RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Nice review. I agree that "Clear View" is certainly one of the best songs here.
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The Album Review Club - Week #145 - (page 1923) - Tellin' Stories - The Charlatans
- Thread starter RobMCFC
- Start date
BimboBob
Well-Known Member
I agree as well.Nice review. I agree that "Clear View" is certainly one of the best songs here.
Not a lot to add from previous posts but a brilliant pick.
My feet have been tapping a lot the past few days.
Great bass,drums and guitar.Whats not to like.9/10.
Off to investigate more music that i liked in the mid 80's that i have not listened to for ages.
The Woodentops,The Replacements,Spear of Destiny,The Railway Children,The Shop Assistants,Microdisney, and The Mighty Lemondrops.
Scotland had a good music scene with some decent early stuff from Win,Orange Juice,James King and the Lonewolves,Aztec Camera,Bluebells,Hipsway and Deacon Blue.
Deacon Blue had a great first lp Raintown and were shite after that.
Scottish scene at the time was more of a pop scene than indie.
My feet have been tapping a lot the past few days.
Great bass,drums and guitar.Whats not to like.9/10.
Off to investigate more music that i liked in the mid 80's that i have not listened to for ages.
The Woodentops,The Replacements,Spear of Destiny,The Railway Children,The Shop Assistants,Microdisney, and The Mighty Lemondrops.
Scotland had a good music scene with some decent early stuff from Win,Orange Juice,James King and the Lonewolves,Aztec Camera,Bluebells,Hipsway and Deacon Blue.
Deacon Blue had a great first lp Raintown and were shite after that.
Scottish scene at the time was more of a pop scene than indie.
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Microdisney is one of the neat discoveries this thread has offered me after that really good Fatima Mansions record.Not a lot to add from previous posts but a brilliant pick.
My feet have been tapping a lot the past few days.
Great bass,drums and guitar.Whats not to like.9/10.
Off to investigate more music that i liked in the mid 80's that i have not listened to for ages.
The Woodentops,The Replacements,Spear of Destiny,The Railway Children,The Shop Assistants,Microdisney, and The Mighty Lemondrops.
Scotland had a good music scene with some decent early stuff from Win,Orange Juice,James King and the Lonewolves,Aztec Camera,Bluebells,Hipsway and Deacon Blue.
Deacon Blue had a great first lp Raintown and were shite after that.
Scottish scene at the time was more of a pop scene than indie.
Obviously I love Replacements as they were the first record I picked for this thread. I'm familiar with the Mighty LDs and like them too, as well as Aztec Camera (their early stuff at least); Roddy Frame was quite popular among my college friends so we listened to them a lot. The others I either don't know or know vaguely; if you find one that speaks to you let us know!
threespires
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2019
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- 6,168
- Team supported
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Not a lot to add from previous posts but a brilliant pick.
My feet have been tapping a lot the past few days.
Great bass,drums and guitar.Whats not to like.9/10.
Off to investigate more music that i liked in the mid 80's that i have not listened to for ages.
The Woodentops,The Replacements,Spear of Destiny,The Railway Children,The Shop Assistants,Microdisney, and The Mighty Lemondrops.
Scotland had a good music scene with some decent early stuff from Win,Orange Juice,James King and the Lonewolves,Aztec Camera,Bluebells,Hipsway and Deacon Blue.
Deacon Blue had a great first lp Raintown and were shite after that.
Scottish scene at the time was more of a pop scene than indie.
Saw quite a few of those bands back in the day, I seem to remember Spear of Destiny being one of the loudest bands I've heard; old Kirk has had a bit of a torrid time of things over the years. For some reason reference to that era has brought to mind seeing the singer in the Lotus Eaters climb up a couple of amp cabinets and about five seconds after I thought "that silly bastard is going to fall off there" he did just that, thankfully he didn't hurt himself but unfortunately he was able to carry on with the gig.
Last edited:
GornikDaze
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 9 Jul 2012
- Messages
- 9,462
Spear of Destiny was a great live gig back in the day - raucous is an understatement. Mate did a stage dive and found the gap in the crowd - ended up with 15 stitches in a head wound, post gig of course :)Not a lot to add from previous posts but a brilliant pick.
My feet have been tapping a lot the past few days.
Great bass,drums and guitar.Whats not to like.9/10.
Off to investigate more music that i liked in the mid 80's that i have not listened to for ages.
