How to Save a Life
| The Fray
How to Save a Life
How to Save a Life is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005 through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The first two singles from the album, "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life" helped the album become a commercial success and brought the band mainstream popularity.- Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Sputnik Music
12/15/2005 There you have it, The Fray's masterpiece How to Save a Life, there may be some skeptics who say its just another mainstream band with no talent. Well my friend, take one listen through the entire album and you might be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
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Jesus Freak Hideout
How to Save Life is nearly perfect. Nearly every song's message contains key values and life lessons.
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Influenster
, HOW TO SAVE A LIFE, is packed with songs that push all the right mass-appeal buttons: sumptuous piano, swaying mid-tempo rhythms, anthemic choruses, and alternately soaring and meandering melodies sung in a high, emotive voice. Bridging stadium rock, emo, and classic rock on the order of U2, the Fray makes an assured first statement on their debut.
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Contact Music
Elsewhere the melodic rock stays a few notches above average - the piano mellowing the overall sound, to produce a more grown-up version of emo. A very strong debut indeed.
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The MIT Post
So, this one is for the jaded souls who feel misunderstood, for all the underdogs who felt like they didn’t have a voice. How to Save a Life might do exactly what it proclaims with its intense and thought-provoking story-telling.
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Fanvasion
How To Save A Life is a collection of stories that were potentially put together with the intent of impacting an audience for the better, inspirational due to the passion displayed throughout. Where comparisons to Coldplay are inevitable, the debut offering by The Fray is effective and, while not completely original, will likely have a captivating effect on listeners.
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Web Wombat
Until then I highly recommend purchasing the album and getting to know the twenty somethings angst ridden musical talent. It's either that or listen to This Is How You Remind Me from Nickelback for the millionth time!
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Ultimate Guitar
The overall sound of this album is great, and I am very satisfied with it. My overall impression of this album is very good.
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Cross Rhythms
All in all, 'How To Save A Life' is pleasant enough. It might not cause a hurricane, but it's certainly a storm in a teacup.
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Music Stack
How to Save a Life offers more elegantly wasted twentysomething angst than the average O.C. soundtrack.
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The Pacer
However, overall, I deem this album a success, because it conveys a message, both musically and lyrically, that no one is alone in the battles of life, and scars don’t have to be a place of shame, but can be things that create stories to lift others up.
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Paste Magazine
Simply put, they do what they do, and they do it well. The standout track, “Little House,” is equal parts guitar-god riffs and Jeunet-soundtrack-style piano, rocking from cinematic beginning to wildly abrupt ending. If the song’s eventual video doesn’t include the band playing in a rainstorm, I’ll be disappointed.
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contactmusic
How To Save A Life is a great slice of slightly college-leaning rock - think Lifehouse with a bit of Keane, or Nickelback with a dose of Hootie and the Blowfish. Even, perhaps, Pearl Jam, if they ever aimed at soft rock.
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Common Sense Media
Serious and emotional, the songs are well-crafted and well-played, though there really isn't a stick-in-your-head standout among them. Articulate on the subject of the complexities of love and relationships while covering no new ground, The Fray express themselves well with lyrics that are direct and honest.
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