Born in the UK

Badly Drawn Boy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B000IFRR44
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,678 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With a new record label behind him and his most elaborate and pop-oriented backing music to date, Damon Gough a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy tackles the subject of his youth in the United Kingdom on this quasi-concept record. The album, which was completely recorded twice, is clearly a watershed moment for Gough, whose lyrics about his native land are often enough unapologetically proud. With more than a little nod to Bruce Springsteen, Gough covers the '70s and '80s in his own country: the Silver Jubilee, nuclear fear, the Falklands War, and everything in between--all in a highly personal way. The piano plus backing band effect at times recalls Billy Joel and Ben Folds. "Welcome to the Overground," with its big, sunshine rainbow backing chorus and piano-driven groove, seems like a lead song from a '70s rock opera about one of the disciples, or some lost Up With People! song. Other tunes, such as "Walk You Home," have an almost yacht-rock sheen to them. Overall, when it doesn't allow sentiment to bleed into overt sentimentality, Born in the U.K. is a moving, cinematic effort. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

Damon Gough, the British singer/songwriter known as Badly Drawn Boy, will release his fifth studio album, "Born in the U.K.," via Astralwerks. Working with more than 60 demos, Gough eventually wound up making an album quite different than he'd originally planned. The 13-track "Born in the U.K." offers a much fuller sound than its predecessor, 2004's "One Plus One Equals One." "(That album) was very introverted," he said. "I think this is more accessible, a bit more mainstream. I never use choruses that people could sing along to. But my personal challenge was to make something that could be accepted in a wider fan base."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melancholy Piano Ballades Carry the Album, October 26, 2006

By 

M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Born in the U.K. (Audio CD)

Those who enjoy BDB's lovely piano-based ballades from previous albums will want to check out Born in the UK, which gives a heavy dose of the heavy-hearted piano songs similar to Wildebeast. The lyrics range from the mundane, two lovers going separate paths, to the more provocative--struggling to affirm life in the presence of evil and suffering. If you like this type of music, you might check out the similar crooning from Magnet, Page France, Ronderlin, Midlake, and Radio Dept.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Badly Drawn Boy's Sincerity, November 16, 2006

By 

allismile0 "allismile0" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born in the UK (Audio CD)

"Born In The U.K." sounds like a return to the more basic ballad style that was the structural strengths of "Hour Of Bewilderbeast" and "About A Boy" without sounding at all like a retread of anything he's done before. It's fitting that an album that involves reflecting on the past would bring Badly Drawn Boy back to his strengths.

Although I really liked "Have You Fed The Fish" and "One Plus One Is One", they didn't remind me of the reasons why I got into Badly Drawn Boy in the first place. Damon Gough's strength is in the sincerity of his voice and the honesty of his melody, but those two qualities seemed buried under heavy production and genre-skipping on "Have You Fed The Fish" and One Plus One"- exuding too much effort on the part of the artist to sound fresh. As eclectic as "Hour Of Bewilderbeast" sounded, there was cohesion of melody and approach- all so effortless yet striking; "About A Boy" was even more solid. That, for me, is the allure of those timeless albums.

Born In The U.K., maintains some of the big production values of the latter two albums, but this time he hasn't entirely allowed his ambitions get the best of his strengths. I'd say there are still a couple of over-produced missteps like Welcome To The Overground with it's cloying chorus singing the entire song, or Walk You Home Tonight gluing itself too closely to the 70's Philly Soul blueprint without bringing something new to it (it still a pretty good song though). But outside of those criticisms, this album is a return to form, and a subtle reminder that an artist can return to his roots without taking a step back.

Some of the highlights to this album are:
Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind; simple and epic all at once, the plaintive lyrics swirl gradually into hope and joy as the melody builds effortlessly into a final release. Also, straight from Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run song structure, the title song-Born In The U.K., is full of energy and vibrancy. The nostalgia of past and pride of the present- it shows the power of memory. Some of the other strong songs are Without A Kiss, The Long Way Round, Promises, and Degrees of Separation.

I agree strongly with a previous reviewer who said that this album takes more than one or two listens for it to grab you. It does not have the immediacy of his previous albums- the music is subtler and in that subtlety more power, sincerity and maturity than in previous efforts. So check it out, give it the time and it will be a rewarding listen.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once Again Great album, October 23, 2006

By 

D. Joyce (Boston) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Born in the U.K. (Audio CD)

While somewhat obscure in the US they have released some great material over the last few years. This continues that trend. While a somewhat more challenging album on first listen, the depth of the songs and growth shown are fantastic. Great album front to back.