March

Samples

Song Title Time Price 5:14 $0.99 3:27 $0.99 Visit our audio page for more information Reader Reviews If you haven't heard it, "March" is very possibly one of the best American pop records ever made. I have listened to it at least once a week since it came out twelve years ago. It's catchy as hell, smart without being fey, and the production and arrangements are really unique. So what happened? It was released at the wrong time. In 1989, popular music was an unsightly mess. When "Free for All" came out in 1992, it was too little too late. Grunge had arrived, and nobody wanted to hear literate and pensive songwriter. Still, "March" was on the charts for a time, mostly on the heels of a great video for "No Myth" (a song Paul McCartney would kill to write, I'm sure) and through word-of-mouth. There's not a bad song in the bunch. "No Myth" is upbeat and catchy and somehow larger than life, yet it's got a sarcastic streak a mile wide. Ballads like "Invisible" and "Battle Room" go beyond sad into tragic, and "Evenfall" closes out the album with real style. This was one of the great records of the '90's. On the strength of "March" alone, you should own this, especially since it and "Free for All," the follow-up have both been out of print forever. "Free for All" isn't quite the album that "March" was, but it's still quite good. The only real dud is "By the Book," and although nothing on here is quite as instantly memorable as the first record, it's quite good. Whereas "March" plumbed some pretty unpleasant depths with a brave and deceptively happy face, "Free for All" just stays down there. It's dark, and at times morbid and depressing, but it's so well done that it never gets boring. My only gripe is with the packaging. For space considerations, "Now We're Even" (the closing track from Free for All) has been axed. Both albums should have been reissued separately at midprice with their original cover art instead of this. The remaster is okay if barely noticable, but in spots the sound is a little claustrophobic. Still, both records are classics, and it's nice to see them back in print.  Comment | Permalink |  function showYesNoCommunityResponse(uId,result,value) { var msgLayer = getElement("thanks" + uId); if ( result == "SUCCESS" ) { msgLayer.innerHTML = "Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.com readers and reviewers. Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."; } else { showVoteErrorResponse(msgLayer,result,value); } } (Report this) Back To Top