The Woodentops,The Replacements,Spear of Destiny,The Railway Children,The Shop Assistants,Microdisney, and The Mighty Lemondrops.
Scotland had a good music scene with some decent early stuff from Win,Orange Juice,James King and the Lonewolves,Aztec Camera,Bluebells,Hipsway and Deacon Blue.
Deacon Blue had a great first lp Raintown and were shite after that.
Scottish scene at the time was more of a pop scene than indie.
Saw them a few times from Grapes of Wrath,One Eyed Jacks and World Servive Years.Spear of Destiny was a great live gig back in the day - raucous is an understatement. Mate did a stage dive and found the gap in the crowd - ended up with 15 stitches in a head wound, post gig of course :)
Always a good show.
My favourite Might Lemondrops track.Microdisney is one of the neat discoveries this thread has offered me after that really good Fatima Mansions record.
Obviously I love Replacements as they were the first record I picked for this thread. I'm familiar with the Mighty LDs and like them too, as well as Aztec Camera (their early stuff at least); Roddy Frame was quite popular among my college friends so we listened to them a lot. The others I either don't know or know vaguely; if you find one that speaks to you let us know!
For some reason the album is not on Spotify.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Gun-Shy – The Screaming Blue Messiahs
If you don’t tap your foot along to this one, you must have a wooden leg that’s nailed to the floor.
Foggy did me the honour of saying that he picked this because he thought I might like it, so there’s a bit of pressure there. He needn’t have worried because he was right, I absolutely loved it. So, I’m going to heap the pressure back on myself by confidently predicting that this will be sitting inside the top 10 this time next week, and I suspect that JJ Cale will be looking nervously over his shoulder.
I wouldn’t say that there’s much country on offer here, plenty of blues and rockabilly shot through with punk, but importantly for me, just the right amount of punk. The bass and drums on offer here are superb, not so much giving the album it’s trademark boom-chick-a-boom sound, more like boom-chick-a-BOOM!!! I must admit I nearly fell of my chair when Goater described it as tinny!
I’ve said before that I don’t like straight-up blues or country albums, even though I like both genres. I like it more when somebody defies the conventions of those genres and approaches them from a different angle. Even though there’s a Hank Williams cover on this album, you’d do well to point at any song on here and dismiss it as “just another country song”.
Listening to this album, I’m surprised that Foggy didn’t enjoy my Yawpers selection more, because there are similarities although some of The Yawpers songs raised their roots rock and country flag a lot higher.
On “Wild Blue Yonder”, Bill Carter sounds a lot like Mike Peters of The Alarm, which is a compliment as far as I’m concerned. Pretty simple lyrics but “Dance to the moonshine / Dance to the gun” and “Country air is the only air that’s fit to breathe” set the tone nicely.
The bass and buzzing rhythm guitar combination that propels “Holiday Head” is fantastic.
“Smash the Market” is the weakest track because nothing much happens and the chorus is too repetitive.
"Let's Go Down To The Woods" – One of the best tracks on the album, that slinky bass and guitar combination is superb throughout this one, I love the chorus and the fast-fingered guitar just before the outro is mesmeric.
The bass and drums that introduce "Twin Cadillac Valentine" are electric, and the rockabilly feel is strong on "President Kennedy's Mile". I agree with some others who have picked out "Clear View" as one of the standouts - fabulous guitar to start off this adrenaline-fuelled shuffle.
The thing I love about this album is that even on the tracks that don’t jump out at you, there’s always something going on with the dynamics of the drums, bass or guitar, or even just the lyrics, that makes each song highly listenable. “Just For Fun” could have been a bit tedious but I just love the lyrics: “Looking down the barrel of a gun just to see where the bullets come from,” and although he’s getting a bit too shouty on "Someone To Talk To", the booming rhythm makes it a good listen.
“You’re Gonna Change” is a country cover, but apart from the occasional yodel, you wouldn’t know it. Bill Carter definitely sounds like Mike Peters here.
A lot of members on this thread talk enthusiastically about bass on a lot of the music we review. I’m generally more focused on the guitars (and mandolins and banjos) and organs (and accordions) but I think the bass and drums on this album are fantastic. They give the album a bottom end that’s really chunky and satisfying.
