Five for Fighting, Ten for repetition

Right off the bat, Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik sets himself apart from nearly any modern singer-songwriter just on the strength of his voice. This man can SING, which you'd probably expect from someone with a significant background in opera. It's a shame that his awe-inspiring vocal cords can't carry The Battle for Everything, an album that winds up being relatively unremarkable.\nHis 2000 effort, America Town, yielded the emotive hit "Superman (It's Not Easy)," but its debut single was a poorly-known knockout called "Easy Tonight," which none of the tracks on Everything resemble. Overproduction abounds, be it in vocal effects or string arrangements; each song seems to be produced with a hesitancy towards letting Ondrasik's voice take center stage. \n"Superman," which is constantly echoed on newer songs like "100 Years," is a big step down from "Easy Tonight." Simply put, these retreads are overwrought and predictable. Unfortunately as the track is his biggest success yet, the moments of darkness that made America Town sum up to more than just a collection of beautiful, empty piano ballads are absent here. It's great that he's enjoyed success thus far, but it just seems a shame to hear these disposable graduation anthems when Ondrasik is capable of so much more.