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Elly Roberts reviews
Parlophone
- October 2007
- Rating: 8/10
Hey man, Pete finally gets down to work! Really.
OK, so we all know Pete Doherty as a drug addled prat and for on-off Kate Mossrelationship, but to be honest, this isnt as bad as expected, though its wayshort of the supposed Doherty genius. In fact its a really decent album.Part of the reason for its successful outcome is the production by quality-tweekerStephen Street (Morrissey / The Smiths / Blur ) and Michael Whitnalls guitar wizardry.
Among some of the rock, theres a touch of accesssible Brit Pop, though this isstill very much Petes album. Even Kate gets four co-written credits. Will sheget any royalties I wonder? Needless to say, there are glimpses of their deadrelationship seeping through, which was alive then of course.
So, is it any good? Id love to say it isnt, and eternally demonise him, butI cant help liking it. For some time, too long to remember, Ive regularlyslagged him off, and I think, rightly so, but this is the biggest surprise since..well, you dont wanna know about them anyway.
Yes, having even bought Kinks-like single Delivery, which is superb bythe way, there are even bigger surprises musically. This may be due to newguitarist Michael Whitnall who certainly knows his axe, and Streets skills onthe desk. Surprisingly, its not shambolic like its predecessor Down In Albion.
Its a bit of a shakey start though, as they tentatively find their feet. Bythe time they hit Brit-Poppish You Talk (a Kate and Pete collusion remember -a Priory chat maybe?) theyve hit their stride with Blur-like swagger, with athumping riff and catchy chorus to boot. Its good old RocknRoll for Side OfThe Road, in a rough and ready way.
Crumb Begging Baghead, which if you read between the lines is probablya Pete confessional “Dont take me for a sunbeam, (repeated 3 times)Im a crumb beggin baghead baby yeah”. Slap bang in the middle is the bestof the lot Unstookie Titled possessing a Smiths like melody withoutthe miserablists doom and gloom. This is good: very good actually.
Packing a bit of beef, French Dog Blues (not Blues at all) is anotherexample of their well thought out variation. The gentle rocknroller niceshifting drums and pumping upright bass – There She Goes, is furtherproof of Petes real potential, along with the fact it HAS to be their nextsingle.
Ah, but so would romp-happy Baddies Boogie. If weve been waiting fora Pete classic, then the nearest we get is the sublime, and dare I say it,pretty, Lost Art Of Murder, even though the titles nasty. It works,as simple ballad, Pete on acoustic and Whitnall on electric.
Eventually, as a unit theyre pretty tight too, so I think this experience might,just, bring out the best in Doherty. I hope it does, for his sake alone. And,Parlophone must be chuffed to bits with it too.
Not great, but it might be a start of better things.
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Carry On Up The Morning
2. Delivery
3. You Talk
4. UnBiloTitled
5. Side Of The Road
6. Crumb Begging Baghead
7. Unstookie Titled
8. French Dog Blues
9. There She Goes
10. Baddies Boogie
11. Deft Left Hand
12. Lost Art Of Murder
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.