Now for that ZZ Top comparison I mentioned in a comment earlier. After years of standard Texas boogie (nothing wrong with that), ZZ Top got a shot in the arm with their synth and guitar fusion that propelled them into the stratosphere with their 1980s albums Eliminator and Afterburner. I don’t think there’s any synth on Gun-Shy, but the overall effect they’ve achieved on some of these tracks is similar to that of ZZ Top’s 80s sound – it’ slick without loosing the earthiness of the overall sound. A neat trick if you can pull it off and on this album they certainly do.
This is a fantastic pick, @FogBlueInSanFran, so thanks for the nomination. It gets a little too shouty here and there, there’s a cover version, but it’s not short of being the perfect album – 9/10.
If you don’t tap your foot along to this one, you must have a wooden leg that’s nailed to the floor.
Foggy did me the honour of saying that he picked this because he thought I might like it, so there’s a bit of pressure there. He needn’t have worried because he was right, I absolutely loved it. So, I’m going to heap the pressure back on myself by confidently predicting that this will be sitting inside the top 10 this time next week, and I suspect that JJ Cale will be looking nervously over his shoulder.
I wouldn’t say that there’s much country on offer here, plenty of blues and rockabilly shot through with punk, but importantly for me, just the right amount of punk. The bass and drums on offer here are superb, not so much giving the album it’s trademark boom-chick-a-boom sound, more like boom-chick-a-BOOM!!! I must admit I nearly fell of my chair when Goater described it as tinny!
I’ve said before that I don’t like straight-up blues or country albums, even though I like both genres. I like it more when somebody defies the conventions of those genres and approaches them from a different angle. Even though there’s a Hank Williams cover on this album, you’d do well to point at any song on here and dismiss it as “just another country song”.
Listening to this album, I’m surprised that Foggy didn’t enjoy my Yawpers selection more, because there are similarities although some of The Yawpers songs raised their roots rock and country flag a lot higher.
On “Wild Blue Yonder”, Bill Carter sounds a lot like Mike Peters of The Alarm, which is a compliment as far as I’m concerned. Pretty simple lyrics but “Dance to the moonshine / Dance to the gun” and “Country air is the only air that’s fit to breathe” set the tone nicely.
The bass and buzzing rhythm guitar combination that propels “Holiday Head” is fantastic.
“Smash the Market” is the weakest track because nothing much happens and the chorus is too repetitive.
"Let's Go Down To The Woods" – One of the best tracks on the album, that slinky bass and guitar combination is superb throughout this one, I love the chorus and the fast-fingered guitar just before the outro is mesmeric.
The bass and drums that introduce "Twin Cadillac Valentine" are electric, and the rockabilly feel is strong on "President Kennedy's Mile". I agree with some others who have picked out "Clear View" as one of the standouts - fabulous guitar to start off this adrenaline-fuelled shuffle.
The thing I love about this album is that even on the tracks that don’t jump out at you, there’s always something going on with the dynamics of the drums, bass or guitar, or even just the lyrics, that makes each song highly listenable. “Just For Fun” could have been a bit tedious but I just love the lyrics: “Looking down the barrel of a gun just to see where the bullets come from,” and although he’s getting a bit too shouty on "Someone To Talk To", the booming rhythm makes it a good listen.
“You’re Gonna Change” is a country cover, but apart from the occasional yodel, you wouldn’t know it. Bill Carter definitely sounds like Mike Peters here.
A lot of members on this thread talk enthusiastically about bass on a lot of the music we review. I’m generally more focused on the guitars (and mandolins and banjos) and organs (and accordions) but I think the bass and drums on this album are fantastic. They give the album a bottom end that’s really chunky and satisfying.
Now for that ZZ Top comparison I mentioned in a comment earlier. After years of standard Texas boogie (nothing wrong with that), ZZ Top got a shot in the arm with their synth and guitar fusion that propelled them into the stratosphere with their 1980s albums Eliminator and Afterburner. I don’t think there’s any synth on Gun-Shy, but the overall effect they’ve achieved on some of these tracks is similar to that of ZZ Top’s 80s sound – it’ slick without loosing the earthiness of the overall sound. A neat trick if you can pull it off and on this album they certainly do.
This is a fantastic pick, @FogBlueInSanFran, so thanks for the nomination. It gets a little too shouty here and there, there’s a cover version, but it’s not short of being the perfect album – 9/10.
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Glad you enjoyed it as I thought you might!Gun-Shy – The Screaming Blue Messiahs
If you don’t tap your foot along to this one, you must have a wooden leg that’s nailed to the floor.
