MY VIEW
Music: 'Seventeen Days' by 3 Doors Down

Editor's note: 3 Doors Down makes its Honolulu concert debut at 7 p.m. April 5-6 at the Pipeline Cafe. The first show is sold out. Tickets are $25 general, $50 VIP, available at the Blaisdell box office and Ticketmaster outlets. (877) 750-4400, ticketmaster.com

By Jeremy Castillo
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely listen to it. 3 — Good: Worth listening to despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the group or singer, don't bother. 1 — Poor: Save your money (and your ears).

Released: Feb. 8

Style: Rock

Rewind: "Let Me Go," "Landing on London," "Here By Me"

My take: 3 Doors Down hit the scene with its debut album "The Better Life" in 2000. Its follow-up CD "Away from the Sun" came out two years later.

From those two albums came a string of radio hits, several of which became No. 1 singles: "Here Without You" and "When I'm Gone" from "Away from the Sun"; and "Loser," "Duck and Run" and "Kryptonite" from "The Better Life." They also went to No. 1 with "Be Like That" on the "American Pie 2" soundtrack.

Success like that is hard to follow, but the band meets the challenge, at least sales-wise, with its latest album "Seventeen Days." The first single, "Let Me Go," received heavy airplay, as did the second single "Here By Me."

While those songs are good, as are a few others, the CD isn't much fun to listen to. "Right Where I Belong" is a great, energetic opener that easily gets your attention, but as the album goes on, your attention starts to wane because the songs start to sound the same. It's like having a teacher or professor who talks about different subjects but lectures in the same way every time.

In addition to "Right Where I Belong," there is "My Father's Son," a more dynamic spin on a tale of morality. "Here By Me" is a more brooding, sorrowful song about the loss of a girl (what else?). And "Landing on London," a great, well-written song that sports a guest appearance by one of my favorite songwriters of all time, Bob Seger.

The rest of the album fits a theme of brooding verses with energy kicked up a notch for the choruses. That makes all the songs mesh together instead of giving each one its own identity to make it recognizable from the others.

Bands and artists tend to get into a sophomore slump, meaning their second album is usually their worst. However, 3 Doors Down's second album has been its best so far.

While "Seventeen Days" isn't a bad album by any definition, it's not special enough to wow fans the band has had since the beginning (such as myself) and might not be good enough to compel newcomer fans to stay for the long haul. To fans who are new to 3 Doors Down, I suggest you pick up a copy of "Away From the Sun" to see what this band can really do.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.