Customer Reviews

State

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a very good album, overall. The progression of Nickelback from Hesher to Curb to the State to Silver Side Up and to The Long Road is fairly straightforward. The guitar plaing becomes more complicated and the singing becomes smoother. The latter is not necessarily a good thing, however. The singing on this album is wonderful, it is rough, and gritty and fits the tone of the album beautifully. Lead singer and frontman Chad Kroeger loses this roughness in his later albums, yet his voice is too rough in earlier albums. To me, his voice is perfect on the State.

Breathe - To me, Breathe is a very remorseful song. The lyrics seem to be coming out of the mouth of someone who is bored of the life they are living. "Who wins /Well who cares/It always ends up the same." The singing is rough, of course, and the guitar playing is at its best in this track. Truly one of the best songs on the album.

Cowboy Hat - Cowboy Hat is one of the best songs on the album. I dont really know what the meaning of the lyrics are, but Chad's voice is just perfect. The percussion is great, as is the guitar. The opening stanza is probably one of my favorites of alltime. Cowboy Hat is extremely catchy and I think would probably have made a better opening track than Breathe.

Leader of Men - Leader of Men, according to Chad Kroeger, is "a song about magic mushrooms." Before I heard that, I didnt pay much attention to the lyrics. But lines like "Tell your friends not to think aloud/Until they swallow/Whisper things into my brain/Your voice sounds so hollow" are a giveaway. This is an enjoyable song to listen to and I can see why its so popular. It is one of my favorites. Though the vocals are not fantastic on this track, the lyrics are outstanding. "I jumped in to save a girl/It was somebody's daughter" is one of my favorite lines in any song.

Old Enough - This is an interesting song. I'm not crazy about it, though it appears to be very popular. The vocals are very good, as is the guitar, but there is something in the overall presentation of this song, perhaps the combination of the vocals and the guitar playing, that doesnt draw me in. The song is a bit strange, and the lyrics are open to interpretation. This is a good song, though its one of my least favorites on the album.

Worthy to Say - Again, according to Chad Kroeger, this is a song "about marijuana." I like this song well enough. I think the song is about more than marijuana though. Nickelback seems to be discussing a growing crime-rate among youth. This track showcases Chad's vocals, and is really quite good, though personally I just cant seem to get into it.

Diggin' This - I dont really like this song. The vocals dont seem to work well with the percussion or the guitar playing. I dont dislike this song so much that I would skip it, and I do sing along with it. The lyrics are very aggressive, and dont really fit the mood of the song: "Did I ask for your input?/
How's the taste of your own foot?"

Deep - I'm not crazy about this song either. The lyrics seem somewhat childish, or at least, very immature. "who will be the big men giving some" is just one example. The vocals dont stand out very well, and the whole song is kind of soft and doesnt fit with the rest of the album.

One Last Run - I'm conflicted over this track. I strongly dislike the lyrics, but the vocals and guitar playing are very good. When this song comes on, I tend to ignore what Chad is actually saying, and just listen to his voice, and the sound of the music around him.

Not Leaving Yet - I like this song very much. There are a number of references to Jesus, and christianity, most very obvious such as "Come lie next to me Jesus Christ." The singing is good, Chad is at his best here, and the guitar is perfect, and balances very well with the other instruments. This is a fine song, and one of the best on the album.

Hold Out Your Hand - The lyrics to this song are actually very short, but send a tough message. The song starts out by mentioning the army, and ends with mentioning childless mothers. The connection here shouldnt be too hard to make. This is a very good song, and I really enjoy listening to it.

Leader of Men (Acoustic) - Nickelback is one of the few bands who may be better live then on album. While the acoustic version may not have the harder ending that the album version did, the vocals are rougher and just fantastsic. The guitar playing is perfect and just went perfectly with the vocals.

Overall, this is an excellent album. It loses speed in the middle, but only for a couple of tracks. Nickelback is one of my favorites, and so is the State. I highly recommend this album to anyone.

Like almost every band, the CD they put out before they start getting played on the radio every 5 minutes is always the best one. I remember hearing this cd for the first time, and knowing they were going to be huge, but i didnt think it was going to reach the radio candy level that it has, where i dread hearing anything at all since it all sounds the same. I wish they would be remembered for this cd, not the other rubbish they put out

I have all 4 of Nickelback's CDs and I find this one is my favorite. The first and last songs are the best. This apparently was their first album, and i really think it's the best of the 4.

There is no other words for The State and Nickelback, and the best thing is that after The State, their best was only yet to come!

Being a big fan of Nickelback, I found this to be a collection yet. It will definitely hold a person over until they complete a new cd. I find them to be less "grunge" as they are often called, as opposed to the "meat and potatoes" rock they call themselves. Definitely good solid rock and roll!!!

It's much better than Silver Side Up -- more raw and real. I recommend listening to "Leader of Men" and "Old Enough" -- they are good songs to judge this cd by, if you get your hands on them somehow.

This is my opinion one of the best CD's that you can own from an alternative rock band. They do it all well, hard songs, ballads, and tempo changing songs. What more can you ask for? If you haven't listened, you should. If you have, try again your time will not be wasted!

I must say this cd is awesome, though many people are against Chad and the gang, they still make great music. Even through the success of "Silver Side Up" i say this CD is far superior!

This would have to be my favorite Nickelback album by far. I think it's ridiculous that this album, along with Curb, didn't get the recognition it deserves.
But it is now, thanx to Silver Side Up.
A previous review had said they sound like all other rock bands. In my opinion their lyrics, their style, Chads voice are all amazing and something I've never heard before in any other band.
This albums lyrics are written mostly metaphorically. It isn't until Silver Side Up that Chad starts to write more openly.

I dont know if this is strange or not but I had (it got stolen) this CD and the disc was purple. My friends say they've never seen purple ones before and that they're all yellow and black.

I will be purchasing this album and any other album they will have. I think they're completely different than the music that already exists! They know how to rock and I believe they're lyrical geniuses! I'm absolutely in love w/'Silver Side Up' so regardless of the critics out there, I'm a huge fan of their music. Nickelback won't disappoint, satisfying your hunger for real music and complete rock!