Foggy did me the honour of saying that he picked this because he thought I might like it, so there’s a bit of pressure there. He needn’t have worried because he was right, I absolutely loved it. So, I’m going to heap the pressure back on myself by confidently predicting that this will be sitting inside the top 10 this time next week, and I suspect that JJ Cale will be looking nervously over his shoulder.
I wouldn’t say that there’s much country on offer here, plenty of blues and rockabilly shot through with punk, but importantly for me, just the right amount of punk. The bass and drums on offer here are superb, not so much giving the album it’s trademark boom-chick-a-boom sound, more like boom-chick-a-BOOM!!! I must admit I nearly fell of my chair when Goater described it as tinny!
I’ve said before that I don’t like straight-up blues or country albums, even though I like both genres. I like it more when somebody defies the conventions of those genres and approaches them from a different angle. Even though there’s a Hank Williams cover on this album, you’d do well to point at any song on here and dismiss it as “just another country song”.
Listening to this album, I’m surprised that Foggy didn’t enjoy my Yawpers selection more, because there are similarities although some of The Yawpers songs raised their roots rock and country flag a lot higher.
On “Wild Blue Yonder”, Bill Carter sounds a lot like Mike Peters of The Alarm, which is a compliment as far as I’m concerned. Pretty simple lyrics but “Dance to the moonshine / Dance to the gun” and “Country air is the only air that’s fit to breathe” set the tone nicely.
The bass and buzzing rhythm guitar combination that propels “Holiday Head” is fantastic.
“Smash the Market” is the weakest track because nothing much happens and the chorus is too repetitive.
"Let's Go Down To The Woods" – One of the best tracks on the album, that slinky bass and guitar combination is superb throughout this one, I love the chorus and the fast-fingered guitar just before the outro is mesmeric.
The bass and drums that introduce "Twin Cadillac Valentine" are electric, and the rockabilly feel is strong on "President Kennedy's Mile". I agree with some others who have picked out "Clear View" as one of the standouts - fabulous guitar to start off this adrenaline-fuelled shuffle.
The thing I love about this album is that even on the tracks that don’t jump out at you, there’s always something going on with the dynamics of the drums, bass or guitar, or even just the lyrics, that makes each song highly listenable. “Just For Fun” could have been a bit tedious but I just love the lyrics: “Looking down the barrel of a gun just to see where the bullets come from,” and although he’s getting a bit too shouty on "Someone To Talk To", the booming rhythm makes it a good listen.
“You’re Gonna Change” is a country cover, but apart from the occasional yodel, you wouldn’t know it. Bill Carter definitely sounds like Mike Peters here.
A lot of members on this thread talk enthusiastically about bass on a lot of the music we review. I’m generally more focused on the guitars (and mandolins and banjos) and organs (and accordions) but I think the bass and drums on this album are fantastic. They give the album a bottom end that’s really chunky and satisfying.
Now for that ZZ Top comparison I mentioned in a comment earlier. After years of standard Texas boogie (nothing wrong with that), ZZ Top got a shot in the arm with their synth and guitar fusion that propelled them into the stratosphere with their 1980s albums Eliminator and Afterburner. I don’t think there’s any synth on Gun-Shy, but the overall effect they’ve achieved on some of these tracks is similar to that of ZZ Top’s 80s sound – it’ slick without loosing the earthiness of the overall sound. A neat trick if you can pull it off and on this album they certainly do.
This is a fantastic pick, @FogBlueInSanFran, so thanks for the nomination. It gets a little too shouty here and there, there’s a cover version, but it’s not short of being the perfect album – 9/10.
It is, as I noted, one of those records where I've played it for many others and been quite surprised by how many disparate folks have taken to it in a similar way -- not just politely, but in a "Hey, this is really good!" way.
I think of all the records I've tried to introduce to people over many years, this is the one where the resonance has been strongest.
It's both easy to categorize and hard to at the same time. It's definitely derivative (which I count as showing respect rather than attempting to imitate), but at the same time, it's kind of its own thing.
The great live clips that others have found demonstrate the energy these guys brought to their musicianship. I do agree with others that, at least in the one experience I had, a recording can't quite encompass all they were live -- and that's absolutely the case with one of my other favo(u)rite bands of all time -- Gang of Four -- as well.