CD Review: 2nd Life - Everything is Possible

I receive CDs to be reviewed and have no real rule of thumb deciding which ones to review. I chose the album Everything’s Possible by 2nd Life because they are from South Africa and I decided I wanted to hear what S.A. had to offer.

Unlike most people, I not only like, but actually really love cover songs. Some times I get excited about them. If it is a song I really like, I want to hear what one musician did with it compared to the original artist’s presentation of it. So when I got this CD and I saw the title of track 5, I went straight to it.

This band’s rendition of Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac is interesting and certainly not bad, but lacks the power of the original.  Stevie Nicks has done interviews stating how much she hates singing the song because, when written, it was Lindey Buckingham’s way of calling her a bitch and a slut. The song comes from pain and anger. 2nd Life’s version is empty of either.

The album over all is poppy and upbeat. I could find very little information on the artist (2nd life is a one man band) other than his previous band experience, but just listening to this album gives you a pretty clear idea of his musical influences. At different times during different songs your ear can taste ingredients like Kansas, Metalica, Rick Springfield, Hoodie and the Blowfish, etc.

This is a very safe album with an almost Christian Rock sound. If you have a young niece and her mom doesn’t want her listening to a lot of songs that may contain the “fuck” word, then this is a safe buy.

Check out the video for the song 2011. Even though they don’t sound exactly a like, see if the intro guitar riff makes you want to start singing “Hold On Loosely” by 38 Special.


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Side note:

For a less pretty, but more angry version of Go Your Own Way, check out the version by the punk band Seaweed.