Shinedown - Leave a Whisper

Released July 13, 2003

Shinedown was:

Brent Smith - vocals
Jasin Todd - guitars, lap steel, theremin
Brad Stewart - bass
Barry Kerch - drums, percussion

Tracks 13-15 are available on the Enhanced Edition (released June 15th, 2004), and 16-25 are available, with 1-15, only on the iTunes/Amazon Deluxe Edition (released July 7, 2009). As of yet, I have not experienced 16-25, and when I do, I will add them to this post. --9/8/09

1. Fly From the Inside
2. Left Out
3. Lost in the Crowd
4. No More Love
5. Better Version
6. Burning Bright
7. In Memory
8. All I Ever Wanted
9. Stranger Inside
10. Lacerated
11. Crying Out
12. 45
13. Simple Man (acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
14. Burning Bright (Sanford Mix) (from the Sanford Sessions)
15. 45 (Acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
16. Simple Man (Rock Version)
17. Leave A Whisper (Leave A Whisper Sessions)
18. Start Over (Leave A Whisper Sessions)
19. Soon Forgotten (Demo)
20. No More Love (Demo)
21. Falling Fearless (Demo)
22. Left Out (Demo)
23. Emptiness Man (Demo)
24. Notice Me (Demo)
25. Fly From The Inside (Live Acoustic)

45
This was, way, way back in 2005, my first exposure to a southern band named Shinedown. I suppose that it's probably the best song from this album to experience first, as it begins slowly, calmly, and mellow, and builds up to the energy that I, at least, typically associate with Shinedown songs. The only sad part about this song is that Brent Smith's vocals never reach the peak of range that they do in this song.

Rating: 10/10

45 (Acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
While acoustic versions of songs tend to be worth the listen, this just seems like a watered-down version of the original. Brent's vocals are usually pristine, but it seems like on this one, he could have done well by clearing his throat a few times. That, and during the bridge, it seems like he's straining a bit too hard to sound the same as he did in the non-acoustic version.

Rating: 6/10

All I Ever Wanted
Not a bad generic rock song, but definitely not Shinedown's best. It seems to me as though this is more of a typical "cookie cutter" song than it is an original masterpiece. I admit it's very powerful, emotionally, but other than that, there's really not much to it.

Rating: 7/10

Better Version
Sometimes it seems that Shinedown's been recording versions of this song since they began recording songs. But that's all right. This is more of a hard rock standard than most of the songs on the album, but at the same time, manages to sound a bit whiny at times. Still one of the better songs I've heard.

Rating: 8/10

Burning Bright
This is another song that made Shinedown one of my favorite bands. I particularly like the lyrical juxtapositon, and to tell the truth, the almost warbling sound of the main guitar riff is eerie, and that just adds to the...well, to the mystique. And the end...well, it lends a certain feeling to the song that I just cannot describe.

Rating: 10/10

Burning Bright (Sanford Mix) (from the Sanford Sessions)
Really, my comments for the original version still apply, and the music adds more of the eerie feeling to the song. Were it possible to give more than ten points to this song, I would. Actually...

Rating: 11/10

Crying Out
This song...well, there really isn't much I can say about it without sounding like I'm gushing. It's catchy, it's heavy, it's got the benefit of Brent's A-game vocals, and it catches you off your guard if you haven't listened to it before.

Rating: 10/10

Fly From the Inside
An excellent song to begin an album with. Lyrics are typical Shinedown confusion mixed with some excellent imagery, and of course Brent's on his game. Another great song from a very good band.

Rating: 9/10

In Memory
In 2005, I had something happen to my psyche right around the same time as I first picked up Leave a Whisper. This song immediately grafted to me, and as such, I'm almost unable to give it a horrible rating. Of course, it doesn't deserve it. It's an excellent emotional song about emotional progress, featuring most (but not all) of what makes Shinedown an excellent group.

Rating: 8/10

Lacerated
An atypical song from these boys. It starts out very, very slow and creepy, and doesn't really shift in tone the way it does in speed. Same Shinedown lyrical riddles, same Shinedown heavy guitars, but this would be right at home in a horror movie. If you manage to sift through the words, it becomes fairly clear that it appears to be about emotional abuse, but then again, that could just be my interpretation of the lyrics.

Rating: 8/10

Left Out
I like how Shinedown starts a few of their songs with slow parts, being followed by heavy guitars, but I suppose I can't see why they'd do it more than once per album, or three times total. It does tend to get overdone. On top of that, this song just isn't "great". It's well done, but it's definitely not their best work.

Rating: 6/10

Lost in the Crowd
A ballad. Goes from simple soft-sounding guitar to heavy guitar, and really doesn't change much in tone. I'd say more about it, but I really don't have much to say about it at all. It's not the best song on the album, but it's likely not the worst, either. But it's just not what I think of when I think of Shinedown.

Rating: 6/10

No More Love
Not a bad hard rock song, but there's really nothing special about it. It's heavy, and it sounds good, but it's not very memorable. In its own way, that makes it a good song, but it's not special.

Rating: 8/10

Simple Man (acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
One of the best covers I've ever heard. Brent's vocals are absolutely perfect for this song. Nothing else need be said.

Rating: 10/10

Stranger Inside
One of the better songs on the album. It's hard to say "best" when an album has so many good songs on it, though. It's catchy, and should have been a single. Definitely one of the hardest songs the album has to offer, and I don't think I've heard many songs that are so much hit, so little miss like this one is.

Rating: 9/10

Final rating:

Original Edition: 99/120 (82.5%) (B-)
Enhanced Edition: 126/150 (84%) (B)
iTunes/Amazon Deluxe Edition: unknown/250 (n/a%) (n/a)