Dishwalla Album: “Opaline”

Dishwalla has long been well-known as one of a few pop bands that have mastered the art of songwriting: in each album, the instruments are distinctly layered, the choruses catchy, and the transitions between verses, chorsuses, and bridges impeccably smooth. I own and love all three of their albums "Pet Your Friends", "And You Think You Know What Life's About" and their latest effort, "Opaline", as they capture a range of emotions that most people have felt at least once in their lives :o)

What sets "Opaline" apart, however, is that it reflects immense growth -- musically, lyrically, and emotionally. This is the first album in which all the instruments and, most definitely, JR Richards' voice flows freely all throughout the entire album. From the opening beats and soft guitar strumming of "Opaline" to the Richard's poignant vocals and lyrics in the last song, "Drawn Out", the members of Dishwalla masterfully weaves each of their distinct musical interpretations of each song into solid, powerful, unified entities. It's storytelling at its best, similar to watching a movie in which the score manifests and punctuates the storyline and emotions perfectly.

The question "And you think you know what life's about" that Dishwalla posed in their second album is answered in "Opaline." JR Richards' vocals and lyrics take the listener on a journey of Life's Lessons. They emote a feeling of learning difficult, sometimes painful, lessons about life and love -- and then coming out on top once one realizes that love and life are essentially up to yourself. In the the tenth song, "Nashville Skyline", Richards' discovers and shares with the listener that "Underneath it all, you yourself are free/forevermore is the love that you need to believe/and you yourself are there/floating high above/the Nashville Skyline"

This, if anything, is the heart of "Opaline" -- amidst the diversity of life's experiences, Dishwalla has found a way to be free and freely love. Musically and lyrically, "Opaline" embodies this feeling, this lesson so well that you cannot help but learn. And even if you go in feeling that you think you know what life's about, after just one listen, you will feel as if you're "floating high above", no matter where you happen to be...

This was the first Dishwalla CD I got. I fell in love with it. I heard one song on the radio and had to have it. I bought it sight unseen for the rest of the album. I was so thrilled with the entire thing, I went Dishwalla crazy.

There's not one song on this disk I don't like. I love the whole thing. JR doesn't have the normal bass tones in his voice I love, but he more than makes up for it in the words and music. I'm not a huge fan of their first few CDs, but I'm willing to listen now and they are growing on me.

I love it.

Annette

I am a manager of a cd store and its rare that I see an album that really surpises me. This album did. I caught the last half of the "Somewhere in the Middle" video on Much Music one day and went into work and ordered the CD in quantity because I figured it would sell very well. That was that last time I ever seen the video anywhere and the album didnt sell very well at all. It surprises me that a band of this level of talent doesnt do as well as it should. Rich vocal talent and songs with melody and meaning is a rare thing today. I was puzzled and wondered why it didnt do very well. In my humble opinion I think that the only thing that is preventing Dishwalla from being super stars is the fact that the record label isnt putting money into promoting them. I think it is becuse people are not exposed to them that they are not buying the cd. I took it upon myself to try to correct that injustice at my store. I played it (and still play it all the time) and I am never surpised (but always excited) when people come up to me and ask "hey whats that playing?". That is usally followed by them purchasing the cd. Oplaine is by far the best cd that came out of 2002, and I am being honest when I say that I have listened to the cd countless times mostly every day since I purchased it and it is always never too far away from my cd player. It has been this way since the summer of 2002 and its now the winter of 2004. They have rapidly become one of my favotie bands. Buy this CD and see what I mean. My perosnal favorite track is "Home", but all of them are incredible. Also check out the live CD they now have (only available on import in Canada) called "Live from the Flow State." You will see that the talent in this band is not all studio and JR Richards voice is just as good live as recorded in studio. I only wish that people could hear this album and let the music sell itself. Thanks for lending me you ears.

As I get older, I discover that I am so much more picky on what constitutes great music. Every now and then you will discover a "diamond in the rough". Opaline was that CD.

While I had heard some of the previous popular songs by Dishwalla, Opaline showed the maturity of a band, that I haven't seen in quite some time. Listening to this CD, just blew me away.

While I feel every song on the CD is fantastic, standout tracks are 'Opaline', 'Every Little Thing', 'Nashville Skyline', and the 'Candleburn' (gorgeous piano). The release of an album like Opaline is such an enigma is today's music scene, it feels like a cardinal sin that the band doesn't receive more recognition. The absolute love & craft that Dishwalla put into this effort, literally bursts out of the speakers.

Simply put, buy this CD. It's worth every penny.

Dishwalla is by far one of the most amazing bands of all time. I saw them perform live, and they sounded even better than on their CD! I heard the song "Somewhere in the Middle" about six months ago, fell in Love with it, and decided to buy their CD on an impulse when it was released. It was probably the single best music purchase I have ever made. This cd has so many layers to it, and part of the fun is inerpreting the lyrics, and applying them to your own life. The album has a certain smoothness to it, yet it also displays a rock edge in certain songs. It has a raw emotional effect on people that I cannot explain. Lyrically, Dishwalla is GENIUS. The songs that I have found myself listening to over and over again are:

-"When Morning Comes" ( a lyrical song with a driving beat behind it)

-"Candleburn" (an amazing lyrical masterpiece with beautiful piano and smooth lyrics)

-"Nashville Skyline" (an incredible song that empowers you with hope, as cheesy as that may sound)

-"Somewhere in the Middle" ( a song that everyone can associate with, talking about love and how you're just somewhere in between it all).

However, I can listen to the ENTIRE CD over and over again. This is not a cd that you have to hit your track button every five minutes to skip songs. The entire CD is good, and you will NOT be disappointed if you purchse it! Dishwalla is an entirely different experience altogether, and you need to share them with your friends and family, seriously!