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Apologies again folks, last week I was totally run-down, seriously sleep was getting to be a major issue with me getting an average of like 5 hours a night for about 2/3 weeks, and I know that this has led to the blog posts being slower and even a bit shorter. I’ll be honest, these reviews will probably end up being shorter now, I’m undertaking a huge project whilst at University now and really whilst music is there as always with me, I’ve got less time to put more thought and research into it. I’m not saying that these will stop, they won’t, and heck this week I’ve got two gigs (Dillinger Escape Plan…twice) so reviews for them will be up too at some point this week.
Anyway, this week I’m going way back in a time machine – hell I might be going so far back that some people reading this weren’t alive when it was initially released (typing that just made me feel insanely old). This track was a staple to the 90s, you ask anyone that was alive during that time and they will name this song as a great one, and they’d be right; this week I’m gonna review the classic “To The Moon And Back” by Savage Garden.
So first off, obviously this is nothing like the hardcore/metalcore/punk stuff I normally cover, but like I showed when I covered “A Real Hero”, I have a wide music taste and am more than interested in the same music – this blog has never been (and will never be) pigeon-holed by genre or music type.
I said in the opening about this being old and classic, well it really is, being released in 1995 on what quite honestly may be one of the best albums ever crafted, ‘Savage Garden’. It’s only been recently that I really grew to understand this music and to appreciate it for more than just nostalgia purposes; that entire album is incredible, from the vocals of Darren Hayes to the instrumental genius Daniel Jones – the harmonies, the melodies, the lyrics, everything about that first album was spot-on. Savage Garden’s debut will always stand the test of time and always be a gem in any 90s-child’s collection.
And yes, I am a 90s child, being born in 1992 I wasn’t old enough to properly grasp onto music to much later, but when I did I obviously turned to the heavier stuff: but I never forgot about the 90s pop, stuff like “Don’t Speak”, “Kiss From A Rose”, “6 Underground”, bands like All Saints (for real) and Suede that music always stuck in my head and was something of a guilty pleasure. I don’t know what happened, but it was about a year ago, or something when I started getting into New Wave music that this music became less of a guilty pleasure and I was comfortable in openly liking it; my stance as a fashioncore dude was obvious, so there was no reason to push this music aside as rubbish when really I spent my darkest moments listening to it.
The thing about Savage Garden was they were big in Australia before hitting the waves of the US and beyond – so by the time this song was showcased to the US audience in 1997 (two years after the initial album release) they were already somewhat established and started off at the top. This resulted in a number of re-releases of singles and the album as well as a number of updated versions of music videos being made for songs (in the case of “To The Moon…” there ended up being 3 different music videos created for it, and as far as I can tell 2 re-releases of it (one in 1997 and one in 1998)).
It wasn’t until recently that I fully realised how good Savage Garden actually were, like I’ve said that first album is amazing, so many amazing hooks and pops to it – but there a few songs that stand out even more than the rest on this artistic masterpiece. Of course one of them is “Truly, Madly, Deeply”, but that’s overplayed and overhyped; no that’s not the gem of the album, it goes so much deeper with tracks like “I Want You” and “Tears Of Pearls” but the song that I feel really makes the entire album has to be “To The Moon…”. It has all it takes to get a person interested, a catchy as hell pop-hook, lyrics that sound good whether you’re listening in or not and an overall sound that’s soothing and comforting.
The lyrics are compelling: they talk of a girl that has been neglected by the commercial sense of the world, topped off with trying to find love and weeding out the superficial idea of “love” at a young teenage age. Obviously like I said the lyrics are there that if you care enough you can read up and understand them, but if you don’t you can listen and enjoy the song just as much (the relaxed nature of Hayes’ vocals make this even easier to do and digest). Lyrically it’s also been called one of the bands darkest songs, understandable what with every other song they have being about positivity and having a positive outlook and such – this dwells on alienation and even elements of self-esteem issues.
To anyone over the age of 18, you’ll know this song, it’ll be a staple of your childhood – whether you appreciated it then or now or still have yet to really understand its beauty, it will undoubtedly mean something to you. Even if its “Truly Madly Deeply” that is talked about any time the subject of Savage Garden gets brought up, the one song everyone has heard is “To The Moon And Back” and that’s the one everyone loves – whether you’re a goth, a metalhead, a punk, a pop-diva, anything, you WILL enjoy this song, I guarantee it.
Sadly the band is no more now, but Darren Hayes has continued on with his solo work, releasing a number of amazing tracks, “On The Verge Of Something Wonderful” being a great example of a talented worker and even sounds sort of Savage Garden-esque, so go check that out too if you haven’t already.
In the end like I said above, this is a song that transcends genre and music type, this is a track that reaches everyone and a track everyone can relate to and understand, and most importantly enjoy.
“To The Moon And Back” is available at the link below from iTunes, however as always you can get the track at pretty much anywhere that sells anything, though I do suggest that you go buy the album itself, its so good and worth it.
If anyone is interested in taking the reigns for next week or any week, hit me up on the Facebook page.
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