A return to Staind's formula for UK success, So Far Away is a typical Aaron Lewis droning ballad. Lewis' powerful vocals overlay heavy drumming helping the track avoid the plunge into monotony in a track very similar to It's Been A While.
It really is sad that for Staind to achieve high chart places over here they have to release carbon copies of previous successes, simply to maintain respectable levels of airplay. The main reason for this is that the group's first UK hit was Outside, linking them to stadium rock ballads and Fred Durst, thus eliminating a proportion of the notoriously fickle rock fans over here.
Their recent album, 14 Shades of Grey, has so much more to offer than this. We were given a hint of this with Price To Play but So Far Away epitomises the fact whoever decides which album tracks get released knows that Staind will never be taken seriously as a rock group over here.
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