I Have Control of You.... Review on Come Clean - Puddle of Mudd

† A Little History on the Band †

Puddle of Mudd was technically on the map years ago when Wes Scantlin gave Limp Bizkit (the no longer playing metal/wannabe rap band) front man, Fred Durst, a demo tape of what Puddle of Mudd had to offer at the second Family Values Tour. Fred dug the band and liked the music they offered, so he gave Wes a holler, but had found out the band had broken up. But there was something about Wes’s voice that Fred really dug, so he demanded Wes to come out to Los Angeles in order to find new members to replace the old ones that quit. Once all the new band members had been recruited, Durst signed Puddle of Mudd to his own record label, Flawless Records. Finally, in August of 2001, Puddle of Mudd released their debut album, Come Clean. Unlike a lot of rock/metal (more of a rock band, in my opinion, but they have a few metal moments) bands these days, Puddle of Mudd doesn’t try to rap and sticks with the vocals and lyrics rock music always intended.

† Who’s In Puddle of Mudd? †

• Wesley Reid Scantlin-Vocals & Guitar (27)

• Paul James Phillips-Guitars (26)

• Greg David Upchurch-Drums (28)

• Douglas John Ardito-Bass (27)

† Songs †

Come Clean begins with one of the most aggressive songs on the entire album. Control is catchy, dark, loud, sexy, aggressive, and a laundry list of other terms. Control is definitely one of the more metal sounding songs opposed to rock. Control talks about having complete control of your girl… but it’s more of a fantasy than reality. The song has a mid to up-tempo beat and though I hate to admit it, my favorite part would have to be, I love the way you look at me/ I love the way you smack my a-ss… Though I like Control, (mainly because of the aggression and catchy beat) Drift and Die is much better lyrically and vocally. Scantlin’s vocals are much more clear and crisp, the lyrics talk about believing in the truth even though people might not like you for it. It’s about standing up for what you believe in even though people might/will disagree with you. The song is mid to up-tempo and the acoustic guitar background sounds awesome. Out of My Head is like a mix of Control and Drift and Die. There’s aggression in the vocals (not as much Control) and the message of the song is pretty much like Drift and Die, but it’s not as depressing. What is wrong with all my friends/ I know I am unlike them… but then he talks about how he will still be cool and come out on top. This is the first song that is really upbeat.

I have mixed feelings on Nobody Told Me. The first two minutes are pretty slow and quiet (Scantlin’s practically whispering) but as the song progresses it gets better (the drums are very apparent and sound great). The song discusses how not having a nice childhood and home will lead to trouble later in life because you will have no clue what to do and where to go. The message is alright, the chorus is semi-catchy, but overall, the song isn’t my favorite. And now we come to Blurry… I used to really like this song, but after being overplayed to death on the radio, I’m pretty sick of it. The song is about how people are always not what they seem and how they can bring lots of pain, and in the chorus, Scantlin releases all the anger and emotions he’s feeling about all the suffering he’s going through. The song is mid to up-tempo (again…) and the pitch of the song is kind of high (the high-pitched guitar plays a major role in the song). She Hates Me has to be my favorite song on the album. The song itself is extremely catchy and the beat sounds sort of “old school.” I really like the guitar riff at the beginning of the song… it sounds like it was made in the 80’s or sometime back then, but it sounds really good here. The lyrics are very simple, Met a girl/ Thought she was grand/ Fell in love/ Found out first hand… and they will get stuck in your head for days. The song talks about falling in love with a girl… but then you realize that you’re the only one digging her, she hates you!

Bring Me Down is a mix of metal and hard rock… the song is fairly dark (with loud bass guitars) but I just don’t think it would be classified as a metal song. The song is fairly catchy and would be a great song to listen to if you are angry and/or depressed. The song is pretty self-explanatory… it talks about being brought down by other people and how it’s frustrating the sh-it out of you. The song, for the most part, is up-tempo and is a lot darker than some of the others. Never Change begins almost like Push by Matchbox 20 (it’s probably just me) but changes soon changes to a mid tempo track that doesn’t really stand out of the album. The song isn’t catchy and has the message a lot of the others songs have—I’m not going to change just because you want me to. The song isn’t terrible, but there’s much better on the album. Basement is more of a metally song and discusses, umm… being locked in the basement and getting things taken away? Maybe I’m just a birdbrain, but that’s about the only thing I can get out of the song (lyrically). The music is pretty upbeat and catchy and I wonder why the song is called Basement… There’s so many “Away from me!” phrases in the song I’m surprised the song isn’t titled Away From Me.

On the track Said, we get to see Scantlin’s voice range which is fairly nice. The song itself talks about being trapped in a world full of drugs and sorrow, but in the chorus he talks about how he should just walk away. I like the song’s beat (it also has a good range… it’s rock with a few metal influences) and I also like the overall message. And finally, P-iss It All Away is the softest song on the album (Scantlin even whispers on the song!), but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think the softness of the song is great because it really cools you off after all the loudness from the previous tracks. After thinking about it for a while, I think the track’s message is this—Try to be honest and tell the truth no matter what the circumstance (but I’m not positive that’s right). P-iss It All Away is a nice song to cool off to and in my opinion, I nice way to end an album.

† Final Thoughts †

Like I just said, Puddle of Mudd is a cool band and all, but I just don’t see a great future for these guys. They might release one more album, but that’s gonna be it. Vocally, Scantlin has a deep, semi-unique voice and sings with lots of emotion. Lyrically, they’re nothing special, and music-wise their pretty good, but not spectacular.

Sounding like I didn’t like Come Clean? I did enjoy the album but I’m just trying to get the point across that they aren’t the best, or anything like that. Come Clean does have a parental advisory sticker for explicit content. Language is the main reason. There’s f-uck, sh-it, and cocaine on the album, but that’s about it. There’s only a tiny bit of sex on the album, and like I said the only drug reference on the album is about cocaine which is on Said.

I’d recommend Come Clean to people 13 and up. People who like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Creed (?), and other bands of the like would probably enjoy Come Clean.

Thanks for reading, as always.