Taproot Album: “Our Long Road Home”

I have been a fan since Welcome. Then I backtracked to Gift, which by the way, is a great album. "Smile" and "Again and Again" are two of the best songs I've ever seen live. I saw these guys once on the Welcome tour and twice on the Blue Sky Research tour. I've seen over 50 bands live, ranging from Rage Against the Machine to the Beastie Boys(actually that was the same show and it was killer!!), but my favorite is Taproot. The energy simply can't be matched and Stephen has the least forced scream I've witnessed in person. I was a huge fan of Blue Sky Research. Easily their most diverse record, the tempo shifted from heavy to melodic and back seamlessly throughout the entire album.

That brings us to Our Long Road Home. Recorded in a remodeled barn near Stephen's home in Michigan, the band created it's first independent album since pre-Gift, giving them the freedom to do whatever they wanted. Unfortunately on some tracks, it's easy to understand why. Don't get me wrong, there are some killer cuts here. Old school fans will still dig the hell out of "Path Less Taken" and "Take It." "Karmaway" may be the highlight of the whole album. With its lazy, soaring guitar riff, it has a very un-Taproot vibe to it, almost epic in a way. The single "Wherever I Stand" is pretty catchy, but not in the same realm as past singles like "Poem" or "Calling." "Be the 1" grows on you and "Stethoscope" is a beautiful instrumental that seems like it could've been better off as an intro to an actual song.

With the good however, come the bad. "Run to" is the definition of cheesy nu-metal rock, even more so than "Promise" from BSR. The chorus just feels forced and would've been more appropriately sung by Chris Daughtry. It's just not very good. "It's Natural" features the first time use of female vocals by the band, with lackluster results. The remaining tracks here are just average.

Our Long Road Home in a nutshell isn't a bad effort from Taproot, just not what I've come to expect from a band that has never ceased to amaze over the years. I guess it's basically what I expected: some really killer jams, and some effortless pop songs. While not as balanced as BSR, it's a decent effort and will surely find its niche within both diehard fans as well as new ones.

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.

Well I know some people will be quick to bash this album as it does see Taproot taking quite a mainstream sound on some of the songs despite going "indie" again, but let's think about this for a min. "Gift" came out 8 years ago. That was a pretty long time ago. I was in high school when it came out, and of course that type of heavier music was right up my alley back then. Well since then, I grew up, and so did Taproot. They have matured as artists. Yes, the choruses are catchy. In fact, these are probably the catchiest choruses in any TR album to date, even more so than the ones in BSR. While "Welcome" is still my favorite cd (due to some awesome vocal harmonies and melodies like the ones found in the song Fault), this album is another great achievement for the band. Even in the songs with the catchy choruses, there are some great parts if you have the patience to get to them. I wasn't too fond of footprints at first (the chorus is pretty dull), but then I got to the bridge of the song, and I was floored. Sometimes you need to sit back and give songs a chance. Obviously "Path Less Taken" is amazing, and I absolutely love the song "Karmaway." Now, truth be told, I'd like to have given this 4 1/2 stars as opposed to 5 because of a couple of boring choruses in a few songs, but overall I think this is another solid disc from a band that I hope continues to create great music for years to come.

This CD is not my favorite Taproot album, but it does rank number 2. I catch myself humming one of the songs on here quite often. It opens quite powerfully and ends very well.

I like Taproot and I own all their albums.I didn't dislike this album I just couldn't find any song I really like either.This album comes off like when bands don't release old stuff and put it together and call it a album.It's worth a listen but don't expect to be blown away.If you are new to this band, I would buy any other album before this one.I will still buy their next album when it comes out.