loved Feeling Strangely Fine and The Great Divide sounds like a promising purchase in lieu of any *new* releases, but this album sucks overall. It's missing that essential edginess that their earlier albums had, and without that element all that's left is quiet ballads.

That said, I gave this album an extra star because it does have three really good songs: the title track Chemistry, Sunshine and Chocolate, and El Matador. The last of the three is a good example of how the rest of the album sounds, but it is the best of the slow and quiet tracks that this album is populated with.

My recommendation is to buy the three songs I listed online if you can, or another option is to buy a used copy of the CD, rip the three songs, and sell it back for the next guy to do the same with.


Different, but still effective
The band has undergone another major change of sound, much as they did between Great Divide and Feeling Strangely Fine, and thus it may be a bit of an adjustment for long-time fans of the band. Semisonic has always made albums which grow on you, and Chemistry is no exception. This album is marked jointly by what I feel is the best musicianship by the band and by songwriting and production which lacks some of the edginess and intimacy that distinguished many earlier Semisonic songs. Songs like the title track and Follow get a little sugary for my tastes, but other songs like I Wish, Surprise, and She's Got My Number create a warm soundscape without coming off as overly pop. Other songs like El Matador and One True Love would be too sweet if they weren't so good. If you don't generally find anything involving guitars to be too sweet, you will love this album from first listen. If you liked the more electric pop of Singing in My Sleep, buy Great Divide before you buy Chemistry; it's lived in my CD player for 8 years. In any event, Chemistry is an excellent album worth owning.


just buy all three MONEY WELL SPENT
This band is known around my house to lift spirits and make you feel like a better person. its hard to tell which of semisonic's CDs gets forst prize. Not one song on here dissapoints, but that can also be said about their other two CDs. Pick up all three its money well spent. The lyrics will inspire you to be a better person, and help you feel better on the harder days.


Excellent - though a different sound...
Sonically, the music has taken new twists and turns along with some pleasant suprises. Closing Time will no doubt be the pinnacle of Semisonic's creative powers, but this album comes pretty close to matching it. I have always loved the lush orchestration and deep, layered, atmospheric music that this group produces, along with Dan Wilson's very boyish and Californian voice, creating a very unique pop/rock sound. "She's Got My Number" is a steady, almost techno-ish rocker with some great vocal work and layered sound. "All About Chemistry" is straightfoward, light-aired pop. Though admittedly the rest of the songs fail to impress me as much as these two, the CD's highlight is "El Matador", which for me, is Semisonic's best song since Closing Time. The soft, lush acoustic guitar and the muted drumbeats really make this the kind of song you'd listen to lying on the hammock watching the summer sunset go down. It's beautiful. If you like U2, Oasis, The Verve, Radiohead or any atmospheric rock, you'll find good "chemistry" with Semisonic. If not, it doesn't matter. This is pop rock - evolved.


You can see a complete list of all Semisonic discography, or go back to the Semisonic tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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