Puddle Of Mudd - Come Clean (2001) (8,5/10)

One year and a half after the release of the solid but widely undiscovered "Abrasive" record, tension within PUDDLE OF MUDD kept growing on and led to the split of the band. Singer, guitar player and mastermind Wesley Reid Scantlin though didn't want to give up his dream to become a Rock star and finally realized it because of a lucky conincidence. He gave a demo tape of his band to a technician or roadie who was working for LIMP BIZKIT. The guy gave the demo tape to the band's singer as well as producer Fred Durst who liked it enough to contact Scantlin. When he heard that PUDDLE OF MUDD had already split up, he decided to create a new band around the unique vocalist Wesley Reid Scantlin. Bass player Douglas John Ardito was an intern at Interscope Records, guitar player Paul Phillips from Florida was involved in a more or less successfull band called HAPPY HOUR before and drummer Greg David Upchurch from Louisiana had already played in the underground cult formation ELEVEN. The drummer would later join the famous Alternative Rock band 3 DOORS DOWN and become even more successful.

This new line-up rerecorded several old PUDDLE OF MUDD songs ("Drift & Die," "Nobody Told Me," "Said," "Piss It All Away" and bonus track "Abrasive") plus a couple of new tracks. The album hit really hard and sold over five million copies all around the world. The record contained four hit singles that are still among the most famous PUDDLE OF MUDD songs. The band toured with bands such as GODSMACK and LINKIN PARK and was also well known in Europe after a while.

A closer look on the album reveals that the band drifted away from the psychedelic and slow Grunge songs of the previous effort even though the rerecorded songs still hit that same vein. A song that connects the old and the new style of the band would be the melancholic but straight "Never Change" which is one of the most underrated tracks on here and would have been a great single choice in my humble opinion.

The new tracks are though much more Hard Rock or Nu Metal orientated. They are heavy, short and contain catchy hooks. Most of the lyrics turn around difficult relationships or love stories which hasn't been the case before. Only the emotional power ballad „Blurry“ contains truly profound lyrics and is dedicated to Wesley Reid Scantlin's son who hasn't been able to be with his father all the time when Scantlin worked so hard on his career.

The new songs are well represented by the powerful opener and first single "Control." The Alternative Metal sound contains emotional lyrics, agressive but still variable vocals by the unique frontman and a quite catchy Chorus: "I need to feel you - you need to feel me - I can't control you - you're not the one for me, no!" A video clip telling us a twisted love story and argument between Scantlin and his girlfriend also was at the pulse of its time and generation. A similar track is the hit single "She Hates Me" that kicks off with a ctachy but simplistic riff and develops into a faster powerhouse track towards the end. The success behind this track can be explained by the fact that almost anybody can identify with the hard situation when a girlfriend leaves him and reveals to have never truly been in love with a guy. I remember my high school class listening and singing along to this track during our recreations back then and even twelve years after its initial release, these lyrics still remain timeless. When I listen to this track I really think about certain things I have lived in my life not so long ago and it simply helps to listen to this song and get rid of negative emotions.

In the end, this record is a lot less experimental and profound than "Abrasive." The connection between more Grunge orientated and laid back songs on one side and straighter modern Hard Rock anthems doesn't always work very well. While the first half of the album really hits hard, the last few songs are a too radical change of style and especially songs like the minimalist "Said" or the exotic acoustic track "Piss It All Away" with its mandolin parts played by Steve Twigger need their time to grow. On the other side, this highly successfull record includes many unforgettable hits like "Control," "Drift & Die," "Nobody Told Me," "Blurry," "She Hates Me" and even "Never Change" that still touch me 12 years after their initial release. This album can be seen as a commercially flavoured Post-Grunge classic and has played an important part in the music that defined my youth.

(Online July 15, 2013)