Customer Reviews

Grand Prix

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teenage Fanclub are so good I can't believe they've failed to break out of indieworld and into the bigtime - still, that's the (lack of) taste of the record-buying public for you. Grand Prix is their best album so far, just shading Bandwagonesque for sheer loveliness. As ever, the Gerry Love songs are the best. The man is a songwriting genius, and if you thought Noel Gallagher was good, just listen to Gerry's efforts on this one - Sparky's Dream, Don't Look Back, Discolite and the gorgeous Going Places - the mono-browed one would kill to write songs like these. Grand Prix mines that seam of melodious guitar pop, sixties style, better than any other 90s album I can think of. Think Byrds, Beach Boys, Big Star, even REM, for that lovely sunny vibe - all jangly guitars and three part harmonies. The album is a bit patchy because of the democratic split in songwriting duties - in all honesty Raymond McGinlay should stick to just playing guitar, but Norman's efforts are pretty good, Tears undoubtedly the best of them. Buy Grand Prix NOW! - it makes the sun shine, even in winter.

This is the best tfc album ive heard. Believe me. Its excellent. Theres no bad song in it. The best song in this album is "ill make it clear". One the best song ever. Btw, tfc never made bad album. All of their album is excellent. Every album have their own greatness. But this is just the best. i never tired of it. Buy this album. CHeers.

Please ignore the last review, even though it is mostly favorable. To call the cover art and title "unfortunate", and especially to say that Ray McGinley's songwriting "falls short" in any way, is pretty ridiculous.

This is one of the few cds I own that doesn't make me reach for the "skip" button from time to time. In fact, I'd say it's probably in my top five favorite albums of all time, period - and I own at least a little of everything from Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline to The Strokes and The White Stripes. It's THAT good. I'm not exaggerating. That fact that it wasn't a huge success is criminal.

The songs are as close to perfect as three-and-a-half minute power-pop songs can be. The only thing that keeps it from being perfect is the inclusion of "Hardcore/Ballad", which I can do without. But that's just me - and at least it's the last song, making it easy to skip.

Really. You should buy this album. Now. I mean it.

This is a fantastic album. The fact that 5 star reviews are still being submitted over 10 years after its release (and they're not the beatles or u2 or anything) should speak volumes. I have played this CD countless times over the years and I am amazed that I am not sick of it. I am a pretty constant consumer of new music. Get this CD - you won't regret it! (PS I've never done an Amazon review before, but the fact that this has had only 22 motivated me). It is melodic, catchy, uplifting and cheeky - in short, a little piece of musical bliss.

Simply put, this is the greatest power pop album of the 90's. Teenage Fanclub deserve to be listed with The Beatles and The Byrds as pop geniuses. Buy this CD! Buy ALL their CD's. You will become delirious with joy! I once met these guys and heard them play for hours. It was the best day of my life!

Some bands try all their careers to achieve this sort of pop masterpiece, and the Fannies crack it on their fourth. Grand Prix is sheer magic, an album of beautiful pop songs, alternately dreamy and bouncy, with a real success-ratio in making you smile. Try Sparky's Dream, Mellow Doubt and the unbelievably gorgeous Going Places for size. Seriously, I can't believe you Americans can buy this for the price, do it now, you won't be disappointed.

Seven bucks for this album? Seven bucks for the best pop record of the 1990s? You're cheating yourself if you don't buy it. Grand Prix, to put it simply, is a record to treasure, There's barely a duff track on there (though I'd agree with the reviewer who suggests that Raymond McGinlay is some way behind Gerry Love and Norman Blake in the songwriting stakes - 'Verisimilitude' might make you cringe). But, oh, those chiming guitars, three-part harmonies and sweeping choruses! You will not tire of these songs.

I will never forget when I watched the video of "Sparky's Dream" on TV, years ago. I sit there through the whole song hypnotized and by the end I ran to the computer to find out more about these guys. I had heard of them before, but never listened to a song.

When I put my ears on Grand Prix, it was like being sent on vacations. Each and every song has a beautiful melody and brilliant lyrics.

And still today when I listen to the album, it makes me want to tell everybody how good it is. And that's why I'm writing this review.

There's already a couple of well-written reviews here and there's not a lot I can add, except to say that this album is special to me and it's always one you can come back to whenever you feel you feel you're losing your faith in music to make you FEEL something. It's not quite perfect, but it's not far short. And when it peaks with About You, Sparky's Dream and Don't Look Back, it's simply gorgeous. It's an album that has enough power to define certain times and places when you listened to it. It reminds me most of walking across the small island where I live in Hong Kong a couple of years ago: a warm, sunny Sunday morning, sea all around, other islands dotted around in the South China Sea, on my way to meet some friends. When music can preserve a moment in time, it's priceless. This is priceless. It's beautiful.

Just like Stimpy said. An album full of stuff so good Alex Chilton would blush.

Ecstasy inducing.