My Amazon Reviews: Five For Fighting "Two Lights"

What's a Flag to a Pawn Shop
4 Out Of 5 Stars

When John Ondrasik embarked on the fourth album as Five For Fighting, he made his most obvious move into piano soft pop to that date. "Two Lights" follows in the path of Billy Joel and Elton John. and ay his quirkiest, Ben Folds. It's also the first album he recorded after the birth of his son. So gone are the rocking instincts and in come the falsetto-ed songs to fatherhood. The top 40 single, "The Riddle," epitomizes these emotions, as he imagines his son growing up with the questions every parent must answer, backed with string and John's ever-so-sincere singing.

Not that any of this should surprise previous followers of Five For Fighting. He's been getting mellower and mellower as each album passes, and "Two Lights" is a continuation of that path. What makes his albums consistently is how much of an ear for earnestness and production he's got. Strings swell at just the perfect moment, and there's still plenty of populist lyrics like the kind that made him a star with "Superman" in 2001. It's all very sweet, with the occasional tip of the hat to Americana.

That lineage is explored by the lead track, "Freedom Never Cries." Using the metaphoric imagery that starts with taking a flag to a pawnshop, John tracks that flag's path along the road where "I only talk to God when somebody's about to die" before ultimately hoping for a world of peace for his newborn and the thought that he "never loved a soldier until there was a war." It's a moving (if obvious pull at the heartstrings) song, and among his best. Yet he doesn't forget about the not so distant past, as he longingly recalls his "65 Mustang." The only time this point of view falls flat in "Johnny America," which overworks its premise.

Then there's "Policeman's Xmas Party," a total fiasco. Since John signs mostly in a high register, here he intentionally sings above his range and phrases the song in a grating way. If there was any song that cleaves to the Ben Folds analogy, this is one of them. Too clever and overtly annoying, it makes one wonder why it made the final cut. Better, however, is "California Justice," a road trip gone wrong. The combinations on "Two Lights" don't always work, but John is a strong enough singer/songwriter to skate above the lesser of the numbers here (except "Policeman's Party"). making "Two Lights" land in the middling area of Five For Fighting's discography.