Switchfoot

Who would have thought that Chin Up, the unassuming little Christian Music band from San Diego, would ever amount to much? And yet, here we are almost a dozen years later, and that little band is now known throughout the world, having spawned an impressive list of chart singles and well-known signature songs.

They also changed their name to Switchfoot – not a bad idea, in retrospect…

In a day when there are labels issuing ‘best of’ collections shortly following an artist’s sophomore release (sometimes an understandable strategy, considering the shelf-life of some bands), The Best Yet is sensibly timed: the band has amassed a fine arsenal of successful tracks from well-received albums - we even get “This Is Home,” a song written specifically for (and only available on) the soundtrack album for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. This collection of songs from all six Switchfoot albums (starting with 1997’s The Legend of Chin) is not the story of a band’s ascent from embarrassing, awkward beginnings to present day coolness - the quality and musical integrity have always been there (okay, maybe the horns on “Company Car” are a bit negotiable on that point) - it’s more of an audio-travelogue of Switchfoot albums to date, and there’s not one ‘filler’ among the eighteen tracks.

What strikes me most about this collection is that there’s been a consistency of really good songs coming from this band right from the start. The listener that might be new to Switchfoot (and where have you three people been hiding for the last decade or so?) will find that there are no noticeable weak points to pick out in the track list. Normally, this type of collection might start out with the early work and progressively get to the good stuff, but The Best Yet surprisingly starts off with “Dare You To Move,” one of the band’s best known and most popular songs (featured in the 2002 film, A Walk To Remember), followed by “Meant to Live,” “Stars,” “Oh, Gravity,” and this year’s “This is Home,” all relatively recent recordings. This tracking would be an album-killer if the earlier material couldn’t stand up to the newer work, but Jon Foreman (vocals, guitar), his brother Tim (bass, backing vocals), Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keys, backing vocals), Drew Shirley (guitar), and Chad Butler (drums) manage to pull it off with excellent material from every album.

Switchfoot is a hit-making group that creates songs with lyrical integrity and insight, hooks and interesting melodies – guys that know how to make pop songs rock hard and heavy, yet also know how to touch the soul. Jon Foreman’s instantly recognizable vocals certainly help create a sound that’s uniquely Switchfoot - his trademark phrasing is at its best on “Meant to Live,” when he sings, “Maybe we’re living with our eyes half open / Maybe we’re bent and broken,” and then adds another “broken.” His sense of melody shows none of the typical rock bravado, none of the posturing. Jon sings the way you imagine he might talk, and it’s that human connection that’s a big part of Switchfoot’s success.

This is for the fan that wants the best Switchfoot tracks from each of their albums (and one that’s not on any of their albums) collected on one disc, and it’s also for anyone new to the band that wants an excellent ‘best of’ set to start out with. The Best Yet will please the former and – I’m betting – will make fans of the latter.

There’s also a Deluxe Edition package featuring a DVD with a generous fourteen Switchfoot videos, including two that are rare and not officially released. The “Stars” video alone is, as they say, worth the price of admission – and as a bonus, you get to laugh at Jon Foreman’s old hairstyle on “Company Car.”

This is one to put on your must-have list.

Tagged as: Switchfoot, The Best Yet

↓ 4 comments

#1 Jeanna on October 27th, 2008 at 5:26 pm

GREAT thoughts. Switchfoot is an extremely talented band and I love how this release showcases that. Loved the review.

#2 John Wofford on October 27th, 2008 at 6:10 pm

You don’t like the horns on “Company Car”? Eek! I am ashamed of you.

Haha! Kidding, Bert, but seriously…I love that song.

#3 a.r.t. on October 28th, 2008 at 12:03 am

haha aww i liked the horns on co. car! maybe it’s just the nostalgia of ‘99 that i attach to them… anyway, i enjoy your reviews of switchfoot-related discs. you really get them. i like that.

#4 Matt on October 28th, 2008 at 2:41 am

haha, company car. I haven’t even thought about that song since 1995. Oh wait…

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