Silverchair - Frogstomp

Includes CD, Case, Artwork!! ALOT of Scratches, plays fine. Great Buy! Fast 1st Class Shipping!! Product Description

First CD I ever bought

I was 12 when this album came out, and in a phase that included the likes of Nirvana, Bush, STP and Metallica. (Angy pre-teen stage!) So clearly, as you can see, I identified with hard-rocking bands. These guys certainly fit the bill for me at the time! I still get a real kick out of this album, mainly for sentimental purposes, as it brings me back to my summer camp days and that particular time in my life. Overall, very impressive debut from a bunch of teenagers. Sure its immature, but so was I! So if you're a teenager with a distaste for overly pretentious shiny poppy manufactured garbage, try this album... it is NONE of those things. Just don't expect anything monumental, either. March 9, 2008

Rock Out!

This is by far my favorite Silverchair albumn. A definite to any rockers collection. Why did these bands die out! March 3, 2008

horrible

for one thing, i didnt even order this item. i ordered something completely different and got sent this one. i am extremely disappointed in your customer service. February 9, 2008

Nirvana, in pyjamas, they call them Silverchair

Silverchair were an interesting proposition. Putting out an EP this Newcastle, Australia, based band got a considerable buzz going due to the EP's signature song Tomorrow. Which somehow became a hit. But hey, it was the mid 90's and droning unexpressive guitars churning away underneath droning unexpressive vocals were the in thing. Guess that kind of explains it.

But when it came to the album proper things were more interesting. There are a range of middling quality songs on here that are very much in the grunge sub genre of hard rock and even Glen A Baker got in on the act citing the albums pure teenage rock sensibilities as a plus. And certainly this is a very young band of chaps with no baggage staring at the world bright eyed and full of imagination for the future. As such it's hard to dismiss the band as a novelty act, the good will they magically generated on this album serves as armour against such cynicism. Even the cover art, plain white with a green frog on it, it somehow fits and you don't write it off.

As the album unfurls it becomes apparent that the band as musicians aren't exactly Virgil Donati or Steve Vai, but they are honest. And their youthful vigour fire to some of the songs, the most metallic of which would have to be Pure Massacre, the rest mostly skirting sub par grunge. Or was it just that grunge basically was sub par?

The hit Tomorrow gets another airing as you'd expect but there aren't many stand out tracks. All drones on, in love with an imagined future and all the experiences they haven't had yet. And that's part of the problem, this evidently struck a nerve with a heap of starry eyed early teens back in 1995 but it's hard to really listen to this album and claim to be listening to some masterwork. It just is. Not good, not truly bad, just indifferent. Yet due to it's sales figures the band would forever more live in it's shadow which is unfair. Three stars for all it's good points but that's all unless your a grunge devotee. January 4, 2008

"Age Is No Difference"

The trio known as Silverchair may like to pretend that "Frogstomp" doesn't exist or that it has zero relevance to their career, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, Silverchair have grown in leaps in bounds in the near 13 years that have passed since this album's release. It's understandable, as they were fresh-faced fifteen year olds when this album was made, that they want to distance themselves from this creation. But what "Frogstomp" truly stands for is a solid foundation that built an incredible band and still stands strong today.

Opening with the creeping bass lines of "Israel's Son," this is one album that can't be denied as it's played as loud as possible. Yes, the nineties may be long gone, but this is one relic of that era that will never die. It sounds just as great as it did in 1995, and each and every song holds up. "Israel's Son," along with other hits like "Pure Massacre" and the overplayed, cliched by still undeniably fun "Tomorrow" are still trademarks of the band and still rock today as much as they did yesterday. Elsewhere, songs like "Findaway," "Leave Me Out" and "Madman" keep up the seething energy and unbridled angst of frontman/guitarist Daniel Johns. Sure, his delivery at times reeks of Kurt Cobain, but even at such a young age, he puts his own stamp on the songs. Tunes like "Shade" and "Suicidal Dream" are more indicative of what the band would become in the future, which is a dark contrast to something along the lines of "Tomorrow."

As an album that was dismissed by critics in it's day, one can imagine if this were to be released today by a different band, people would jump all over it. It's just a straight-up, well-made, fun hard-rock record. Like any of their other albums, it has it's own style and sound and never gets tiresome. If you're looking for some of the best alternative music the 90's had to offer, you could do a lot worse. January 2, 2008

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