[.ca] Affirmation

From Amazon.com:
Savage Garden's songs are of innocence and urgency. On the Australian pop duo's second album, Affirmation, love is either a broken thing or a newly exploding one, passion and obsession taking over after a spin on the dance floor. At the same time, when Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones proclaim that they want to "live like animals," they're not planning anything too raw, too Reznorish: they just want that childlike lack of guile. This approach, taken with a total lack of irony and with large doses of appealing melodicism, led to multiplatinum sales for the act's debut, and there's no reason to think that Affirmation won't be similarly accepted. Sometimes a bit too goodhearted for its own good--the title track's wide-eyed sentiments might make even Stuart Smalley smirk--the disc's best moments are hard to dislike when taken on their own terms. --Rickey Wright

FEEL YOUR SOUL SHINE:
Even though they are no longer together as a band, Savage Garden truly remain the worlds most beautiful gift to music and life understanding. These two immensely talented and genuinely nice, kind hearted entertainers from my home country are able to, through their deep feelings of love, care and optimism, bring you to a point in your life of true understanding. Their talent shines even higher when you know that what you are listening to was written completely by Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones who deliever these songs to you as Savage Garden. Their albums bring to you an acceptence of the worlds workings and an acceptence of all the things the world can offer you through the good times and bad. The lyrics, delivered by a voice of pure perfection that creeps into your soul and grabs on with all it's power, inspire you to see a world and life both worth celebrating and fighting for. The instrumental accompaniment to these life affirming lyrics are arranged to be able to produce a raw undeniable passionate story that could stand alone even without words. The songs alternate from fast paced body shaking tunes to heart melting love songs to inspiring tales of help and hope and to sad moments of loss and realisation. There is not a bad song on their CD's at all and not a tune out of place. It is the most unique and original sounding form of pop/rock the world has ever seen. The album Affirmation along with Savage Gardens self titled debut release as well, will have you relating to and seeking comfort in the power of these songs wherever you are in the stages of your life. Savage Garden will illuminate your soul and help you understand, accept and love the beauty in the pain and the pain in the beauty, in a very entertaining way.

ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS:
(This is not a kids review -- I just don't have an account) This is an AMAZING album and it should not be overlooked. It is among my favorite albums of all time. Here's a song by song description. the numbers show which ones I liked from best to worst. Affirmation - catchy, upbeat song about beliefs, most of which are universally accepted as true (9) Hold Me - everyone needs to be held, a song about relationships (5) I Knew I Loved You - you've heard this song I'm sure, personally, it's not one of my favorites (10) Best Thing - about that feeling when you are crazy/hopelessly in love with someone (6) Crash and Burn - uplifting, very meaningful for a lot of people, not one of my favorites (11) Chained to You - another love song..saying I want to be with you all the time (7) The Animal Song - the lyrics are good, but the song doesn't tie together well in my opinion (12) Lover After Me - this is where my favorite tracks come in..the rest of the album is, in my opinion, the better half - this song is about a past love, good for breakups (4) Two Beds and a Coffee Machine - my favorite on the album. A lot of people don't appreciate this song for its true meaning. It tells the story of a woman who is being abused and needs to leave, but it has much more meaning than that. It's basically saying that no matter what you are going through, abuse or anything, that you can get through it. I love the vocals and the piano and the combination is beautiful. I also like how the lyrics are written so you can't tell who's point of veiw they are from. (1) You Can Still Be Free - don't give up, basically. Darren's vocal range on this song is amazing (8) Gunning Down Romance - cynical, dark, so true. one of my favorites on the album. This is my Valentine's Day anthem! (2) I Don't Know You Anymore - about meeting up with an ex and realizing that they are completely different now. good piano and vocals, again. (3)

FEEL YOUR SOUL SHINE:
Even though they are no longer together as a band, Savage Garden truly remain the worlds most beautiful gift to music and life understanding. These two immensely talented and genuinely nice, kind hearted entertainers from my home country are able to, through their deep feelings of love, care and optimism, bring you to a point in your life of true understanding. Their talent shines even higher when you know that what you are listening to was written completely by Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones who deliever these songs to you as Savage Garden. Their albums bring to you an acceptence of the worlds workings and an acceptence of all the things the world can offer you through the good times and bad. The lyrics, delivered by a voice of pure perfection that creeps into your soul and grabs on with all it's power, inspire you to see a world and life both worth celebrating and fighting for. The instrumental accompaniment to these life affirming lyrics are arranged to be able to produce a raw undeniable passionate story that could stand alone even without words. The songs alternate from fast paced body shaking tunes to heart melting love songs to inspiring tales of help and hope and to sad moments of loss and realisation. There is not a bad song on their CD's at all and not a tune out of place. It is the most unique and original sounding form of pop/rock the world has ever seen. The album Affirmation along with Savage Gardens self titled debut release as well, will have you relating to and seeking comfort in the power of these songs wherever you are in the stages of your life. Savage Garden will illuminate your soul and help you understand, accept and love the beauty in the pain and the pain in the beauty, in a very entertaining way.

Even better than their debut!:
After such a strong beginning in the US, it left many wondering if this amazing Australian duo could do it again. Not only have they met my expectations with this album, but have far surpassed it. Again writing their own music and lyrics, Savage Garden takes you on a wonderfully emotional trip for the hour of pleasure you receive with each listening! "Affirmation" starts out strong with the title track being first. An upbeat spout of opinions (such as "I believe the sun should never set upon an argument", "I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone," and "I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul"), this song will have you happily singing along in no time because of its upbeat attitude. My favorite track off this disc is "I Knew I Loved You." A whimsical love ballad about knowing that there's someone out there for you and that you love them already, I don't think I'll ever get enough of this song. While the end of the album is slower, after a few listenings I came to appreciate it. "I Don't Know You Anymore" is a beautiful song, with emotionally raw lyrics and just light piano for music. "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" is also somewhat like this song. With a piano and violin, Darren's vocals take us on the journey of one abused housewife who is financially bound to her abuser. However, the song ends with a positive line: "There's hope in the darkness, you know you're gonna make it." Another favorite of mine is "Crash and Burn," one of the radio singls. With rich vocals, addictive music, and an amazing message, it's definitely a song to listen to when you're not having such a great day. "You Can Still Be Free" is probably my least favorite on this album. The chorus seems to get old after a while, but the verses do make up for it. Other than that, I don't really have anything negative to say about this sophomore album. It's such a shame the Darren and Daniel went separate ways, as I would have loved to have heard a third endeavour!

A successful sophomore set!:
On their second and most recent album,Savage Garden bring more hits like THE ANIMAL SONG,CRASH AND BURN and the adult contemporary I KNEW I LOVED YOU. HOLD ME has the sound of Hanson. It's as if Hanson recorded the song. TWO BEDS AND A COFFEE MACHINE is a touching story tune. The title track and GUNNING DOWN ROMANCE sound awesome. All the other songs are cool. After this album,Darren Hayes recorded a solo album,SPIN. It was released in the spring of 2002.

• Affirmation
• Hold Me
• I Knew I Loved You
• Best Thing
• Crash and Burn
• Chained to You
• Animal Song
• Lover After Me
• Two Beds and a Coffee Machine
• You Can Still Be Free
• Gunning Down Romance
• I Don't Know You Anymore