Released
in March of 2000, Nickelback's
The State was a firecracker
of a debut, with both “Breathe”
and “Leader of Men”
going top ten on the Mainstream
Rock charts and “Old
Enough” hitting Top
20 at the format. “It
was fantastic,” enthuses
guitarist Ryan Peake. “The
snowball effect of the album
was phenomenal. We started
doing well in Canada and
then the buzz in the States
took over. It totally went
off the hook and was a great
kickstart for us!”
Nickelback toured ceaselessly
for The State and 200 shows
later the band had gone
from virtual unknowns to
playing in front of over
a million people alongside
the likes of Creed, 3 Doors
Down, Fuel and more. A lot
of the songs that comprise
Silver Side Up were actually
written even before The
State was released in America
and got road tested in front
of eager audiences on cross-country
treks, including such anthemic
rockers like “Money
Bought,” “Hang
Nail,” and “Where
Do I Hide?”
However, there are still
some songs that will be
completely fresh to Nickelback's
set lists. One of these
is “How You Remind
Me”, which is the
first single, was written
at rehearsals shortly before
the band were set to go
into the studio. “That's
the cool thing about making
music - sometimes the best
songs come out in fifteen
minutes and totally unexpectedly,”
singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger
enthusiastically asserts.
The song reveals a more
emotionally raw side to
Nickelback. “How You
Remind Me” finds Kroeger
singing, “Never made
it as a wise man/I couldn't
cut it as a poor man stealing/Tired
of living like a blind man/I'm
sick inside without a sense
of feeling.” Over
a quiet bed of melodic guitar.
“Those opening lines
refer to that time in your
life when the person you're
married to or living with
starts pointing out all
your faults at one time,”
explains Kroeger.
Further listening to Silver
Side Up, one quickly realizes
that Chad's lyrics have
become far more personal
and insightful. “I
got so much slack from everyone
for writing so metaphorically
on the last record,”
Chad admits. “I thought
that if I kept it all metaphorical
and vague, then I could
keep it all secret.”
Well, the secrets are revealed
on Silver Side Up, as Kroeger
and company squarely face
off with their demons. Kroeger
becomes uncharacteristically
subdued when discussing
“Too Bad.” “That's
about my dad,” he
says quietly. “The
chorus 'It's too bad, there's
no time to rewind/Let's
walk, let's talk' is about
how my father was never
around when I was growing
up. That's me just wishing
that he had been there.
It's about the wish to turn
back time and to fix things
that are completely beyond
your control.” Another
poignant example is “Never
Again” a song inspired
by bearing witness to countless
broken homes “He's
drunk again/It's time to
fight/She must have done
something wrong tonight/The
living room becomes a boxing
ring/It's time to run when
you see him.” Not
only is it one of the more
lyrically profound songs,
it's also one of the standout
tracks musically.
When it came to laying
Silver Side Up onto tape,
the band decided to work
with veteran rock producer
Rick Parashar (Pearl Jam,
Temple of the Dog). Recorded
at the same studio as The
State, Vancouver's prestigious
Green House studio, the
quartet whipped through
the recording of the album
in five short weeks. After
wrapping up, they handed
the finished thirteen tracks
over to Randy Staub (Metallica,
U2) for mixing at The Armory.
The potent combination of
Parasher and Staub made
Nickelback's sound grow
not only exponentially bigger
and better, but also in
new directions. Case in
point, the epic “Good
Times Gone,” which
features some spontaneous
slide guitar work by Big
Wreck guitarist Ian Thornley.
The song builds into a climactic
chorus as Kroeger reminisces
out loud “All the
stupid fun/And all that
shit we done/Where did the
good times go?”
Needless to say, there
are many good times yet
to come for Nickelback.
No matter how big it gets
though, Nickelback's philosophy
remains simple - “We
just like writing good songs
with good melodies that
you'll sing at our shows
and remember when you walk
away,” asserts Peake.
And with an album as well-crafted
and catchy as Silver Side
Up, these are songs that
will stay with you long
after the ringing in your
ears has faded away