{"id":1927,"date":"2011-10-14T13:02:17","date_gmt":"2011-10-14T17:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/?p=1927"},"modified":"2012-07-15T19:58:59","modified_gmt":"2012-07-15T23:58:59","slug":"official-versions-everything-a-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/official-versions-everything-a-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Official Version – Everything: A Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Official Version was founded in 2004 by Jason Allen, and later on included Future and Gucci J as drummer and keyboardist, respectively. Everything<\/em> is the third album released by Official Version, written by Jason Allen and produced by Daniel Willett. In Everything<\/em>, the group lives up to its electronica\/pop\/alternative sound. Overall, the electronic sound is a lot of fun and the vocals are great, but the lyrics are too simplistic for many of the songs to really be meaningful.<\/p>\n

Musically, the album is very entertaining. The electronic sound starts off smooth and the first few tracks have a very mellow, constant vibe. The songs seem to grow in intensity as the album progresses, getting more and more exciting until climaxing with \u201cScary Parties\u201d and finally slowing down again with the last song, \u201cIs There Really A Heaven?\u201d The vocals are also great. While most songs favor a male lead vocalist, a female and another male vocalist frequently weave mirroring lyrics in the refrains. There are a couple songs that bring female vocals closer to the front, and are all the better for it. \u201cOur Night\u201d and \u201cAutomatik\u201d feature the best blend of male and female vocals. The most musically exciting song? Hands down, \u201cAutomatik.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love is the predominant theme of the album, in all its different forms. Romantic love, lost love, love of self, and love of self-indulgence are only a few of the different takes in Everything<\/em>, and Official Version puts some nice spin on an age-old theme.<\/p>\n

\u201cStalker Love\u201d is an entertaining twist on the love theme. The lyrics tell the story of a man and a woman who have shared a one night stand, and end up stalking one another after. As the song goes, they both reveal that they have been stalking each other. The ending refrain: \u201cWe\u2019re crazy together\/ we\u2019re stalking together\/ we\u2019re obsessed together\/ we deserve each other.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a little bit out there (you don\u2019t usually find too many songs about stalking your lover), but the music is good and the lyrics are fun as the story unfolds in the song.<\/p>\n

\u201cScary Parties\u201d is the biggest disappointment of the album. The music is great, up-tempo and entertaining, but the lyrics fail to deliver. The meaning of the song is confusing. Moments of it still read like a love song (\u201cMoving closer and closer to your heart \/ while moving further and further apart\u201d), but with a strange scenario. The line \u201cSince you came, it\u2019s party time\u201d moves quickly into a refrain of everything one could expect to find at a scary party: \u201cYou want it all, the alcohol \/ drugs are next, then the sex.\u201d\u00a0 Even the vocals, which are normally one of the stronger aspects of Everything<\/em>, come off sounding strange in this song. In the same refrain, the repetition of \u201cthen the sex\u201d is the only line in the entire song sung by female vocals, making it sound out of place and uncomfortable. But it\u2019s hard to know what Official Version is trying to convey in this song. One verse will feel like the drinking and drugs and sex are just a cover for a difficult life: \u201cAnd I know that you feel you can\u2019t survive \/ Without these things keeping you alive.\u201d But then \u2013 \u201cGet high \/ we\u2019ll die (together).\u201d The meanings of the lyrics get jumbled around and if the song is supposed to be a negative portrayal of risky partying, the words are much too simple and confusing to be effective.<\/p>\n

There are a few gems strewn in with the rest, though. \u201cProof of an Angel\u201d combines the electronic sound with a ballad of lost love. It\u2019s as beautiful and sad as \u201cStalker Love\u201d is crazy. \u201cPlease, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want\u201d is another surprise track. A cover song for The Smith\u2019s original track, Official Version stays true to feeling of the song by putting the electronics on hold in favor of guitar and soft vocals. It\u2019s a nice change-up amid the more out there tracks.<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, the standout track of the album is the closing song, \u201cIs There Really A Heaven?\u201d Part of what makes this song so good is how different it feels from the rest of Everything<\/em>. For this track, Official Version trades in their electronics for smooth piano melodies and switches up the love theme in favor of religion and longing. The lyrics are sad and meaningful in a way that many of the other songs lack. It\u2019s a somber song, almost to the point of haunting. \u201cIs There Really A Heaven?\u201d is the story of a young boy\u2019s lifelong disappointment with religious institutions and reconciling the mandates of a \u201creligious\u201d lifestyle with his own life (\u201cBut living for Him meant \/ I\u2019d have to give up who I am\u201d). He reveals the pain the church has caused his life. \u201cMy family lived just for the church \/ That\u2019s what tore us apart.\u201d The song itself really offers no solution, just the parting words: \u201cIn the end when it\u2019s all done \/ then I\u2019ll know that I\u2019m not the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stalker Love<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just that one time together
\nI never gave you my number,
\nSo how did you find me on your own?<\/p>\n

I never gave you my real name
\nOr where I live, oh no.
\nAnd my pockets were empty,
\nNo ID or 411 on me.<\/p>\n

Just that one time together,
\nI never gave you my number,
\nSo how did you find me on your own?
\nThat night was only touch and go.<\/p>\n

You say if you can\u2019t have me,
\nThen no one else can, oh no.<\/p>\n

And most people would freak out,
\nBut I stalked you too
\nSo let\u2019s get out.
\nI watched you dressing in your house.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re crazy together (obsessed together),
\nWe\u2019re stalking together (crazy together),
\nWe\u2019re obsessed together (stalking together),
\nWe deserve each other.<\/p>\n

Just that one time together,
\nYou never gave me your number,
\nI found you easily on my own.
\nThat night was not just touch and go.<\/p>\n

Is There Really A Heaven?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mortal led religion,
\nI could never live like that again.
\nWhen I was young I lived in fear
\nOf committing sin.<\/p>\n

I was just a boy
\nOf innocent joy
\nOn my way to Heaven.<\/p>\n

Scared and praying for the preachers
\nWho were scaring me instead
\nIt wasn\u2019t just their antics,
\nIt was the things they said.<\/p>\n

I was just a boy,
\nI believed their story.
\nIs there really a Heaven?<\/p>\n

I was always told to do what\u2019s right,
\nTo live my life for Him,
\nBut living for Him meant
\nI\u2019d have to give up who I am.<\/p>\n

I was just a boy
\nOf innocent joy
\nOn my way to Heaven.<\/p>\n

Although I was young
\nI saw my parents, what was in their hearts.
\nMy family lived just for the church,
\nThat\u2019s what tore us apart.<\/p>\n

I was just a boy,
\nWe believed their story.
\nIs there really a Heaven?
\nIs there really a Heaven?<\/p>\n

In the end when it\u2019s all done,
\nThen I\u2019ll know that I\u2019m not the only one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Official Version was founded in 2004 by Jason Allen, and later on included Future and Gucci J as drummer and keyboardist, respectively. Everything is the third album released by Official Version, written by Jason Allen and produced by Daniel Willett. In Everything, the group lives up to its electronica\/pop\/alternative sound. Overall, the electronic sound is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,220],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1927"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3101,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions\/3101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}