Vertical Horizon - Go
See all the darkness, blind in the light / Deep in this forest, 'till we leave this endless night
This post was originally published on December 7, 2024.
Release Date: September 23, 2003 (Go 2.0 re-release June 28, 2005)
Genre: Alternative rock, pop-rock
Label: RCA Records/Hybrid Recordings
Producer(s): John Shanks
I'll start by saying up front, Everything You Want is not my favorite Vertical Horizon album. Nonetheless, a whole lot of people loved it, and its sales and chart numbers reflected that. So when it came time for the follow-up, the label wanted more hits. Unfortunately for everyone, the label was going through a lot of operational changes, so the album was delayed a year. Once Clive Davis took over RCA, promoting it definitely wasn't his priority. It got out there eventually, though, and got a re-release a couple years later with another song added.
Thank goodness it finally made it into the world, because I love Go. It expands on the general sound of their previous work, but the songs are just a bit lighter and leaner. My main criticism of Everything You Want is the slower songs, especially the deep cuts, are a bit anemic. That's not an issue with Go. With one possible exception, every song hits, and I'm never bored. Scannell's lyrics can be a little abstract, yet you know exactly how he's feeling. (This album doesn't feature any Keith Kane songs, which makes it more smooth and cohesive, but I do wish there were more of them in their discography overall.) This is arguably their slickest and most polished album, but it still finds a few moments to rock out. Compared to its predecessor, it's got fewer hit hooks, so I can imagine there are people who find it boring. For me, though, it's a refreshing and frictionless body of work, and a prime example of the less-is-more style that made me fall in love with them.
Highlights
Favorites:
Scannell says after he sent the label a few songs, they pressured him for a single, so he had to write more while sick with a fever of 102°F. Maybe the powers that be should afflict him more often, because it gave us the album's best song and biggest hit, "I'm Still Here." This is a radio-friendly hook in the same vein as their Everything You Want hits. The verses do sound a bit formulaic, but I think the lyrics are still plenty complex. The final chorus, where Scannell changes up some of the words, is my favorite part, one of those peaks that makes you want to play the song again and again. For me, it's not quite perfect, but it's a highlight of their catalog, and the first song I think of when I think of Go.
"Forever" hits some of the same notes and beats as "I'm Still Here," so musically you could consider it a lesser imitation, but I still really love it. The lyrics, about remembering a departed loved one, are directly from the heart and draw upon the kind of simplicity Scannell does well. Not new for them, but definitely not a skip.
"Sunshine" is the hardest rocker here. In fact, it's probably one of the hardest rockers they've ever done. There are some slight electronic distortions, but what I really love is the way the verses build up into the chorus, Scannell's voice rising without a moment to breathe until the guitars blow everything out.
"One of You" is one of those deep cuts that I really like, but have a hard time articulating why. The barry guitar riff at the beginning, the way he sounds in the verses... it's just elevated somehow.
VH are a band who have some great unreleased or exclusive tracks buried where they're sadly easy to miss. "One Time Around" was a Japan bonus track, and it contains all the things that make a good Vertical Horizon song: clean but confident guitars, hard-hitting verses, a big yet straightforward hook, and Matt singing his face off. I only wish it were on streaming.
Least Favorites:
"It's Over" is one of the least energetic tracks, and while the verses are nice, it doesn't bring much to the table that you can't find elsewhere on here.
"Won't Go Away" is also a pretty lukewarm, mid-tempo song that doesn't stand out, and the lyrics are pretty surface-level as Scannell goes. I admit sometimes I skip this, though fortunately it's placed between two upbeat numbers.
Final Thoughts
Go, though not musically very adventurous, is a great listen for me, just a band I love doing what they do best. There's a good mix of heavier and softer stuff, but it all feels personal and true to them. Without the delays and lack of promo, I think the singles had a decent shot at being bigger hits than they were. I understand the people who think it's just like all the other soft rock of the era. Fortunately, their next undertaking would step a bit outside that box and bring in an important new collaborator. In that sense, Go may be a bit transitionary, but it stands on its own too.
Rating
I wasn't sure how this would do against Everything You Want, which has more undeniable stand-outs. Interestingly, this edges it out with consistency -- there aren't as many highs, but the lows aren't as low, and they're sandwiched between the strongest stuff. In hindsight, it feels a bit weird not to give Everything You Want four stars, but this one has my heart, so I knew it was headed there all along. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Further Reading
Not that surprisingly, I can't find a lick about this album in terms of podcasts, retrospective blogs, etc. I don't expect there will be many with their future albums either.