Nickelback II Productions / Sony BMG Management
Release Date: November 11th 2022
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Nickelback – Unredeemable (Redeemable Version) (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Unredeemable (Redeemable Version)
‘…One of the most successful Canadian rock bands, ever; Nickelback and their music has found a new appreciation with myself- with songs like ‘Photograph’, ‘If Today Was Your Last Day’, ‘Savin’ Me’ and ‘Gotta Be Somebody’, to name a few. While the band themselves haven’t really made much of an impact on the radio, post-2014, (they did release a 2017 album Feed the Machine that unfortunately didn’t really chart that much on the radio stations), Nickelback nonetheless, is such a band where you know a few songs here and there, on the radio or such. And after listening to the band within the last week…I definitely need a break. But what I will say is this, that a band that has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, has something going for them. Frankly, the universal hatred against the band need not to be even discussed about- I found nothing wrong with Nickelback when I was listening, and maybe, just maybe, a lot of the hatred could be because these people have nothing better to do, or they just don’t like the style of Chad’s singing. Whatever the case, we know that both Nickelback and Creed are the two most ‘hated’ bands in history, but since undertaking both Creed and Nickelback, back-to-back; I find both these bands emotive and poignant, heartfelt, and challenging. Nickelback’s journey from ‘How You Remind Me’ to now, is a unique and storied one, but even though the public aren’t fully on board with this band yet, Chad and co. still create encouraging songs. Yes, Chad’s vocals can leave much to be desired, but that’s not really the point. Nickelback still have hits, and it is in these timely hits that I can respect such a group as this. Will there be another ‘Photograph’ or ‘How You Remind Me’ in the future? Maybe, maybe not. But the fact of the matter remains, that Nickelback’s presence in the music community all these years, has reminded me this one thing- that people can enjoy Nickelback, but they can also enjoy opera singers like Jackie Evancho or Josh Groban too. I’ve come to enjoy Nickelback more than I initially thought I was gonna, and maybe, hopefully, people can see past all the memes and hateful comments made at the band’s expense, and really understand their music and their heart for people to have meaningful connections with others…’ This above quote is from my blog about Nickelback back in 2021, where I wrote about their impact and influence in the music industry at large, touching upon songs like ‘Photograph’, ‘Far Away’, ‘How You Remind Me’, ‘Gotta Be Somebody’, ‘What Are You Waiting For?’, ‘If Today Was Your Last Day’ and ‘If Everyone Cared’, to name a few. Since that time of 2021, Nickelback unveiled Get Rollin’, and while we as a site didn’t review the album, for whatever reason, the album itself was critically acclaimed and was loved by their diehard fans around the world. Around a similar time to their album unveiling, Nickelback was involved with another musical offering- on top of Get Rollin’, they’ve partnered with Apple TV+ to create their own version of ‘Unredeemable’, titled ‘Unredeemable (Redeemable Version)’.
The song itself isn’t quite dissimilar compared to the original version from the Apple TV+ soundtrack to the movie- with a few lyric tweaks here and there, we see Nickelback take on a song about a person longing to turn their lives around, asking the age-old question- am I unredeemable after what I’ve done? It’s a song full of hope and longing, of asking the question, and not necessarily getting an answer, if at all. It’s a song that can hopefully allow us to search deep within ourselves, to see if we truly believe ourselves to be unredeemable, and what is really the unredeemable thing that we can do ourselves, that won’t receive redemption. It’s a song that really asks the question- is there someone out there that can accept us with all the muck and junk in our lives, believing that we can change of the better, but all the while, never requiring us to change so that we can be accepted and loved. Yes, the answer to all these questions is in the embodiment of Jesus Christ, and maybe, this song by Nickelback can hopefully point people to that. Well done Chad Kroger and co. for such a poignant and emotive song. Definitely a song that God can use in the upcoming weeks and months ahead.
Score: 5/5
RIYL: Creed, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Daughtry, Evanescence