No comments about Meltdown/Vicious Circle.

1 comments about Occupied.

1. THE RECORDING IS NOT EXACTLY STATE OF THE ART BUT IS OK. A PRE-REUNION[MEANING NO NICKY GARRAT,ARE YOU DUMB?]ALBUM,ITS PRETTY GOOD OLD
   SCHOOL PUNK ROCK,AND HAS A COUPLA KILLER REGGAES TOO,FIRST TIME FOR THE SUBS!!!!ALAN CAMPBELL[OR THE MIXING ENGINEREER FOR THAT PURPOSE]GETS A LIL ENTHUSIASTIC ON THE PEDAL VOLUME FOR SOLOS,SO WHEN ONE OF EM MANY KICKS IN,YOU FEEL AS IF YOU WERE ATTENDING A LIVE GIG.IT 'S A NICEBUY FOR SUB'S FANS .

2 comments about It's Time to See Who's Who.

1. all i wanted to say about conflict was already covered by the other person that reviewed this cd. so wouldn't it be quite asinine for me to say what i think if it is almost exactly similar to someone else's review? for the sake of taking up space, this is one of the best products conflict has put out. but everything they put out is good. if you like good old anarcho punk and are sick of listening to obscure, meaningless, mundane punk, by all means, buy this.



2. Though the lyrics are a bit dificult to understand at times, the release is excellent. In the mid 1970's, very few bands cared enough about the state of human affairs in England to bring in justices and public boredom into the light. When CRASS ( check them out, too) and conflict came about, they tried like all th eother bands to get played and to gig around. When McLaren picked up the Sex Pistols and touted them about in the media as rock and roll's new bad boys, everyone took notice. It wasn't untill bands like Crass, Conflict, Flux of Pink Indians, UK Subs, et al started to use symbols found in an old Anarchist book did the punk scene in England start to use the familiar circle-A symbols found nearly everywhere in "alternative" music today. If you're looking for authentic punk and what it is doing today, then check out this cd by Conflict. Animal rights, human rights, and anti-government stances are all on this cd. Punk is dead- but independant subvert anarchist rebellion music is not.

1 comments about At the Chelsea Night Club.

1. I've had the lp since it was released. The hits, Suburbs, Solitary Confinement and Offshore were all excellent blendings of reggae and punk (not hardcore). In the same musical catagory as the Specials and the English Beat, that is, high musical quality, catchy, fun songs, and definitely their own sound. Uncut interviewed the leader. They had a label conflict and a 'who should produce us' conflict and he ended up walking away. Shame as they had a real clean sound and this particular lp (course, this is a cd with bonus trax) was always one of my favorites back in the day, crisp, tight, snappy, that sorta UK 'we're from England but we love reggae but we don't believe in sleepy music' sound. I'm buyin' this thing now. chrisbct@hotmail.com

4 comments about Sense.

1. Ian Brodie, Liverpudlian melody master and king of the rif, presents his finest work. 'Sense' is less well known than 'Jollification,' but this really has to be his finest album. Many of the best songs here start with the catchiest rifs you'll ever hear. He builds up the sound, layering his instruments with accomplished ease and adds the smoothest vocals in the business. Try 'Sense,' 'Tingle Tangle' and 'Marooned' for starters, but most of this album is five star stuff. It finishes with one of the all-time classic ballads in 'Thinking Up, Looking Down.' Why are you sitting there still reading this, when you could be clicking away and ordering it?!
   
   Some of the best tracks, by the way, are not on Lightning Seeds compilations.



2. I discovered the Lightning Seeds after seeing the "Life of Riley" video. A catchy, upbeat little number, but nowhere near as catchy as the title track. The first two tracks, right out of the gate, off and running. And it doesn't stop, either, but it does occasionally slow down here and there.

   The album as whole pretty much covers the ups and downs of life. "A Small Slice of Heaven" is my personal favorite of the bunch ("Life's a trial, but who did you leave behind when a small slice of heaven's all you could ever hope to find"). "Tingle Tangle," "Blowing Bubbles," and "A Cool Place" are also very good songs. Not that there's a bad song on the album, though - some just take longer to come around.

