BUSH’s “Man On The Run” Album Review

BUSH’s New Album “Man on the Run” To Strike a Chord in the Hearts of Fans Everywhere!

 As many BUSH fans know, this December marks the 20th Anniversary of the multi-platinum band BUSH’s debut album Sixteen Stone. To commemorate the event, BUSH is re-releasing the landmark album; in a special 20th anniversary digitally remastered 2LP edition. Featuring the hits we’ve all grew up loving, such as:Machinehead; Glycerine; Comedown & Little Things. Also to commemorate the landmark event, BUSH is releasing a brand new album “Man on the Run”, dropping October 21st, 2014… This phenomenal 14 track album was produced by Grammy winning producers Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones, Marilyn Manson, Alice In Chains) & Jay Baumgardner (Three Days Grace, Godsmack, P.O.D Sevendust) at studio 606, the Northridge California based studio owned by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, and NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood.

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With the new lead single “The Only Way Out”, already peaking on Billboard’s top Alternative Song chart at #26, and #17 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart; it’s also already piquing the interest of U.S. fans nationwide. Singer-Guitarist Gavin Rossdale, wrote most of the new album in his home studio located in Los Angeles; in an interview with Yahoo Music he describes the writing process of Man on the Run

“They say the hardest thing for a writer is putting yourself in a seat to do it. I’m really untrained with music, so it’s always a natural process of understanding more about music by writing songs. So it’s a grand voyage of discovery. I have a good time doing it, I love my job. I just dive right in. I have a collection of words that I’ve been writing over the previous couple of years… I have a file of that stuff and each day I dive into that and see if there’s anything I can salvage. Then I think of the tempo and the feeling of the songs and how it fits my mood for that day.”

(Random fun Factoid: Gavin Rossdale, wrote “Man on the Run” with the groups live tour in mind.) [As he explained to USA today]

BUSH’s new album Man on the Run [delux], has proven to have a little something for everyone on both sides of the generation scale. Classic BUSH with new-school ideas, having little hints of EDM peppered in; but not so much that the old-school fans will be turned off from the album, but to yet; rediscover a post-grunge favorite with a new ear. The new album starts off hard & heavy on the 1st track Just Like My Other Sins, with some deep drone bass & synth, add in a little Brazilian drum-break with some crunchy guitar & classic Rossdale’s lyrically-poetic genius with a 15 second synth rise before the song hits the climatic point at the end… Slowing down slightly as the next song begins, title-track Man On The Run; stays true to the first track & melds in well with no overly-shocking change. Aesthetically pleasing to the ear; the title-track immediately starts your foot to tapping, then comes the finger drumming… Followed by the ever affirming head-bob to the beat, solidifying that this song is sure to become a hit single.

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The 3rd track & the leading single The Only Way Out, is quickly becoming a mainstream hit, there’s not much this photojournalist can say about this track that the song hasn’t already said for its self, garnering lots of attention via major radio exposure… 4th track The Gift, picks the album back up sporting a catchy upbeat tempo, continuing the assault on the neck muscles as you can’t help but to continue to bob the head to this amazing tune. The Gift is not quite a sure-fire hit, but can be listened to throughout the full track. Man on the Run, is the kind of album you play from beginning to end with no qualms what-so-ever; Much like BUSH’s earlier releases from 94-2011, there is not a single song on the entire album that can’t be heard in its entirety. Before this photojournalist new it, the album had reached its last four tracks. Leading me to replay the album… Again, in its full entirety. I became aware at this moment, it will take more than one listening to the album to catch everything my brain needed to. I began to play this album on my phone via my SUV radio. I started listening to the album while on assignments (i.e. A Wedding today), and in any spare time I could find to plug in. It quickly became aware yet again, that this indeed is another hit record for the multi-platinum selling band, BUSH…

Some personal favorites (as if it mattered) from this photojournalist is as follows, in addition to the aforementioned tracks we have Dangerous Love; Eye of the Storm; Let Yourself Go; Golden Age. In reverse order, Golden Age; Wow! Composed in a way that grabs you hypnotically while listening to the whining guitar & well written drum lines. Golden Age’s chorus is one of those that get stuck in your head as it is repeated “The Golden Age, Came Undone” ringing true in many instances of our lives in this new era… Let Yourself Go starts off with darker drone bass-synths, setting the mood for the track. Gavin’s vocals begin the song with“It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright! as the rhythm guitar play’s along to the rhythm of Rossdale’s lyrics, grabbing the attention of this photojournalist almost immediately. The post grunge alternative band again keeps true to its roots with the track sounding much like the band that made them famous in the mid 90’s; giving the BUSH fans exactly what they were longing for… Eye of the Storm begins kind of somber, but pulls a 360 with upbeat guitaring & unmistakable powerhouse vocals from Gavin Rossdale, yet another definite hit… Dangerous Love, another seemingly dark-sounding track, is written in story form. About heart ache and preserving ones dignity before worse begets worse.

It is in my humble opinion that this album is going to go far once it drops on October 21st, pre-order is still available and comes complete with some pretty awesome items included. Hurry as there is not much time left to pre-order this album. I promise you will not be disappointed!

Soundcheck411 Rating: 8/10

Review by: Jared Wingate