Our Lady Peace - A DecadeOur Lady Peace is a gem that I discovered around ten years ago. These guys have consistently produced hit after hit since they formed and the album, A Decade, is a great tribute to the work that they have done. If you only have one of their albums or flat out never decided to go out and buy an OLP album then I highly suggest purchasing this one. It includes one of my all time favorite songs from any band, “Thief“. This song can be summed up in one word, fantastic. “Thief” is a slow moving, powerful song that is one for the ages. A Decade contains 12 songs that I have heard in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed. The album has a run time of 1:17:22 with a total of 18 songs including a previously unreleased track and a demo from their Healthy in Paranoid Times album.

The album kicks off with one of their biggest hits, “Starseed“, from their first album Naveed. This song is one of those hit singles that you might have forgotten about because I know that I did. You probably heard on the radio all the time but never took the time to look it up. Its a good song and one of the few that I previously did not own but now enjoy. Next up is “The Birdman” and “Naveed“, both again from their first album. These are two songs that I had never previously heard before but aren’t too bad. I like “Naveed” better, it’s a little slower and is a little more mellow. Those three represent their first album, and moving in chronological order we come to their next album, “Clumsy“. They put in three songs from this album as well, all fairly big radio hits, “Superman’s Dead“, “Clumsy“, and “4am“. This might be the best trio of songs of any of their albums and though I think Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch is their best album overall, these three songs are gold. “Clumsy” is probably my favorite from this group, with lyrics like this, you can’t really go wrong.

“I’ll be waving my hand…Watching you drown…
Watching you scream…Quiet or loud…
And maybe you should sleep
And maybe you just need…A friend
As clumsy as you’ve been, there’s no one laughing
You will be safe in here, you will be safe in here…”

Next up is my favorite album, Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, with another trio of songs, “One Man Army“, “Is Anybody Home“, and the previously mentioned “Thief“. “One Man Army” is a great song about reminiscing and marching through your troubles whereas “Is Anybody Home” is a fairly depressing song about loneliness but none the less a good one. I have already went over my thoughts on “Thief“; it’s one of my favorite of all time. Spiritual Machines is next in order with their two songs, “In Repair” and “Life“. “In Repair” is a song that I had not previously heard before reviewing this album but I have since found out why they selected this song for their greatest hits album. It is a song with a solid beat that will have you coming back for more. “Life” was one of the band’s biggest hits at the height of their career getting significant radio play. This song has some universal lyrics that will have you singing along and give you hope for a better tomorrow.

We are already up to 2002 with Gravity and the two songs that they chose from this album, “Somewhere Out There” and “Innocent“, another two big hits. “Somewhere Out There” is a song about hope and longing for a connection and “Innocent” is about kids who have great obstacles in their life and there is hope just around the corner. We have finally made it to the last original studio album for OLP, with “Healthy in Paranoid Times” and another trio of songs, “Where Are You“, “Angels/Losing/Sleep” and “Will The Future Blame Us“. My favorite of this trio is “Angels/Losing/Sleep” a classic OLP song highlighting front man Raine Maida haunting voice. “Where Are You” was their main single of this album and got significant radio airplay. “Will the Future Blame Us” was another song that I had never heard before but was not in the least disappointing, with strong vocals and very creative verses. The album wraps up with a unreleased song and a demo from their last album. “Kiss On The Mouth” and “Better than Here” are great treats for the hardcore fans and decent incentive for the dedicated fans to go out and buy their greatest hits even if they own all their other albums.

I would highly recommend this album for the Our Lady Peace fan that somehow lost sight of this group somewhere in their long and lustrous career and also for the alternative rock fan that somehow missed this superb group. I’ll giv
e it 4 and a half stars, a great buy for all music fans. Once again thanks for listening, and go check it out.