Have You Fed the Fish

Badly Drawn Boy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reincarnate Music
• ASIN: B00006LHW4
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,043 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Coming In To Land

2. Have You Fed the Fish?

3. Born Again

4. 40 Days, 40 Fights

5. All Possibilities

6. I Was Wrong

7. You Were Right

8. Centre Peace

9. How

10. The Further I Slide

11. Imaginary Lines

12. Using Our Feet

13. Tickets to What You Need

14. What Is It Now

15. Bedside Story

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The second full-length album (not counting his superb soundtrack to About a Boy) by Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy, reveals the true depths of his songwriting and arranging talents. While his debut, The Hour of the Bewilderbeast, knocked us dead with his fey, indie-folk-rock sensibilities, Have You Fed the Fish shows a musician striving for top-shelf greatness in the pantheon of British pop, à la the Beatles, Oasis, and Radiohead. Lush arrangements with strings, horns, a very grand piano, and guitars abound, with a richness rarely found in pop and rock music these days. Gough's songwriting is topnotch and by turns catchy and clever, stinging and personal. But you've been warned: this album gives us less of the indie-pop hero you may want to love, and more of a classic rock idol in the making. Beck/Elliott Smith producer Tom Rothrock is at the helm, and the glossy sheen that results may offend some lo-fi "slacker pop" aficionados. --Lorry Fleming

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Turning Madonna Down and Calling It My Best Move, November 6, 2002

By 

Joseph Sullivan "Music critic and author" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Have You Fed the Fish (Audio CD)

I picked up this album the day it came out, after hearing one of Badly Drawn Boy's songs on a college radio station a week and a half prior. I hadn't heard anything by him in the past. It turns out the song I heard was "You Were Right," which was a premonition. It is good and right to pick up this album -- you will call it your best move. At the very least, it's a very satisfying listen. The lyrics are ... witty, and the music is varied. Check out BDB's borrowing of Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing rhythm parts on "The Further I Slide," or the funky superfly bassline on "Using Our Feet." Then there's "Tickets to What You Need" which sounds like a take off on the Beatles' "Honey Pie."

The overall mood of this thing is light and celebratory, but also sweet in many places towards that special someone. At certain times, it feels a bit unhinged, which is why I can only give it 4 stars. It comes across as slightly unfocused in some places, overly eccentric even, but maybe that's what we're going for here. (Hey, it worked for the White Album, I guess.) It reminds me a of the eclecticism on the Super Furry Animals' most recent release.

Also, I know BDB's real name is Damon Gough, but any relation to Robyn Hitchcock? If not, they are certainly related vocally.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good album that pales in comparison to Hour, November 18, 2002

By 

"dresneer" (Basking Ridge, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Have You Fed the Fish (Audio CD)

It's been a busy year for Damon Gough, releasing two follow ups to his groundbreaking Bewilderbeast.

Have You Fed the Fish sounds like Badly Drawn Boy's struggle to return to the experimental style of Hour of Bewilderbeast while still retaining the poppy sound of About a Boy. Quite frankly, this is exactly what went wrong with the album.

After an intriguing opening, the title track kicks in with something that rivals REO Speedwagon. Is this good? That's a matter of preference, I guess, but then again, I choose not to own any REO Speedwagon records. 40 Days and 40 Fights is like a Troma film- It's entertaining... sorta. The second to last track What Is It Now is possibly the blandest song to be on a BDB full length.

However, some of the album's highlights are simply incredible tracks. The two punch of I Was Wrong and You Were Right will be the first to catch anyone's ear, particularly with it's American Pie-ish lyrics which I won't reveal here. Centre Piece provides an instrumental that's too good to be passed off as filler. How?'s constant tempo change takes some getting used to, but it is worth it; and the closing track Bedside Story may possibly be the best last song on any LP period.

Personally, I really tried to find this to be a great album; the proper follow-up to Bewilderbeast. With each listening, I liked the good songs more and more, but hated the bad ones even greater. My final verdict was determined when, after listening to Fish, I popped in Hour of Bewilderbeast and realized that Fish just doesn't simply compare to the brilliance of Badly Drawn Boy's 2000 full length debut.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Reply To Bad Reviews!, August 4, 2004

By 

James G "James" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Have You Fed the Fish (Audio CD)

After reading some of the rather negative reveiws on this product I thought I may put the record straight.

This album is absolutly fantastic. You probably will have heard the singles from this album like "Born Again" & "You Were Right". These songs reflect the general feel of the album.

People looking for a straight forward pop, indie or rock album probably won't be impressed. With badly drawn boy you buy the album expecting the unexpected. The slightly weird lyrics, collection of instruments and general aura of the songs is what makes this special. Afterall when you buy an album with the title "Have You Fed The Fish?" do you expect something ordinary?

Many of the songs on the album are happy and cheery in the badly drawn boy mellow way. In all the album is well put together and well worth a listen if your prepared to open your mind.

DON'T buy this album if your looking for straight forward pop, indie or rock.

DO buy this album if you are prepared to open your mind and enjoy this mans musical genius.