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The Album Review Club - Week #142 - (page 1874) - Strange Times - The Chameleons
- Thread starter RobMCFC
- Start date
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Wow, some of you lot are heard to please. I'm renowned for my anti-indie/anti Manc music stance and even I'm surprised (in a good way) by this week's pick.
PS: What's wrong with "Living on a Payer"? It might not be up to the level of the magnificent "Wanted Dead or Alive" but it's got a half-decent story lyric, a superb guitar solo and like him or not, JBJ can certainly sing.
PS: What's wrong with "Living on a Payer"? It might not be up to the level of the magnificent "Wanted Dead or Alive" but it's got a half-decent story lyric, a superb guitar solo and like him or not, JBJ can certainly sing.
mrbelfry
Well-Known Member
Great dancefloor song.Wow, some of you lot are heard to please. I'm renowned for my anti-indie/anti Manc music stance and even I'm surprised (in a good way) by this week's pick.
PS: What's wrong with "Living on a Payer"? It might not be up to the level of the magnificent "Wanted Dead or Alive" but it's got a half-decent story lyric, a superb guitar solo and like him or not, JBJ can certainly sing.
mrbelfry
Well-Known Member
Strange Times by The Chameleons
I stopped seriously drinking when I was 17. I wasn't a big drinker but I quickly learnt that instead of becoming giggly and fun I became morbid, somber and exceptionally pretentious. I was in Poland, krupnikked up to my eyeballs telling my mum and dad how Leonard Cohen had changed my life when I suddenly saw a vision of the future me wearing a turtleneck and stroking my goatee. Time to quit both the drink and the English A-Levels.
Being pretty much sober since then has probably made me much less interesting to most people I meet but has made me infinitely more appealing to my wife who has a strong aversion to pretention. I already have an unnaturally high level of pretention that my wife does well to tolerate but if she had to endure drunk, morbid, pretentious me I fear that would tip her over the edge. It's for this reason that I cannot subsequently endorse The Chameleons as my favourite band ever. She already rolls her eyes well I tell her how great Radiohead are - I can't put her through this as well.
Let me be clear I don't think The Chameleons are pretentious but my fandom definitely would be. I can fully imagine drunk me getting the words Carry Me Home tattooed on my arm. I'd probably have a blog on Medium where i would describe myself as a drifting ghost of glass. Everytime I passed a jigsaw I would dash it to the ground just so I could stare down at the floor and pick up the pieces. I would inform my family that I was going in the shower by asking if the storm had come. However it wasn't always like this.
My first listen and everything feels one note and samey. I just don't get it and want to put The Smiths on. By the third listen drunk me would definitely be ready to passionately argue that this version of Tomorrow Never Knows is vastly superior to the Beatles original. Even sober me might be prepared to make that argument. I'd possibly need to be three days into a bender to make the same case for John I'm Only Dancing though.
This is not an album to dismiss on first glance. You need to take it in a little to hear where the vocals are unnecessarily flamboyant rather than miserable like they first appear. They never quite manage to be good but opening track Mad Jack laid a foundation that Bjork happily built a career on. There are some nice things going and he gets the most out of a limited instrument within the punk range. Hard to imagine Celine Dion getting more out of these songs.
It took a while for my ears to adjust to the huge amount of reverb on the guitars and to differentiate between the songs. When it does get past that you do hear much more on each song. I don't think my opinion has changed on any other album so dramatically from first listen to the third which I think is largely to do with the electric guitar tone but also how I heard the vocal performance. The more you listen the more detail you hear in the production and the band come alive.
Drunk me would probably be looking for any opportunity to quote the lyrics. Sober me is a bit more indifferent. In a sober state I would definitely say that some of the songs are minutes too long. Drunk on my sofa, orange casted by the adjacent lava lamp and contemplating life, l would probably think different. Seriocity at least doesn't outstay it's welcome and the drum machine is a nice addition which contributes to a mid 2000's indie vibe.
In Answer has been shamelessly ripped off by the Divine Comedy on Something for The Weekend. It took me a while to remember where I had heard it before so I include this note in the hope that it helps. It has a pleasant synth intro which makes me consider Seriocity and In Answer as a lovely single piece. In Childhood it's nice to sense the band having a little fun even though I think it's about getting old and hints at SA. Drunk me would definitely have an opinion.
I'll Remember is ironically pretty forgettable even if it does eventually build to something noisy and fun. It does serve as a nice end piece to the run of tracks starting at Seriocity. Dr Who makes a guest appearance but doesn't actually say anything. He just arrived in the studio in his TARDIS and seemingly did nothing. Feels like there is more to this song than I know about and I'd have loved that choral pad towards the end to be an actual choir. Love how the bass brings Disc 1 to a very definitive end.
Disc 2 is probably slightly weaker largely due to the snare sound. Being irrational aggravated by a tiny thing feels very on trend for me though. I appreciate the alternative version of Tears and I also did quite enjoy Tomorrow Never Knows. Either version of Tears is possibly my favourite track on the album but I think it's pretty solid overall and doesn't have a strong standout. I appreciate some might argue Swamp Thing is that standout and I wouldn't be totally unsympathetic
I nearly dismissed this on first listen but I eventually land on a high and dry 7
I stopped seriously drinking when I was 17. I wasn't a big drinker but I quickly learnt that instead of becoming giggly and fun I became morbid, somber and exceptionally pretentious. I was in Poland, krupnikked up to my eyeballs telling my mum and dad how Leonard Cohen had changed my life when I suddenly saw a vision of the future me wearing a turtleneck and stroking my goatee. Time to quit both the drink and the English A-Levels.
