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By the summer of 2004, Nickelback had been on tour around the
globe for the better part of the previous 5 years, at that
point supporting their third album, The Long Road (which at
the time had sold 5 million copies worldwide). The plan was to
take some time off to enjoy the fruits of their labor before
even thinking about new songs. But two weeks into their
vacation Chad, Mike and Ryan started feeling that old familiar
urge, so they gathered in Chad's studio near Vancouver to jam.
“Once we got in there and started to mess around, we just
didn’t stop,” says Chad.
Since Nickelback used Kroeger’s studio and co-produced the
album with their friend Joey Moi, they were not in a fevered
rush to finish up. And, over the next seven months, they spent
countless hours making sure every song on their fourth album,
All the Right Reasons, was exactly the way they wanted it. The
resulting 11 tracks are the most insistent, dynamic and
diverse Nickelback has conjured to date. The first single
“Photograph” is reflective and earnest, constructed on a
foundation of multi-layered vocals, infectious melodies and
guitars that build to a triumphant buzz. “Fight For All The
Wrong Reasons” echoes with textural guitars and evolves from a
moody melody into a crunchy, southern-tinged riff. And “Savin’
Me” is a call for redemption that’s driven by a combination of
ringing and fuzzy guitars, undeniable vocals, gliding strings
and delicate piano. “We were a little scared of using piano,”
admits Kroeger. “We just didn’t think it was very rock and
roll. It wasn’t until we heard piano in a Nickelback song that
we all said, ‘Yes, we like this and we want to do more of it.’
It just complimented the part so well and really showed that
we shouldn’t be narrow minded about any instrument, no matter
what it is or what sort of stigma might be attached to it.”
Nickelback’s eagerness to experiment and evolve lights up All
The Right Reasons like a bonfire. While the band’s music has
always been deeply personal, this time not only have they laid
it all bare but they also searched every inch of their sonic
spectrum to create an album that appeals on many different
levels. “On The Long Road we went in a heavier direction, but
with this album we really wanted to show our range and have
songs that work for all the diverse fans that go to Nickelback
shows and listen to our records,” Kroeger says, giving a
window into the impetus for his songwriting – making music for
real music fans like him. Nickelback’s all-inclusive approach
has been a large part of the band’s immense success. The Long
Road went triple platinum in the U.S. and included the radio
hits “Someday,” “Figured You Out” and “Feelin' Way Too Damn
Good.” Their previous disc, 2001’s Silver Side Up, was even
more successful, selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. and
containing three number one hits, “Too Bad,” “Never Again” and
their mega-successful breakout single, "How You Remind Me,"
which was the number one Most Played Song of 2002.
Joining Nickelback just in time to make All the Right Reasons
was new drummer, Daniel Adair. Adair’s hard-hitting yet
multifaceted style perfectly matched the band’s new material,
from the foot-to-the-floor stomp and grind of “Animals” to the
“lump-in-throat sentiment of “If Everyone Cared.” Adair jumped
right in to the fold and his ‘audition’ in Chad’s studio even
made its way into the finished album. “We are totally thrilled
to have Daniel in the band,” Chad says. “The creativity that
went on with him in the studio was really inspiring. He’s a
totally amazing player.”
Over the years, Nickelback’s music has appealed to listeners
of pop, hard rock, alternative and metal. A number of
seemingly disparate celebrity artists have also embraced the
band, including ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons and ex-Pantera
members Vinnie Paul and the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott. Both
Gibbons and Abbot (albeit posthumously) aided in the creation
of All the Right Reasons. Nickelback met Gibbons backstage
after one of their shows in Colorado and they all immediately
hit it off. When a guitar solo was needed on the track “Follow
You Home,” they asked for Gibbons’ help, then flew to Los
Angeles to record the part. “I wanted a real different flavor
for that solo, and Billy totally nailed it,” Chad says. “After
he did the guitar part, he actually sang the third verse on
the song in that low, gravelly voice of his and we put this
distortion effect on it. It’s really cool.” Gibbons’
contribution did not end there, he also lent backing vocals to
the track “Rock Star.”
The Pantera connection was more complicated and stemmed from a
darker place. Chad became friends with drummer Vinnie Paul and
the late guitarist Dimebag Darrell while on tour with Jerry
Cantrell, and wound up working with Dimebag on a cover of
Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” which
appeared on the “Charlie’s Angels” soundtrack. After the
legendary guitarist was shot and killed onstage, a devastated
Kroeger wrote an aggressive song called “Side of a Bullet,” as
a lasting tribute to his friend. “After I put the song
together, I really wanted Vinnie’s blessing,” Kroeger says.
“So, I called him up and played the track for him over the
phone. He said, ‘I’d love to have you do a song about my
brother.’ Vinnie then sent some guitar outtakes and we pieced
together a solo and put it on the song. The result is a new
Dimebag Darrel solo.”
“Side of a Bullet” is just one of the many tracks on All The
Right Reasons that’s rife with compelling narrative. Ever
since Kroeger started writing about his personal trials on
“Never Again” and “How You Remind Me” he has strived to tell
stories his fans could simultaneously relate to and be
transported by. “Animals” is about a nice girl and a bad boy
who get caught in the act by the girl’s dad, and “Savin’ Me”
addresses a man in prison who wants to be saved and a fallen
angel who must return to earth to be forgiven for his sins. “I
really like to tell a story that comes off like a movie inside
the listener’s head,” Kroeger says. “And I try to put myself
in the scene when I’m writing it. That makes it easier for me
to look around and see what I can sing about. Otherwise you
don’t get any details and it doesn’t play out very well.”
One of the most personal songs on All the Right Reasons, “Photograph,”
is a glimpse back at Kroeger’s teenage years in which he
recalls his first kiss, the friends he used to hang out with
and the time he got busted for breaking into his high school.
“I think I just wanted to take a trip down memory lane, and I
wanted to see if I had enough ideas that would make other
people take that trip, too,” Kroeger says. “It’s so funny
throughout the course of a day how many times you look back
and think, “I wonder whatever happened to that one girl or I
wonder if the house I grew up in is still standing.’ And after
people started listening to it, I was amazed how many of them
thought the same thing.”
Like all of Nickelback’s albums, All the Right Reasons was
born of sincerity, emotional revelation and a genuine love for
music, but this time the music also stemmed from necessity –
not the necessity of making deadlines or getting albums on the
shelf. Rather the necessity of an artist to create, explore
and try to understand more about the world around him. Hence
the album title, which was a play off the track “Fight For All
the Wrong Reasons.”
“I really want to make music for the right reasons,” Kroeger
says. “The most important reason is to make music because you
love it. And I think that’s why we spend so much time on it.
On this record, we didn’t want to overlook any small detail.”
Throughout the creation of All the Right Reasons, the band
tweaked verses, changed choruses and altered arrangements
until the songs passed the band's own litmus test- no song was
deemed "done" until it made the hair on the back of their
necks stand up. “We’re perfectionists,” he says. “If you
finish a song and it’s not stuck in your head, then how will
it stick in someone else’s head when they’ve only heard it
once or twice?”
Source :
www.nickelback.com |