The Album Review Club - Week #144 - (page 1893) - XO - Elliot Smith
- Thread starter RobMCFC
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OB1
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Think someone posted a picture of him in Wolves kit on the post match thread.
JRockBlues
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threespires
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I see what you did there :-) My issue is less the borrowing but more that they seemingly had to be dragged into acknowledging it, though that may have been the record company of course. Though bizarrely the Small Faces did a virtual cover of it that was only credited to Lane and Marriott, so they were hardly the only ones at it either.
threespires
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I Should Coco
Didn’t leave a massive impression though the more I listened to it the more of an opinion I formed on why that was the case.
I think broadly speaking you can tell it’s a debut. Firstly, I don’t think they could sustain a 13 track album straight off the bat and are spreading themselves too thin. For me, it could have done with some more editing and discipline; there’s songs that are a bit samey and then some of the less similar ones feel like ideas that should have been developed further than they were. If this had been an 8/9 album/EP with all their attention going into those tracks, I suspect I would have warmed to it more. But in fairness they’re not the first band to have bitten off more than they can chew on a debut album, and it nonetheless did impressively well given how young they were. I found it and his delivery a bit annoying at times but maybe that's my FOC reflexes just balking against youthful exuberance which at times on this IMO just becomes frenetic to no end.
As I’ve already mentioned, from the general listen around I’ve had I think they he/matured pretty well. I think you can already hear that on In It For The Money which is just much better paced and then through to his solo work which so far I’m enjoying the most.
Sounds like I’m laying into this one a bit but I’m not, it’s an ok debut that shows some elements of promise that were subsequently fulfilled. 6.5/10 and a nice pick that has broadened my horizons.
Didn’t leave a massive impression though the more I listened to it the more of an opinion I formed on why that was the case.
I think broadly speaking you can tell it’s a debut. Firstly, I don’t think they could sustain a 13 track album straight off the bat and are spreading themselves too thin. For me, it could have done with some more editing and discipline; there’s songs that are a bit samey and then some of the less similar ones feel like ideas that should have been developed further than they were. If this had been an 8/9 album/EP with all their attention going into those tracks, I suspect I would have warmed to it more. But in fairness they’re not the first band to have bitten off more than they can chew on a debut album, and it nonetheless did impressively well given how young they were. I found it and his delivery a bit annoying at times but maybe that's my FOC reflexes just balking against youthful exuberance which at times on this IMO just becomes frenetic to no end.
As I’ve already mentioned, from the general listen around I’ve had I think they he/matured pretty well. I think you can already hear that on In It For The Money which is just much better paced and then through to his solo work which so far I’m enjoying the most.
Sounds like I’m laying into this one a bit but I’m not, it’s an ok debut that shows some elements of promise that were subsequently fulfilled. 6.5/10 and a nice pick that has broadened my horizons.
mrbelfry
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In It For The Money is on balance a better album (which contradicts what I wrote just days ago!) however I'm a sucker for songs like Sitting Up Straight and Caught By The Fuzz
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Given where RP is from, that doesn't surprise me in the least. Still, you all are referencing Zep influences on this album, and then I hear a song being discussed on the prematch entrance, and yeah, I'm going to mention it. Uncanny.
And then John Stones delivered his second Hammer of the Gods this season too, so there is that too.
OB1
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They should have given the appropriate credits much sooner. I’d suspect Peter Grant might have been the person who was responsible to the original decisions but I don’t know.
OB1
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Yes; although he’s clearly not in Wolverhampton there.
I remember that pic from way back.
RobMCFC
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I Should Coco - Supergrass
Like quite a few others, with the exception of the ubiquitous “Alright”, I’ve never listened to their music.
Listening to the first three songs, you get the impression that the band have been held against their will and then force-fed steroids for a week before having the doors of their prison flung wide open. Songs with lots of energy and frenetic playing. Somebody mentioned that Gaz Coombes was 19 when this was released and that explains a lot.
I wouldn’t have liked this album when I was 19 as by that time, I’d already gravitated to music played by middle-aged men with everyday concerns, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it doesn’t really hit home with me now that I’m in my mid-50s.
However, there are some good songs that show a bit more craft as the album progresses. “Lose It” starts with a really nice garage rock sound, but the band are in danger of losing me when Gaz Coombes appears to get his knackers caught in the door whilst performing the vocals. Better still is “Lenny”, regardless of whether there’s a cheeky lift from “Whole Lotta Love” in terms of the riff.
“Strange Ones”, despite its forced-punk-vocal in parts has a refreshing change of pace in between the choruses and “Sitting Up Straight” has a similar vibe resulting in a passable two-minute guitar workout.
“Sofa (Of My Lethargy)” provides room for the band to stretch out and is much more up my street that the greyhound-out-of-the-traps approach earlier in the album.
I’m summary, there’s a lot of energy, some oddball moments and a few good songs. As others have noted, I suspect that Gaz Coombes has gone on to do much better because I have enjoyed some of his solo efforts that have appeared on the playlist thread. It’s alright and worth 6.5/10.
Like quite a few others, with the exception of the ubiquitous “Alright”, I’ve never listened to their music.
Listening to the first three songs, you get the impression that the band have been held against their will and then force-fed steroids for a week before having the doors of their prison flung wide open. Songs with lots of energy and frenetic playing. Somebody mentioned that Gaz Coombes was 19 when this was released and that explains a lot.
I wouldn’t have liked this album when I was 19 as by that time, I’d already gravitated to music played by middle-aged men with everyday concerns, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it doesn’t really hit home with me now that I’m in my mid-50s.
However, there are some good songs that show a bit more craft as the album progresses. “Lose It” starts with a really nice garage rock sound, but the band are in danger of losing me when Gaz Coombes appears to get his knackers caught in the door whilst performing the vocals. Better still is “Lenny”, regardless of whether there’s a cheeky lift from “Whole Lotta Love” in terms of the riff.
“Strange Ones”, despite its forced-punk-vocal in parts has a refreshing change of pace in between the choruses and “Sitting Up Straight” has a similar vibe resulting in a passable two-minute guitar workout.
“Sofa (Of My Lethargy)” provides room for the band to stretch out and is much more up my street that the greyhound-out-of-the-traps approach earlier in the album.
I’m summary, there’s a lot of energy, some oddball moments and a few good songs. As others have noted, I suspect that Gaz Coombes has gone on to do much better because I have enjoyed some of his solo efforts that have appeared on the playlist thread. It’s alright and worth 6.5/10.