Vertical Horizon's New Song "All Is Said And Done"

After five long years Vertical Horizon first released their last album, Go, Vertical Horizon finally has something new for their fans. While their website is currently under construction, the Vertical Horizon myspace page has been updated with a new song, "All Is Said And Done". While there is no blog post for this update, the song has about 4,500 plays, and according to their wikipedia article, the new song was posted yesterday, Oct. 20, 2008.

A release date for their new album, Burning The Days is expected soon and this update while stealthy, has to be good sign for Vertical Horizon fans. The new song has also been posted on lead singer, Matt Scannell's myspace page. Matt is usually pretty good about updating fans on what he is up to and the progress he has made but this little update came with no announcement and who knows how long it will remain on their page.

As for the new song, it is classic Vertical Horizon. I don't know if it has the mainstream appeal of some of their former hits or even if it will end up being a single but it seems to pick up right where "Go" left off. It has a very unique sound, and sounds a little like a combination of "Underwater", "Echo", and "Forever". Like always the lyrics are meaningful and powerful and Matt's voice hits every note.

What do you think of the new music from Vertical Horizon?


Artist of the Week: Vertical Horizon

Vertical HorizonIt is time for a new article type for Rizzo Music, Artist of the Week. I was thinking about a song of the week but since we have a playlist of ten great songs every week as well as tributes to music videos, I don't think that a song of the week is necessary. Instead we will have an Artist of the Week where every Saturday, I will write an article displaying the great music of one artist. In these articles I will try to direct you to some cool media involved with each band including music videos and acoustic versions of songs.

This week I thought I would start with Vertical Horizon, one of my favorite bands. I have been listening to these guys a lot lately, mainly their two major label releases. I recently discovered the full album of Everything You Want, not just the four singles that they released from the album. Almost everyone has heard their ever popular "Everything You Want" single that was constantly played on the radio at the close of the millennium. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this album. This song has such a great intro that lures you in and never waivers beginning to end. There is a brilliant acoustic version that can be seen here. When this song first came out I was a big fan and was excited to see what these guys would put out next. They did not disappoint as the next two singles are very good ones with "You're a God" and "Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)”. The music video for “You’re a God” can be seen here, which features Tiffani-Amber Thiessen from Saved by the Bell. “Best I Ever Had” is a musical treat for anyone that has never heard this beautiful song. It was remade by country singer Gary Allen about two years ago and broke into the top ten on the country rock charts. “We Are” was their first single released off this album and is a fairly catchy tune. It never really took off but I remember hearing it on the radio briefly.

Vertical Horizon - Everything You WantNow it is time for the heart and soul of the album “Everything You Want”, by examining the songs that were never released as singles. First up we have “You Say” a song with a contagious beat. This song has a great build up that neatly ties the verses and the chorus together. These are some of my favorite lyrics, “Here in the light / It burns you up inside / Here in the shell of a sun / We echo on / Too much listening / Not enough living”. “Finding Me” is next, a song that really has grown on me. With lyrics like these, “Oh so much for nothing / But nothing means so much / I know it's touching / But I've been out of touch”, it’s hard to not like this song. My favorite song from the album is “Miracle”, a great slow moving rock song that has powerful vocals and lyrics that call out in desperation. If you haven’t already noticed I am a big fan of when alternative rockers slow it down a little but at the same time, I am a fan of all different kinds of tempos. There are two other songs from this album that I want to highlight before I finish this album, “Send it Up” and “All of You”. “Send it Up” is a good song worth checking out as well. This song has the kind of lyrics that you want to belt out. “All of You” is a song that sums up the style of Vertical Horizon with good verses and a great chorus.

Vertical Horizon - Go Vertical Horizon’s second major label release, Go, is their latest album. This album has some strange history behind it. It was first released under RCA but they dropped the band shortly after. They were picked up by Hybrid Recordings and re-released the album. With RCA they released the single “I’m Still Here” and with Hybrid, “Forever”. Both of these singles had moderate success but soon fizzled out. “I’m Still Here” is a good song but I can see why it wasn’t popular on the radio. This song belongs more on the track listing then as a single. “Forever” is more radio friendly but not the kind of radio hit that Vertical Horizon is capable of producing. It is still a magnificent song that many fans see as Vertical Horizon's best song. You can watch the music video here. I am not going to go through this album song by song but I would like to highlight a few for your enjoyment. “When You Cry”, “Echo”, and “Inside” are three songs that you should definitely check out.

It seems that Vertical Horizon is working on a new album that will most likely be released this year. Their official website is rarely updated but their myspace page contains updates on their progress. It seems that they are still trying to recover from being dropped from RCA and get everything sorted out. I hope that you enjoyed this issue of Artist of the Week and hope that you come back next week for a new artist. I will leave you with some food for thought lyrics.

"We're all lost
We're all found
We're all the same
Just one heart
Beats in us
We're different names"
-Inside, Vertical Horizon

Top 10 Songs You Should Know Playlist: Week #7

It's not Monday, it's not even Tuesday anymore but I felt like that even though I missed it, I should still create one this week. I also missed last week due to Christmas so this is way over due. This playlist will feature some of my favorite songs of all time and is probably my favorite one thus far. It is filled with some classics and ones that you probably have never heard. It's a great way to start off the new year. Thanks for listening and come back next week for another one.

Top 10 Songs You Should Know - Week 7 - Jan. 1-7 2006
1. Palm Reader - Third Eye Blind
2. All of You - Vertical Horizon
3. Bleeders - The Wallflowers
4. Chocolate - Snow Patrol
5. Everything - Lifehouse
6. What Sarah Said - Death Cab for Cutie
7. Call and Answer - Barenaked Ladies
8. Bunnies (Live in NYC) - Howie Day
9. Turn My Head - Live
10. This Will Be My Year - Semisonic

Looking for more playlists? We've got plenty.


Top 10 Songs You Should Know Playlist: Week #2

It's Monday again and that means that it is time for the second publication of the Top 10 Songs You Should Know. Once again this is a list of ten songs that you may not of heard before because most of them aren't singles but come from fairly popular artists.

This playlist features some of my favorite artists, all of which I listen to on a regular basis. These artists are pretty mainstream but I tried to highlight some songs that are phenomenal but got little press. "Simon" by Lifehouse is one of my all time favorites and I highly recommend you give it a listen. "Misfits" features the subtle sounds of crickets in the beginning so be sure to check that out. A song that I just recently found is number one on the list, and it isn't reinventing the wheel but it brings some great lyrics to life.

Top 10 Songs You Should Know - Week 2 - Nov. 20-26 2006
1. Miracle - Vertical Horizon
2. Brace Yourself - Howie Day
3. I Miss You - Incubus
4. Simon - Lifehouse
5. How to be Dead - Snow Patrol
6. Misfits - Third Eye Blind
7. On Her Mind - Duncan Sheik
8. Testing 1,2,3 - Barenaked Ladies
9. Can't Let it Go - Goo Goo Dolls
10. 23 - Jimmy Eat World

Looking for more playlists? We've got plenty.