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Winning Days

The Vines - Winning Days Audio CD

A fair review of the The Vines "Winning Days" 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 The Vines reviews here, or go back to the The Vines tabs.

Band: The Vines
Title: Winning Days
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-03-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Ride 2: Animal Machine 3: TV Pro 4: Autumn Shade 2 5: Evil Town 6: Winning Days 7: She's Got Something to Say to Me 8: Rainfall 9: Amnesia 10: Sunchild 11: Fuck the World

Winning Days
The album starts with three in-your-face Nirvanalike tracks, but for the majority of the rest of the album, they are The Beatles. The Vines are often compared to both The Beatles and Nirvana with their combination of grungey punk rock and soft acoustic tracks, and this album definately showcases both. The band faced a lot of criticism with this album because it was so similar to their debut album, Highly Evolved. In fact, most of the songs were written before Highly Evolved was even recorded. The two albums are very similar, but after four albums, the band's music still all sounds the same. I guess The Vines aren't the kind of band that try new things with new albums, and that's why they have such a large fan base. The fans can count on them to continue to make good music if it always sounds the same. However, the album got mostly bad reviews from professional reviewers, and I too was disappointed with the album a little bit. Of their three albums, this is definately my least favorite because after a few solid songs, it just trails off a little bit and it gets hard to listen to by the time you're at "Sun Child. " But the last track, "F. T. W. ," salvages the second half of the album.

About Taste, NOT Talent
People. . listen to me. If you're going to review an album, review one that you understand. If you're into rap and review a classic rock album it really does nothing for anyone interested in making a purchase or giving a band a listen. The same can be said about people who are into different genres of music reviewing albums of different genres. "Alternative," is just a name for music that takes from all sorts of different genres and therefore can not actually be used as an absolute definition for anything unless of course you're trying to determine whether or not a group sounds indefinitely like Chuck Berry.

THE VINES are a group with a LOT of talent in their field. They have post-grunge hard hitting loud songs. . . but they also have mellow beautiful harmonious songs, 70's era Joe Walsh like tunes, songs reminiscent of The Kinks, trippy drugged out Beatles influences ala "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. "

YOU HAVE TO TRULY LISTEN TO EVERY SONG A BAND PUTS OUT TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE THEM, but just because they're not your flavor doesn't mean that it's cool to give them negative reviews. . . you just don't get the music.

This band loves the complication in simplicity. One of the hardest things for anyone to do is make difficult things appear to be simple and easy. If you don't like simple and easy to follow then this band is probably not for you. . . but I can tell you that catchy melodies and layers upon layers of vocal harmonies don't just materialize without a load of talent behind them. Anyone who can play guitar can come up with a melody while playing a series of chords, but coming up with a truly good one that gets people's attention is another story.

This album is more enjoyable to me than the first because it shows maturity. It's not to say that everyone will agree with me on the previous statement because there is a tighter production quality on this album compared to the first and that may have been what others liked about "Highly Evolved," but whatever the case may be. . . this album still provides a great ride and is well worth the money if you like the band.

Now, not every song on the album is an instant radio hit. . . or even a single. . . but all songs on "Winning Days," deserve they're spot and their own moment to shine on the record, whatever the length of the tune may be. . . and THAT says a lot about the talent and quality of music that comes out of this band.

You may complain about the run time of the album, but I'd take a shorter quality album over a longer version with mediocre material injected any day. You may complain that the band doesn't play intricate guitar on the entire album, but no one compared Craig Nichols to Slash here, and no one can honestly say that complication is the only avenue to take in creating solid music-The Beatles were the biggest band in the world. . . most of their material was only conceptually complicated but could be played within a couple years of picking up an instrument and sung by anyone with a tuneful ear.

On this album The Vines DO wear their influences on their sleeves a bit more and have begun to flesh out with a tad more cohesiveness the 60's era melody with Post-Grunge/Garage Rock style that they had birthed on "Highly Evolved," and all in all I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy the final product. Perhaps not for everyone, but definitely for some. . . if you like The Vines, you won't find any other band that sounds quite like them and I highly doubt that you'll be disappointed unless you were expecting some epic barrier shattering, history making album.

If you don't dig this style of music, your review is kind of pointless and you're really just wasting everyone's time. Of course, if anyone really wants to see if they like the album or not you can honestly just sample it on Amazon before you purchase it anyway. As for me, I totally dig this album and the band. . . if nothing more, they deserve to be recognized as very capable musicians and that really says a lot now-a-days.
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AMAZING
It is my favorite album ever and i have gone threw 2 CDs and just bought it on vinyl. I believe this is the greatest album i have ever heard in my entire life. Highly Evolved was really good but this was better, and a lot better than Vision Valley. Vision Valley was a good record but this is much much better. I can not wait for the new record to come out this year. I hope its better (and longer) than Vision Valley.

-Tyler G.

this rocks! now put it away
but i'm not reviewing the first album

the second album, winning days, is better than the first. i remember the first album fondly. it is everything i expected and more. i remember when this one was released and i almost felt compelled to buy it but then i remembered how little i listen to the first album anymore and every time i was tempted to pay money for the album i decided i'd wait until i found it in a buck bin.

now i work at a radio station and i got the album for free! so i listened and i don't really regret waiting so long. after all, they have a new one out already. right? and this is the first time i heard any of the songs.

the vines are underrated. there are some great psychedelic rock influences in the textural jams. but they are lacking melodicly. for me, there just isn't enough melodic development to really hold my interest.

or maybe i just don't hear it. after all, every posative review raves about it's melodic content. but me? i don't hear it. sure they have vocal harmonies but that doesn't mean it's melodic.

so now that i'm done listening to the album i probably wont listen to it again. for a long long long time.

Better, Different, Sad, Crazy, Amazing Album
All the "I listened to it because everyone else did and it made me part of the 'in' crowd" people drifted away because it wasn't an exact duplicate of Highly Evolved, the band's first album. The Vines second album Winning Days put to show who the real fans were. It wasn't all screaming guitars and vocals. It wasn't the same.

Don't buy Winning Days if you're looking for two copies of Highly Evolved.

However, if you're looking for musical expansion, chilling vocal blends, and amazingly expressed sadness, then Winning Days is for you.

Even on the heavier tracks (Ride, Animal Machine), Craig Nicholls fails short on the expection of screaming his way through the whole track. In fact, he does a pretty good job singing through most of the album.

The harmonies (Autumn Shade II, Winning Days, Rainfall, Amnesia, Sun Child) really stand out.

The guitars aren't just screaming all over the place, they are part of a song, part of a blend of harmonies, bass, drums, guitars, and the trademark scream of Craig Nicholls.

This album is suggested listening for anyone who enjoys good music. .

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