   "Thinking Up Looking Down," an excellent title and life theme, completes the compilation in style ("You've shed that skin, it's lying there. Where are you now, I hope it's heaven there. They touch you with that magic touch... and you shine"). I love listening to the entire album just to finish it off with this song (I realize that CD players have a track selection button, but like the rug from "The Big Lebowski," it ties it all together, man). It starts strong, finishes strong, and it provides a pleasant ride in between.

   It all makes Sense.




3. This has to be one of the best pop/alternative releases ever made! I was amazed how complex the music is - it is very layered and the lyrics are very intellectual. I was even more amazed when I found out that 'Lightning Seeds' is really just one guy - he mixes all this music himself... it's just incredible! It's a very fun, summer day CD and got very heavy play in my music store as well as my home.



4. Hey all you Blur "Great Escape" fans...if you liked that, you'll love this album, plus anything by this great, fun, bubbly Brit band. They provide us with great lyrics, and they are oh-so-fun to sing along to. I wasn't a big Brit music fan until I heard The Seeds, and now I'm hooked! "The Life of Riley" is my favorite. I listen to this CD in my car on road trips. Give it a chance, you will not be disappointed!

2 comments about Live Wood.

1. If you don't buy this you must be certifiably mad.
   Passion, delivery, great tunes, no nonsense.
   Weller's the geezer - everybody in the US that thinks they know about music should have this, and everything else the man has done.



2. Forget the original. Here is a tougher, more soulful version of an album with a thousand influences. You can hear the band working together chewing through 20 years of american and british r'n'b. Yeah its a rock record but they hit that groove most of us spend alot of time looking for on almost every track. Beautifully recorded too. (lets hope he does the same to his new jam tart soundtrack - heliocentric)

5 comments about Hindu Times.

1. What band can write such great songs and not include it in the album but as b-sides? It would have to be Oasis where once again Noel proves his talent. Most bands would of added atleast Getting Older as an extra track on the album, but no, not Oasis.
   
   All tracks are so strong and powerful that you won't believe the last two are actual b-sides! Getting Older is definitely one of the most beautiful songs Noel has ever written. Maybe right now is not getting the prompts it deserves but I know some day it will be considered huge.
   
   This is one extraordinary single.



2. Wow Noel is so under-rated it's not funny. I mean come on the guy is a musical genius but how typical for people to admit to those who have talent as opposed to those who are talentless trying to win over the world on false glory. Give me a break! Noel is just an amazing song writer (period) & I already own most of the oasis albums & I think Noel gets over looked more often than not.

   With his sort of genius who needs Liam in the band, just hand over all singing / song-writing not to mention crafty guitar work to Noel & the band will have an album far better than "What's The Story" which is what they've been trying to top but that one Liam (you pulled that off somehow). As for Liam, aren't you always putting Oasis fans to discontent as every time the new album comes out so does your running joke that you are over as a band, man us fans dig people with talent & would only crave to have it yet I think if you went into music than please don't abandon your fans.

   In the meantime I am going to acquire as many oasis cd singles that have Noel's B or A sides & wack them onto one disc & have my very own merry Noel Gallagher album because his stuff is in depth on personal levels where one can relate, enjoy & listen to repeatedly without any pessimistic associated stigma.

   Cheers Noel & keep up the good work.




3. It reminds me of "supersonic" quite a bit. To the people who have been slaggin it off for its simplicity, they don't have a point. What makes THT special is the way the riff flows along with the acoustic and electric guitar. I like the way the sound is crisp n clear and not overproduced(or distorted) like some oasis rockers. It goes back to the basics, I guess that is why it reminds me of "supersonic". Now with the b-sides; "Just Gettin Older" is Noel showing that he is turning into a more mature and classy writer. "Idler's Dream" is in my list of best oasis songs. It is just class, one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in my whole life. I was speechless the first time I heard it. "Idler's Dream" is worth buying the single. Their latest album has a lot of better songs than THT, GREAT first single though.



4. The aside is nice, but the two bsides are two beautiful numbers. Just Getter Older is a reflective number and Idler's Dream is one of the groups most romantic and most lovely songs. Buy! Buy! Buy even if you are not a fan! This single is brilliant and so is "Stop Crying Your Heart Out". Listen Up before you automatically rule it out!



