Switchfoot is a brand new band, right? Wrong. Most people know Switchfoot from their hit singles “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move” found on their newest CD The Beautiful Let Down. But the band released three CDs previous to this popular album.

Their CDs Legend of Chin, New Way to Be Human, and Learning to Breathe were written as early as 1996. Legend of Chin was recorded in 1997 in three weeks, the old fashioned way: no computers or mix boards, just reel tape machines and slicing tape together to blend two takes. It was released June 17, 1997. Album number two, New way to be human, was released March 23, 1999. Their third album was released September 26, 2000.

The band kept the same sound for most of their songs, even though the song “Dare You to Move” is featured on both the Learning to Breathe album and the band's most recent album The Beautiful Let Down. That particular song sounds different on the two CDs. Though the words and melody are the same, the feel and the intensity is different between them. “It sounds more live,” Kimberly Wacker, an Arrowhead student, said of the Learning to Breathe version. “It’s not as intense, but it’s almost the same.” And, Kimberly’s friend Shane Curtis said, “I like their old music as much as their new stuff.”

Switchfoot has its old fans and its new fans, and both will continue to listen. But to the new fans…go out and pick up those CDs. There is a very good chance that you won’t be disappointed.