Away From the Sun in Bloomington, MN

In 2000,
3 Doors Down
's debut
The Better Life
and its omnipresent single "Kryptonite" authoritatively established the Escatawpa, Mississippi band as rock stars in the vein of fellow new arena rockers
Creed
. After extensive touring and over 6 million albums sold, it might have been difficult for the band to focus on their sophomore release. But vocalist
Brad Arnold
, guitarists
Matt Roberts
and
Chris Henderson
, bassist
Todd Harrell
, and new drummer
Daniel Adair
(who took over to free
Arnold
from behind the kit) retreated to a rented house in sleepy Escatawpa to jam on ideas and lyrics that had been formulated over long months on tour.
What sophomore slump?
Away from the Sun
, released in November of 2002, immediately went Gold, and reached Platinum in early January 2003. It's a much more accomplished album than
, smoothing out most of the rough patches that slowed down the debut. Lead single "When I'm Gone" is a muscular blues-rocker that recalls
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
-- it's representative of the album's predominantly mid-tempo arrangements that focus on
's contemplative lyrics. He doesn't proselytize like
's
Scott Stapp
, nor does he rely on obvious nu-metal cliches like
Saliva
Joey Scott
. Instead,
's lyrics lean more towards the first-person confessional style favored by Southern rock mainstays such as the
Allman Brothers
or
Lynyrd Skynyrd
. While
Universal/Republic
might lump them in with the chest-thumpers and active rock doomsayers,
makes it clear that
are really more comfortable where the sky is always blue.
That said, the band doesn't yet have the hooks to remain consistently interesting for an entire album. Besides the unstoppable melody of the title track, and "Ticket to Heaven," which shows some real songwriting depth in comparison to the band's debut, many of
's 11 tracks sound too similar. It's an accomplished, often rocking, and sometimes genuinely emotional set, but there just isn't enough variety to sustain it. On the plus side,
and producer
Rick Parashar
(
Pearl Jam
,
Blind Melon
) didn't go overboard on the effects, as can often be the case with sophomore releases. Instead, a string section drifts in and out of a few tracks, with the ballad "Here Without You" benefiting particularly nicely. There's a good chance
is the transition record
needed to make, in order to separate themselves from the glut of sound-alikes and establish their future as a viable, album-oriented Southern rock act. ~ Johnny Loftus