5. Being a longtime follower of their music, I was ready to be disappointed by this new single as I had been by their last album, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. However, the moment the lead guitar kicked in and Liam began his soaring vocals, I knew this was a great song. It's a feel good song you can rock while driving or just at home. As for the B-Sides, Oasis continually puts out great B-Sides and though I had heard Getting Older before, it's still a great song. Idler's Dream is a beautiful ballad with Noel on vocals again (like on JGO). Great way to return to form!

No comments about Guilty/Alaska 127.

5 comments about Melting Pot.

1. Melting Pot is a sort of companion piece to Songs From the Other Side, both released at the end of the Charlatans' tennure on Beggar's Banquet records. While that other album contained the best of the b-sides, this is the best of the single and album material, and a very good collection it is. I seem to be in the minority here...I like The Only One I Know, Then, and other songs from that era, but not as much as the later material. The best songs on this collection, in my opinion, are Jesus Hairdo, Crashin' In, I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There, Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over, Here Comes a Soul Saver, Can't Get Out of Bed, Just Lookin', and One to Another. All of them are slices of British 1990's rock mixed with the best bits of late 1960's pyschedelic and Stones influences. If you've never heard The Charlatans, this and Songs From the Other Side would be great introductions.



2. Everything From the dancy The Only One I Know and Opportunity, through their wilderness years of comparatively weak songs like Jesus Hairdo and Theme From the Wish (which overall don't worsen this much), and onto the scintilatng pop hits of North Country Boy, Just Looking and One To Another, is here.

   Of course no 'Best Of' Collection will please everyone, and I have to say that Telling Stories' title track should've been here. Bullet Comes' sirly psychadelic touches would've been a good addition, and perhaps also a long-lost gem- Life Is Sweet, Chemical brotehrs featuring Tim Burgess on vocals.

   Still, this shows why this is such a top band, the way they have seen in so many styles and kept following their own evolving path. And to correct the other review- they were not booted out by the record label, they chose to move on. So did Shed Seven for that matter.




3. I have never been a fan of 'best of' albums as they seem to be just a way of cashing in on fans, before dropping the band from the record company, as is the case of fellow Brit-Popper's Shed Seven and here to The Charlatans. Having said that, I bought it myself which renders my point useless.

   The Charlatans are still to this day sadly overlooked, depite the fact that they are the soul survivors from the Baggy era and seem to improve with every album. This album shows you their smooth transition from acid-house to Brit-Pop and it includes some of the most memorable hits of the '90's.

   'The Only One I Know' was the song that launched the Charlatans career using Hammond organ which has been prevelant throughout the bands career. Added to this are Tim Burgess' airy vocals typical of the so called 'Madchester' scene of the time. The equally impressive 'Then', hears Rob Collins use of Wurlitzer against Burgess's fine emotional tune.

   The spacey 'Opportunity Three' sticks to the Baggy sound with psychedelic vocals and infectious bass and keyboards behind. 'Over Rising' carries on the album's high standard, this time incorporating backward vocals and excellent keyboard work from Collins showing how the band have remained distinct from fellow Mancunians The Stone Roses.

   The repetitive 'Sproston Green' is saved by the rousing chorus and shows The Charlatans rockier side. 'Wierdo' relies too heavily on Collins' stop-gap organ sound (though he seemed to be enjoying it), and the album falls short of expectations for the first time. Its disturbing sound does fit, though, with the lyrical subject matter, and the song is partially saved by Mark Collins' guitar break.

   'Theme From The Wish' is the first of two (unnecessary) semi-instrumentals which are odd choices for a best-of album. 'Patrol' sees the Chemical Brothers dabbing their hands into the mixing as the album reaches 1994.

   'Can't Get Out Of Bed', 'Jesus Hairdo' and 'Crashin' In' were all written at a time when The Charlatans were unsure of their musical direction, and it shows as the songs fails reach the enthusiasm of Burgess' vocal performance. The psychedelic 'I Never want An Easy...' is one of the few songs from that year that really works on the album, as the song builds up to a great psychedelic-rock climax worthy of vintage Stones.

   By 1995 The Charlatans were back on confident form shown by their willingness to produce the songs themselves. 'Just Lookin'' and 'Here Comes A Soul Saver' are the first examples of more thoughful, sensitive electric guitar being used by the band. Both tracks create a feeling not captured since their debut album 4 years earlier.

