Not very many cover bands make it big, but the story f Fuel starts with a few guys from Tennessee who formed a band. They had some success and moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1994 under the group name Reel to Real, and they were a cover band. Brett Scallions, the lead singer and longest-standing member of the band, joined the group when they had a show in Albany, New York, and their singer at the time couldn’t make the trip to perform their rock music. If they’d stayed a cover band, Fuel might not have gotten the acclaim they so richly deserve, but fortunately, they began rehearsing and eventually recording original songs. Here are the ten best Fuel songs of all time.
10. Million Miles
This fantastic, soulful, and sorrowful song had some big shoes to fill, coming as it did on the same album as bot Falls On Me and Won’t Back Down, which was the lead single on the Daredevil movie soundtrack. However, this underrated yet outstanding song is one of the best on an absolutely stellar album. The story of a love that ended up disconnected and eventually dissolved away is one many people relate to. Of course, most of us can’t sing like Brett Scallions. Million Miles is the perfect breakup song.
9. Sunburn
Years before they released the massively popular album Natural Selection, which was nominated for a Grammy, Fuel’s first album Sunburn and the song that shares that name were making waves. This song spent nine weeks on the Billboard charts. After that, Sunburn became a part of the iconic Scream movies as a featured song in Scream 3. If that wasn’t enough to get this great song a spot on our list, Fuel also did a live acoustic version. According to Bhamwiki, the live song was part of Live in the X Lounge. Joel Bouchillon and WRAX produced an incredible series of albums featuring some of the most popular rock groups of the late 90s and early 2000s to benefit United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham.
8. Jesus or a Gun
Jesus or a Gun is an angry alt-metal song with superb distorted guitar and drums. This is the story of someone who has lost everything and needs to find their path. Choosing between “Jesus or a Gun” is the only option. Redemption and damnation (or revenge) can feel like the last resort. The irony of the almost cheerful singing is not lost on fans.
7. Last Time
The lead track on Fuel’s Something Like Human lives up to the hype of the album name by starting off hard and depressing. Last Time could be a breakup song. However, the lyrics seem to be more about trying and failing to let go of addiction or abuse. The guilt inherent in knowing better comes across clearly in this song. Yet the singer had obviously said this before and tried to get away from the problem.
6. Bittersweet
Bittersweet is often lauded and lamented by Fuel fans as underrated. Yet Bittersweet was a top twenty Billboard hit in 1998. Though it’s still easy to argue that the song deserved even better, few musicians ever achieve those heights on the charts if they make it at all. Regardless, this is a fantastic and fan-favorite song.
5. Bad Day
It’s not hard to put your finger on why Bad Day reminds us of Fuel’s Tennessee roots. The guitar and vocals in Bad Day could easily translate to country music. Moreover, the lyrics themselves remind us of too many country songs to count. However, the incredible drama of the video is even more noteworthy. The pure expressions and range of Brett Scallions in this video are painful to watch, but not in a bad way. This is over-the-top done exactly right.
4. Falls On Me
Like most Fuel songs, Falls On Me was written by Carl Bell. The pain and emotion he brings to every song is outstanding. Moreover, the content is so utterly relatable. Falls On Me is about how hard it can be to commit to someone. Doubtless, most touring musicians know how it feels to leave someone at home with all the temptation and action of touring, yet the expectations that come from having someone you love who isn’t there.
3. Innocent
Innocent is about the human journey from innocent bliss to complex beings. The struggle (for Christians) of avoiding sin and fighting for eternal rewards can feel very rough. This song starts on the line “Satan, you know where I lie,” which sets the tone for the rest of the piece. Battling in the grand arenas’ unending good versus evil war is no easy task. The singer reminisces about when things were easier.
2. Shimmer
If you grew up or were a young adult in the 1990s, this is your anthem. Shimmer is all about how time changes everything, and the shimmers or good things in our world will fade. Entire generations of people loved this song and played it on loop. Shimmer is the grunge-alt-rock song that spoke to us of our own fleeting youth while we were too young to appreciate how true it was.
1. Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Not only is Hemorrhage the best-known Fuel song, but it also has a funny-but-not-funny story behind it. In May of 2006, Chris Daughtry was getting a lot of notice for his voice after coming in as the runner-up on American Idol, but when he performed Fuel’s Hemorrhage, the band took notice. In fact, according to Fox News, Fuel offered him a job as their next singer. He turned them down to form his own band instead. Subsequently, Toryn Green ended up singing for Fuel instead. Still, it would have been a great story if this former cover band had managed to snag a superb singer because he covered one of their songs.
Final Thoughts
After many changes and plenty of musicians who came and went, Fuel is still playing. Two decades is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you produce such incredible, well-known music. Whether you knew the name of this band before or not, you’ve probably heard their songs a thousand times because they are worth playing and re-playing.
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