a word of disclaimer here. some of these reviews/thoughts as i go through this series are not going to be impartial. well, none of them is, but whatever. i love the stuffies -- always have and, listening again to 'never loved elvis' today, always will. i still have the same bloody crush i had on miles hunt 20 years ago -- in that plaid suit singing 'size of a cow' on top of the pops? my heart skips a beat... and i wish a few other lyricists would have his audacity -- yes, some of the lyrics are hateful and spiteful, but you know? i find life's a bit hateful and spiteful. and, yes, every interview with him could be a trial -- self-belief plus. but i like an englishman with a little sarcasm and swagger, so it worked for me. so did the violins and the accordion.
not all of the songs feel fresh, to borrow a feminine phrase. yes, 'donation', while lyrically a scream, has that waka-waka guitar that populated so many pre-britpop songs of the early 90s (calling all soup dragons)... and that open tuned guitar sent through the tremolo pedal pops up now and again. but really, if you wondered what british pop sounded like before blur and oasis (yes, kids, there was such a time), this is it...
remember when carter usm had that lyric about the grebos, the crusties, and the goths on 'only living boy in new cross'? totally justified my 100% addiction to grebo music -- and the stuffies were right there. no, i wasn't from birmingham. but i'd been there. and that's close enough for me.
ps -- if you do listen to 'never loved elvis', listed to 'the eight legged groove machine' (their first proper album) as well. you won't be sorry!
'never loved the wonder stuff' - me
ReplyDeleteThink this is just one of those moment in time albums and that once the moment has passed - if you missed it you missed it. It sounds fun but it sounds, well, old.