   Then follows the first all out Brit-Pop tune - the cracking 'Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over' which points to the bands more melodic future.

   Highlight of the album is the timeless rocker 'One To Another', taken from the bands hit album 'Tellin'Stories' (see my review). It captures the mood of the country during the Brit-Pop peak in the mid-90's and gave the band some rare recognition by being voted as 'single of the 90's' by music magazine, 'Melody Maker'.

   The album concludes with the countryish 'North Country Boy' giving Burgess the chance to show his love of Bob Dylan that he would persue on the bands next LP 'Us And Us Only'.

   Can't be called a great album, as it more a collection of hits. But as these money-grabbing marketing schemes go, The Charlatans' 'Melting Pot' is one of the most deserving.




4. A cracking "greatest hits" collection from one of Britains finest talents.From the baggie opener "Only on I know" with it wonderful hammond sound courtesy of the sadly missed Rob Collins to the pop swagger of "North Country Boy",this would be a fine addition to anyones collection.



5. While the Stone Roses never reached their full potential, the Charlatans have been going strong for ten years now. What can you say about a greatest hits disc? They are a great band, and if you like Brit Pop, you're gonna love this one. Check out the Chemical Brothers mix. Very cool. I know they are in the studio now, so the Manchester sound lives on!

5 comments about Up to Our Hips.

1. I've haven't heard all but one song on this album more than once, but I remember how awesome it sounded! I love the song "Can't Get Out Of Bed". These guys are pretty good. I'm gonna recommend this album!



2. Up to Our Hips was the Charlatans' third album and is up there with the two albums that followed it (1995's self-titled and 1997's Tellin' Stories) as among their absolute best. This album features heavily the funk and groove of the Charlatans, especially their excellent rhythm section. From classics like Come In Number 21, I Never Want An Easy Life...., Can't Get Out of Bed, the exquisite Jesus Hairdo, and the title track to the rest of the album, there is hardly a weak moment on this disc. I would start with the two albums following this if you're just getting into this band and then move immediately to this one...it's superb and the grooves can't be beat. Tim Burgess' vocals are hushed and intense while the burn of the band behind him is fantastic. A phenomenal album.



3. Had this on tape and loved it. Wanted to replace it on CD because this is just timeless and a diamond in the rough. I def. recommend for you folk/rock lovers out there who tend to stray from the mainstream!



4. As a Charlatans' fan, I have to disagree with most of the other reviews, in that I think "Some Friendly" and "Between 10th and 11th" are better and more exciting albums. Although "Up to Our Hips" sounds like it may have been better engineered than the previous two, I find about half of the album tepid, or, in the case of "Can't Get out of Bed" and "Jesus Hairdo," too "sing-songy," if you get what I'm saying. I do like "I Never Want an Easy Life," "Autograph," "Patrol," and "Inside-Looking Out" (once the last mentioned stops sounding like the old Peggy Lee standard "You Give Me Fever"), but really, other than possibly "Autograph," I don't consider any of these songs to be in the same class as "The Only One I Know," "Then," "Sproston Green," "Tremolo Song," or "Weirdo," not to mention some other great songs that came later. "Feel Flows" is interesting in a druggy sort of way, but grows tedious after several listenings.
   
   I guess I could say I like, but don't love, about half of this album, and prefer the Charlatans' prior two releases quite a bit more. But since this and other Charlatans albums have received precious few reviews (as compared, e.g., to the number of reviews for the Stone Roses and Oasis), I feel a certain kinship with other Charlatans fans, and can appreciate the fact that others liked this album alot more than I did.



5. When it initially came out, this album was crapped on by critics and fans who said the album had little focus and even less soul. This couldn't be further from the truth. I've followed the Charlatans since early 1990 and they would never surpass this incredible album. Although I love all of their releases in different ways, this is the one I always come back to. If you're a fan of Britpop with a lovely slice of Hammond organ in the background this is worth every penny you could spend on it (and lucky for you, it's probably not selling for much more than a few pennies when you find it used). Full of punchy production, hushed vocals, and a great drum mix you're unlikely to find another disc from this genre and this stage in the 90s that can surpass this one.