Post by sirmavers on Nov 1, 2009 20:41:39 GMT
Let me tell you why, this album, despite Lee Mavers himself labelling it 'utter shite', one of the greatest things you will ever hear. The melody, the rhythm, and the spirit.
Let's start at the start. Son of A Gun, a matter of 2 minutes long, and what a way to introduce you to the band, a riff that instantly get's you on your feet, and lyrics, that rather ironically, sound like Lee is quoting himself. 'If you want, I'll tell you a life story, about a man who's at loggerheads with his past all the time.' Once this track is over, you won't be in any rush to turn anything down. The next 2 tracks, 'I can't Sleep' and 'Timeless Melody' finish quicker than they started, both 2 of the rockier tunes on the album inspired by the likes of early Stones records, the latter of which is one of the highlights of the album where Lee declares 'Even the words they fail me, look what it's doing to me', again taking reference to future struggles, nevertheless, the tunes rapid guitars and spellbinding lyrics leave you somewhat lost for words. Track 4 'Liberty Ship' shows Lee's more melodic side, with a particularly catchy bass line that makes you want to bounce in your place, and the lyrics along with the whole feel of the tune does truly give you the sense that you are cast away on a 'liberty ship'. Then before you know it, along comes one of the all time great BritPop singles, 2:52 of pop genius. 'There She Goes' is by no means the best songs on the album, by it's music or lyrics, but it's utter simplicity with the melody and chord progression does make you wonder why music cannot be so simple all the time. Lee puts together 5 simple chords and one simple verse and creates a song that you could simply listen to over and over and never get frustrated with. Track 6 is another of the more melodic tunes, 'Doledrum', which again sounds somewhat similair to Rolling Stones 'The Last Time', with rolling riffs and sharp snappy lyrics the song lives up to the standards of the previous 5 tracks. The next 3 tracks, 'Feelin', 'Way Out' and 'IOU' and debatably the 3 catchiest songs on the album, the first of which 'Feelin' similair to the opener is very short but can catch the ears of any member of the public and is an instant classic, the lyric 'I get the feelin, that I'm responding to a call' only leaves fans bitter of what could've been. 'Way Out', which was the bands first single, follows a simple structure as with most of the album. 'IOU' is probably, if anything 'over simplified' with it's melody, and admitadly the least upbeat of all the songs on the album, with little spirit in comparison to everything else. Leading up to the end, 'Freedom Song' is one of the few songs on the album which concentrates primarily in the lyrics, with Mavers telling everyone who listens 'the masterpiece is done', and sounds like he is singing about everything coming to an end, it gives you the feeling that he truly thought something of his talents (he has every right to). The penultimate tune is 'Failure', let's not dwell to far into the songs irony, but instantly you can hear influence from 'The Who' with the same constant riff churned out over a story of what seems to be a young man facing family and friends after failing to accomplish something. Finally, we have possibly the most exciting 7 minutes you spend listening to music, 'Looking Glass' not only displays a heart wrenching guitar riff that gives you gooseumps eahc and every time you listen, but displays Lee Mavers lyric talents at their best. 'Tell me why I'm bound, to tear the pages open, and turn the world around...' sums up everything, the quiet melodic verses each time lead up to an up tempo chorus which sounds like 1000 men marching through to the light, with the final chorus being produced to what can only be described as 'unbelievable' standards, the pace picks up and producer Lillywhite works in snipets of all the album to give you the feeling that you are walking through a warp re-living the last hour. The song, if listened to be everyone, would without doubt be declared as one of the most astounding pieces of music written in the BritPop age.
In all honesty, considering the albums simplicity, I have probably over complicated this review, but with all fareness I could go on for hours as to why this album deserves the attention of everyones ears.
Everyone will most probably remember The La's for their effortless single 'There She Goes', but Lee Mavers could write pop songs for fun, so many, songs like 'Tears In The Rain' 'Was It Something I Said?' 'Rebound' and 'Wehn Will I See You Again?' when heard make you wonder why he didn't carry on. It's all legend now, you'll probably never hear anything other than this album and half-arsed demos of the songs above, so make the most of them.
Ignore anything you read, Lee didn't like the album, perhaps it lacked spirit, perhaps it wasn't the 60's style raw production that the band so desperately seeked, but ultimately it has a set of tunes that can entertain any of us.