Being pretty much sober since then has probably made me much less interesting to most people I meet but has made me infinitely more appealing to my wife who has a strong aversion to pretention. I already have an unnaturally high level of pretention that my wife does well to tolerate but if she had to endure drunk, morbid, pretentious me I fear that would tip her over the edge. It's for this reason that I cannot subsequently endorse The Chameleons as my favourite band ever. She already rolls her eyes well I tell her how great Radiohead are - I can't put her through this as well.
Let me be clear I don't think The Chameleons are pretentious but my fandom definitely would be. I can fully imagine drunk me getting the words Carry Me Home tattooed on my arm. I'd probably have a blog on Medium where i would describe myself as a drifting ghost of glass. Everytime I passed a jigsaw I would dash it to the ground just so I could stare down at the floor and pick up the pieces. I would inform my family that I was going in the shower by asking if the storm had come. However it wasn't always like this.
My first listen and everything feels one note and samey. I just don't get it and want to put The Smiths on. By the third listen drunk me would definitely be ready to passionately argue that this version of Tomorrow Never Knows is vastly superior to the Beatles original. Even sober me might be prepared to make that argument. I'd possibly need to be three days into a bender to make the same case for John I'm Only Dancing though.
This is not an album to dismiss on first glance. You need to take it in a little to hear where the vocals are unnecessarily flamboyant rather than miserable like they first appear. They never quite manage to be good but opening track Mad Jack laid a foundation that Bjork happily built a career on. There are some nice things going and he gets the most out of a limited instrument within the punk range. Hard to imagine Celine Dion getting more out of these songs.
It took a while for my ears to adjust to the huge amount of reverb on the guitars and to differentiate between the songs. When it does get past that you do hear much more on each song. I don't think my opinion has changed on any other album so dramatically from first listen to the third which I think is largely to do with the electric guitar tone but also how I heard the vocal performance. The more you listen the more detail you hear in the production and the band come alive.
Drunk me would probably be looking for any opportunity to quote the lyrics. Sober me is a bit more indifferent. In a sober state I would definitely say that some of the songs are minutes too long. Drunk on my sofa, orange casted by the adjacent lava lamp and contemplating life, l would probably think different. Seriocity at least doesn't outstay it's welcome and the drum machine is a nice addition which contributes to a mid 2000's indie vibe.
In Answer has been shamelessly ripped off by the Divine Comedy on Something for The Weekend. It took me a while to remember where I had heard it before so I include this note in the hope that it helps. It has a pleasant synth intro which makes me consider Seriocity and In Answer as a lovely single piece. In Childhood it's nice to sense the band having a little fun even though I think it's about getting old and hints at SA. Drunk me would definitely have an opinion.
I'll Remember is ironically pretty forgettable even if it does eventually build to something noisy and fun. It does serve as a nice end piece to the run of tracks starting at Seriocity. Dr Who makes a guest appearance but doesn't actually say anything. He just arrived in the studio in his TARDIS and seemingly did nothing. Feels like there is more to this song than I know about and I'd have loved that choral pad towards the end to be an actual choir. Love how the bass brings Disc 1 to a very definitive end.
Disc 2 is probably slightly weaker largely due to the snare sound. Being irrational aggravated by a tiny thing feels very on trend for me though. I appreciate the alternative version of Tears and I also did quite enjoy Tomorrow Never Knows. Either version of Tears is possibly my favourite track on the album but I think it's pretty solid overall and doesn't have a strong standout. I appreciate some might argue Swamp Thing is that standout and I wouldn't be totally unsympathetic
I nearly dismissed this on first listen but I eventually land on a high and dry 7
Last edited:
threespires
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Wow, some of you lot are heard to please. I'm renowned for my anti-indie/anti Manc music stance and even I'm surprised (in a good way) by this week's pick.
PS: What's wrong with "Living on a Payer"? It might not be up to the level of the magnificent "Wanted Dead or Alive" but it's got a half-decent story lyric, a superb guitar solo and like him or not, JBJ can certainly sing.
Always dangerous to give something one listen and make your mind up.
As for Livin on a Prayer...I'm the problem, it's me. Thanks to the union the poor bloke has had to pawn his guitar, the poor girl is crying herself to sleep at night and still I don't give a toss about them. My own dad was called Tommy and when he and my Mum (not a Gina) moved to wythenshawe money would have been very very tight, yet even with that knowledge I can't manage a scrap of empathy for these two.
I claim I feel like this because as much as JBJ can indeed sing, to me the way he sings strips the words of authenticity like he's singing of something he's been told about but hasn't experienced. Or similarly that Richie Sambora is technically sound but a bit souless to me. Or most problematic, the dissonance of a song that takes the theme that people can endure when there is hope and that hope is powered by love (arguably the most beautiful thing about humans) and then reduces it to a vacuous fist punching chorus.
However, the more obvious reason is simply that I am so heartless I make Norman Tebbitt look like St Francis of Assisi. So maybe I can't stand it because it's holding a mirror up and I don't like what I see?
It's crossed my mind to watch that docuseries about them (Bon Jovi, not Tommy and Gina) in the hope I soften to them.