Taproot - Our Long Road Home

They've shared stages with the likes of Linkin Park and Queens of the Stone Age, blanketed the airwaves with hook-laden rock radio hits, and seen all three of their albums (2000's Gift, 2002's Welcome, 2005's Blue Sky Research) chart within the top 35 on Billboard's Top 200. We're talking of course about Ann Arbor, MI-based quartet Taproot, which has returned with its first album in three years, the highly anticipated Our Long Road Home.

After recording three albums for a major label, Taproot returns as an indie band, and as vocalist/guitarist Stephen Richards tells it, that suits them just fine. "A few years ago, that might've been a scary thing, but it s a brand-new world out there now for bands like us," Richards says. "We no longer have to rely on a big record company to make things happen, and that's exciting."

For this record, the band returned to its hometown of Ann Arbor, MI, where Taproot recorded in a converted barn just a few minutes down the road from Richards's home. "We made each of our previous albums in expensive studios and always had to keep one eye on the clock to finish on budget," he says. "This time we got to record an album the way we did our early demos: relaxed, at our own pace, and allowed to indulge in our own guilty pleasures. It proved that you can actually go home again." Product Description

Very Hit and Miss...

I'm a huge fan of Taproot, since Gift. I've seen them live at least 5 or 6 times. Now, I understand a band has to evolve... I LOVED Blue Sky Research. I actually thought that was their best album. 2nd best is definitely Gift. I just really liked what they did on Blue Sky Research. So I was excited about Our Long Road Home.... but it just doesn't deliver. The songs, for the most part, are stock and just mediocre. I could see it doing well on the radio, but for fans it just doesn't deliver. However, a handful of songs are really good, those being 1. Path Less Taken, 3. Be The 1, and my favorite 7. As One. Everything else is supremely average. And the single Wherever I Stand is like a rehash of Calling, which was a song I never cared for.

Anyway, that's my quick review. November 19, 2008

actually bought the album

first time i heard the album, i thought it was an okay CD with a few stand out tracks (path less taken, where i stand, you're not home, karmaway) and the rest were so so. however, when i was in lab, i listened to this CD for 2.5 hours and it really grew on me. thus, i went out to buy it and haven't stop listening to it.

unless u're stuck in the past (old taproot), try to keep an open mind while listening to the CD. most good bands change (mature) w/ time - like incubus and taproot has also changed. unless u want them to be like limp bizkit and play the same thing over and over.

(currently listening to 'path less taken') November 15, 2008

Possibly the best Taproot CD yet!!

The very first song sets the tone. "Path Less Taken" is possibly the best song Taproot has ever written. I have been a loyal fan since 1999, and have been to 13 shows, and this song is the best heavier-rock song I have heard.

This entire album is unreal, and now that you can buy the song "Wake Up", it just makes this disc a necessity. "Wherever I Stand" is a great single, not my first pick to hit the airwaves, but it seems to be doing a good job at it. "As One" is a great change of pace, and Taproot couldn't have done it any better. It is so dynamic, and comes back in with a crunch that will definitely make you move your neck. "Hand That Holds True" reminds me of a roller coaster ride. You take right off and never look back. Such a great bassline. "Take It" is my choice as a single, it rips you then has one of the best choruses that Taproot has made. I also just heard this song live. I can't tell you this enough: BUY THIS ALBUM AND GO SEE THEM LIVE! October 25, 2008

Brilliant songwriting and production... a terrific band!

I've got most of Taproot's albums, and this one is absolutely terrific. Its always sad when a metal band gets slaughtered in reviews for not being "hard enough", but you can read the other reviews and make up your own mind. Its one of the most common complaints by fans stuck in the past....

This record in many ways is a tour d' force as far as vocal work, both solo and harmonies. The music is just great, no shredding just because its noisy. Its definitely metallic with an edge, but its not thrash or shred, just melodic metal. One might even suggest that they have treaded onto more melodic metal territory toward the likes of Kamelot and other bands of that ilk. They are evolving forward as they get older, much as many great bands (like Rush for one) have.

Its a pleasure to listen to this recording over and over again. They are clearly on a journey musically, and this album is a great evolution forward October 23, 2008

Excellent..

Never really heard of this band until a few months ago. Wow, what a great collection of songs. Buy it, you'll love it. October 8, 2008

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