9/10 (would be t10 if it wasn't for the lack of spirit that I 100% agree with).
Let's start at the start. Son of A Gun, a matter of 2 minutes long, and what a way to introduce you to the band, a riff that instantly get's you on your feet, and lyrics, that rather ironically, sound like Lee is quoting himself. 'If you want, I'll tell you a life story, about a man who's at loggerheads with his past all the time.' Once this track is over, you won't be in any rush to turn anything down. The next 2 tracks, 'I can't Sleep' and 'Timeless Melody' finish quicker than they started, both 2 of the rockier tunes on the album inspired by the likes of early Stones records, the latter of which is one of the highlights of the album where Lee declares 'Even the words they fail me, look what it's doing to me', again taking reference to future struggles, nevertheless, the tunes rapid guitars and spellbinding lyrics leave you somewhat lost for words. Track 4 'Liberty Ship' shows Lee's more melodic side, with a particularly catchy bass line that makes you want to bounce in your place, and the lyrics along with the whole feel of the tune does truly give you the sense that you are cast away on a 'liberty ship'. Then before you know it, along comes one of the all time great BritPop singles, 2:52 of pop genius. 'There She Goes' is by no means the best songs on the album, by it's music or lyrics, but it's utter simplicity with the melody and chord progression does make you wonder why music cannot be so simple all the time. Lee puts together 5 simple chords and one simple verse and creates a song that you could simply listen to over and over and never get frustrated with. Track 6 is another of the more melodic tunes, 'Doledrum', which again sounds somewhat similair to Rolling Stones 'The Last Time', with rolling riffs and sharp snappy lyrics the song lives up to the standards of the previous 5 tracks. The next 3 tracks, 'Feelin', 'Way Out' and 'IOU' and debatably the 3 catchiest songs on the album, the first of which 'Feelin' similair to the opener is very short but can catch the ears of any member of the public and is an instant classic, the lyric 'I get the feelin, that I'm responding to a call' only leaves fans bitter of what could've been. 'Way Out', which was the bands first single, follows a simple structure as with most of the album. 'IOU' is probably, if anything 'over simplified' with it's melody, and admitadly the least upbeat of all the songs on the album, with little spirit in comparison to everything else. Leading up to the end, 'Freedom Song' is one of the few songs on the album which concentrates primarily in the lyrics, with Mavers telling everyone who listens 'the masterpiece is done', and sounds like he is singing about everything coming to an end, it gives you the feeling that he truly thought something of his talents (he has every right to). The penultimate tune is 'Failure', let's not dwell to far into the songs irony, but instantly you can hear influence from 'The Who' with the same constant riff churned out over a story of what seems to be a young man facing family and friends after failing to accomplish something. Finally, we have possibly the most exciting 7 minutes you spend listening to music, 'Looking Glass' not only displays a heart wrenching guitar riff that gives you gooseumps eahc and every time you listen, but displays Lee Mavers lyric talents at their best. 'Tell me why I'm bound, to tear the pages open, and turn the world around...' sums up everything, the quiet melodic verses each time lead up to an up tempo chorus which sounds like 1000 men marching through to the light, with the final chorus being produced to what can only be described as 'unbelievable' standards, the pace picks up and producer Lillywhite works in snipets of all the album to give you the feeling that you are walking through a warp re-living the last hour. The song, if listened to be everyone, would without doubt be declared as one of the most astounding pieces of music written in the BritPop age.
In all honesty, considering the albums simplicity, I have probably over complicated this review, but with all fareness I could go on for hours as to why this album deserves the attention of everyones ears.
Everyone will most probably remember The La's for their effortless single 'There She Goes', but Lee Mavers could write pop songs for fun, so many, songs like 'Tears In The Rain' 'Was It Something I Said?' 'Rebound' and 'Wehn Will I See You Again?' when heard make you wonder why he didn't carry on. It's all legend now, you'll probably never hear anything other than this album and half-arsed demos of the songs above, so make the most of them.
Ignore anything you read, Lee didn't like the album, perhaps it lacked spirit, perhaps it wasn't the 60's style raw production that the band so desperately seeked, but ultimately it has a set of tunes that can entertain any of us.
9/10 (would be t10 if it wasn't for the lack of spirit that I 100% agree with).
