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Some Friendly

 
Album Review: Some Friendly
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Some Friendly

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  • Artist: The Charlatans
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1990
  • Total Time: 47:53
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Emerging out of semi-nowhere -- well, Norwich -- the Charlatans UK were saddled with a name that lent itself to jibes about their quality, perceived bandwagon jumping and the burden of being a one-hit wonder with "The Only One I Know." Then Some Friendly, the group's debut, planted itself at the top of the UK charts; while the rest of the '90s were up-and-down for the band, this album set the band on its way. Drawing on Blunt's background in mod and psych outfits, Collins' outrageously funky keyboards and Burgess' unexpected star quality -- even if his voice wasn't the strongest -- Some Friendly is just that, a friendly and fun vibe. Some of the lyrics betray Burgess' sharp-tongued punk background -- "You're Not Very Well," the opener, expresses anything but sunny sentiments -- but otherwise Some Friendly delivers everything from '60s beat groove to Madchester bagginess with verve. True, the group was still following in the Roses/Mondays slipstream -- "Fool's Gold" was the blueprint for much of the album -- but the individual delights of the slow trance "Opportunity," "Polar Bear"'s upfront rhythms and "Flower"'s slightly ominous funk all show the band's abilities well. "The Only One I Know" remains the best-known cut, Blunt's crisp bass and Collins' Deep Purple-inspired keyboards providing its charge. But Some Friendly's hidden masterpiece comes at the very end -- "Sproston Green," a monster jam based on Collins' supreme keyboard work, with Burgess' soaring lyric matching the massive surge of the music. It remains the concluding number of the band's sets to this day for good reason. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
You're Not Very Well Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes, Jon Baker The Charlatans UK (3:30)
White Shirt Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins The Charlatans UK (3:25)
The Only One I Know Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes, Jon Baker The Charlatans UK (3:58)
Opportunity Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Jon Brookes The Charlatans UK (6:41)
Then Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes The Charlatans UK (4:11)
109, Pt. 2 Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes The Charlatans UK (3:18)
Polar Bear Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes, Jon Baker The Charlatans UK (4:56)
Believe You Me Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes, Jon Baker The Charlatans UK (3:41)
Flower Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Baker The Charlatans UK (5:27)
Sonic Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Brookes The Charlatans UK (3:32)
Sproston Green Martin Blunt, Tim Burgess, Rob Collins, Jon Baker The Charlatans UK (5:10)

Credits

The Charlatans UK (Main Performer), John Baker (Guitar), Martin Blunt (Bass), Jon Brooks (Drums), Tim Burgess (Vocals), Peter Coleman (Engineer), Rob Collins (Keyboards), Chris Nagle (Producer), Polar Bear (Performer)
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Wikipedia: Some Friendly
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Some Friendly
Studio album by The Charlatans
Released October 8, 1990 (1990-10-08)
Recorded 1990
Genre Alternative rock, Madchester
Length 47:54
Label Dead Dead Good Records, Situation Two, Beggars Banquet Records
Producer Chris Nagle
Professional reviews
The Charlatans chronology
Some Friendly
(1990)		 Between 10th and 11th
(1992)
Singles from Some Friendly
  1. "The Only One I Know"
    Released: May 14, 1990 (1990-05-14)
  2. "Then"
    Released: September 10, 1990 (1990-09-10)

Some Friendly is the debut album by the British band The Charlatans (known in the United States as The Charlatans UK because of the 1960s San Francisco band The Charlatans), released in 1990 (see 1990 in music).

Recorded at The Windings near Wrexham, Wales in 1990 the sessions proved somewhat fraught - the band fell out with the owners of the studio; "it was one of those studio bust-ups ... Rob and Martin were up to their old tricks, smashing stuff up and that" said singer Tim Burgess later.

However lack of songs proved to be the major problem. Having been together for less than a year the band hadn't had the opportunity to stockpile songs and the album suffered as a result, featuring a few tracks that "had to go on there just to make up the numbers" (Burgess again).

The band also felt that some songs (especially "White Shirt" and "Polar Bear") were overproduced, with the bass being lost in the mix and that the whole album sounded rather 'thin'.

Both "The Only One I Know" and "Then" provided the Charlatans with hit singles however (peaking at #9 and #12 respectively in the British pop charts) and sales were good all over the world especially in the bands native UK where the album went straight in at #1 in the album charts.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "You're Not Very Well" (Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins) – 3:31
  2. "White Shirt" (Blunt, Burgess, Collins) – 3:25
  3. "The Only One I Know" (Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins) – 3:58
  4. "Opportunity" (Blunt, Brookes, Burgess) – 6:41
  5. "Then" (Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins) – 4:11
  6. "109 Pt.2" (Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins) – 3:18
  7. "Polar Bear" (Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins) – 4:56
  8. "Believe You Me" (Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins) – 3:41
  9. "Flower" (Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins) – 5:27
  10. "Sonic" (Brookes, Burgess, Collins) – 3:32
  11. "Sproston Green" (Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins) – 5:08

Track listing note: The original vinyl release of Some Friendly did not include "The Only One I Know", as it was the band's wish to take only one single from each album.

Personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Peak Position
1990 The Billboard 200 (U.S.) 73 [1]
1990 UK Album Charts 1 [2]

Single

Year Single Chart Peak Position
1990 "The Only One I Know" UK Singles Chart 9 [2]
1990 "Then" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 4 [1]
1990 "Then" UK Singles Chart 12 [2]
1990 "The Only One I Know" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 5 [1]
1991 "Sproston Green" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 25 [1]
1991 "White Shirt" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 18 [1]
1991 "The Only One I Know" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 37 [1]

Certifications

Organization Level Date
BPI – UK Gold October 11, 1990 (1990-10-11) BPI[3]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f "allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kifexqw5ldse. Retrieved 2008-05-22. 
  2. ^ a b c "UK Top 40 Hit Database". http://www.everyhit.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22. 
  3. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". http://www.bpi.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-05-22. 
  • Willis, D. The Charlatans : the Authorised history, Virgin Books, 1999. ISBN 0-7535-0194-5

External links

Preceded by
In Concert by The Three Tenors		 UK number one album
October 20, 1990 – October 26, 1990		 Succeeded by
The Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon
v • d • e
The Charlatans
Tim Burgess • Rob Collins • Mark Collins • Martin Blunt • Tony Rogers • Jon Brookes
Studio Albums
Some Friendly (1990) • Between 10th and 11th (1992) • Up to Our Hips (1994) • The Charlatans (1995) • Tellin' Stories (1997) • Us and Us Only (1999) • Wonderland (2001) • Up at the Lake (2004) • Simpatico (2006) • You Cross My Path (2008)
Compilations
Live Albums
Singles
Related

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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