Review: O.A.R. Returns to Form With King

The release of 2008's All Sides put O.A.R. at the highest popularity levels of their career.

The album's first radio single, "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)" was the band's most successful to date, going platinum and peaking at #2 on the U.S. Adult Pop Songs chart and #36 on Billboard's Hot 100.

Despite the success, many long-time fans were disappointed with the more pop-friendly sound.

As Cutting Room Floor's own Alan Brown said recently, "I wasn't a fan of the All Sides album because I felt the band went too far from their roots."

It's true the album was more polished and less like their classic songs, but I thought it showed a thoughtful maturity and proved the band was evolving well beyond the "jam band" label.

O.A.R.'s latest release, King is a nice blend of the more mature sound with the classic jammy, reggae-influence the band's loyal fans have come to expect.

I still can't get over the overly-glossy production of first single "Heaven", but it's a good song. The acoustic version the band has put out is infinitely better, dropping the overpowering drum machine for subtle tambourine hits and hand claps.

Even the female choir loses some of it's annoyance as it gives the acoustic guitar a nice layer to sit on top of.

As for the production on the rest of the album, it's absolutely fantastic.

As drummer Chris Culos explained, "...the majority of it was recorded live off the floor. We ditched the traditional way of tracking each instrument individually in favor of capturing a live feel. We’ve always wanted to capture our live feel in the studio but never really nailed it before. I think it finally comes through on King."

In addition to making a conscious effort to capture the band's live feel with different production, the band made a return to their roots musically.

As frontman Marc Roberge said of opening track "King", "What I want it to inspire is influences, different things that influence us. Not what other people want us to be influenced by. We are influenced by stories, reggae, these characters, hip-hop beats, drums, sax, keys, bass, you know? It's us."

Sure enough, all those things appear on King. The upstroked reggae guitars, danceable grooves and characters from past albums all make their return in vintage O.A.R. style.

Jerry DePizzo's saxaphone finally shows up again in a meaningful way and touring member Mikel Paris' keyboards add delightful subtle touches all over the album while Benj Gershman lays down tasty bass grooves.

After the confusion and surprise of the opening track, cuts like "Taking On The World Today" and "Not For Me" point the album in a more familiar direction.

Later tracks like "Fire", "Dangerous Connection" and "Over And Over" highlight the mature side of a band that's been through the grind for over 15 years.

In my view, this is the best studio album the band has released. The production is crisp without stifling the layers, and as Culos mentioned does the best job yet of capturing the band's noted live energy.

No, they aren't singing about getting drunk in your buddy's driveway anymore and frankly they aren't the same band, but that's a good thing.

King is as close to the formative years of O.A.R. as you're going to get.

There may be a misstep here or there, but as the band says, "We've got more than a lifetime/To make it all feel right/So don't apologize/You gotta be wrong sometimes".

Album Review: O.A.R. All Sides

O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) released their sixth studio album All Sides last week, to both critical and fan distaste. Some see the new record as a bit too poppy and that's led to mixed reviews including this Rolling Stone review that says among other things that O.A.R. have, "...cultivated a slick pop sound to match their arena-size ambitions."

I can certainly see why some might feel that way. All Sides features songs that do sound more polished and that's largely thanks to producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5). The big thing about the record that jumps out to me is that the songs have a much more mature sound. While I've always hated making the comparison, in some spots this record feels a bit Dave Matthews Band inspired.

I think the band has come a long way and this album is potentially as good a studio album as the band has put out. Despite Rolling Stone only giving All Sides 2 stars, they also gave In Between Now And Then, potentially O.A.R.'s best studio album just 2 stars when it released in 2003.

One thing that's clear on this effort is that the addition of Mikel Paris (keys, bongos, back-up vocals) really helps to fill out their sound. The featured song today, the first single off the album, "Shattered (Turn The Car Around)" benefits from and leans on Paris' key riff throughout. Other album cuts show Paris' flair on the bongos. "Whatever Happened" opens with a tribal sounding intro with nice percussion and a strange vocal that melts into Jerry DePizzo's saxophone part.

There are some songs that sound more like older O.A.R. songs. Tracks like "Living In The End", "What Is Mine" and "This Town" which was featured heavily on ESPN's coverage of the College World Series this year manage to blend their new maturity with the more upbeat classics of their past.

It's exciting to watch a band that continues to grow and push themselves as they get older. Clearly, O.A.R. still hopes to become more mainstream but they still stay true to their roots for the most part. Ultimately, this is a band that will continue to earn their bread on the road for some time as they will no doubt keep filling venues all over the U.S.

Based on early listens, I would definitely recommend this album to both new and old O.A.R. fans alike.