Customer Reviews

Howdy

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After a 3 year brake are the singer-.songwriter trinity of Blake, McGinley and Love back with their sixth studio album. And of course, they don`t disappoint. It all starts with the imminent first single "I need direction" with ba-ba-ba backing and the airy composition we have missed on the last couple of albums. It goes on with Raymond Mcginley compositions like the acoustic "Happiness" and feel good melodys like "I Can`t Find My Way Home" and "The Sun It Shines From You". This is different from all the sad, insensitive, cynisme, that has stamped weight to much of british pop music after "Ok, Computer." Howdy is Beach Boys, Beatles, Bigstar and Byrds, but most of all it`s Teenage Fanclub.

Just call me a bold-faced liar. Were I an honest man, I'd have given "Howdy!" the five-star rating it deserves. But why tell Teenage Fanclub faithful something they already know? Any self-respecting fan has already bought the album; their reading of this review amounts to little more than an afterthought. These comments are intended for the uninitiated masses; the curious onlookers compelled to explore the murky depths of the indie pool in search of something decidedly less MTV inspired. Tread these waters carefully, friends! While discovering Teenage Fanclub may not be as remarkable a feat as unearthing Scotland's more famous offspring, the experience is pretty darn close. Granted, the Loch Ness monster may generate more tourist dollars for her native land, but I'm guessing she doesn't write songs nearly half as catchy.

"Howdy!" marks the sixth commercial release for Teenage Fanclub principals' Raymond McGinley, Norman Blake, and Gerard Love. Having spent the better part of a decade with little more than indie level recognition, you'd think the Scottish power popsters would be embittered by their lackluster chart success. Far from being soured, "Howdy!" -- with its jocularly dismissive title and album cover artwork more befitting a preschool pencil sketch -- reaffirms Teenage Fanclub as premier craftsmen of joyful, unadulterated pop. This is a collection of happy songs, yes, but deceptively so. Beneath the whimsical album title and colorful melodies, the boys are clearly dragging some emotional baggage. Fortunately, the Fannies were never ones to hide their feelings.

Ever the democracy, McGinley, Blake, and Love share songwriting responsibilities, with each contributing four tracks to the album. McGinley, chronically overshadowed by his bandmates, proves himself to be a more disciplined composer with each album. "The Sun Shines From You" is a standout. With its acoustically-charged riff and cheerful melody, the song is tailor-made for carefree summer days. "I Can't Find My Way Home" and "Happiness" are mature efforts as well, though McGinley's voice does tend to wear on the listener after a few tracks. Just when I thought the Fannies had abandoned their penchant for endless fadeouts, McGinley steps up to the plate with "My Uptight Life". In the time it took this song to fade from chorus, I could have married, raised children, and put them through college. Though slightly overdone, the song is a pleasant reminder of Fannie fadeouts past.

Perhaps my expectations of Norman Blake are too high. Considering he's penned such Fanclub classics as "The Concept", "Neil Jung", and "Planets", my hopes for his latest compositions could not have been anything less than lofty. This may explain why I came away from "Howdy!" feeling slightly disappointed. "Dumb Dumb Dumb" is a bland effort that would have benefited greatly from a chorus or middle eight. "Accidental Life" and "Straight and Narrow", while not without their charm, lack the usual Blakean flare. Blake's strongest contribution, "If I Never See You Again", is an emotional acoustic piece that would fit equally as well on any R.E.M. album (perhaps the Fannies' tour with the Georgia-based lads rubbed off on Norman more than he realized). The delicate song is a fitting closer for the album. A good collection of Blake songs, but Fanclub fans have grown accustomed to greatness.

Odds are Gerard Love won't be sainted in his lifetime or beyond. However, it is a safe bet the musical gods will one day welcome him into their midst. Assuming, of course, Love hasn't already achieved a higher plane of awareness (how else can one explain Gerry's ability to write such divine music?). "I Need Direction", with its Beatlesque drum fills and 'bah bah bah' backing vocals, oozes 60's nostalgia. "The Town and the City" has a rousing enough horn section and an infectious rhythm to challenge "The Sun Shines From You" as the feel-good-track of the album. While "Cul De Sac" might initially strike the listener as a down-tempo version of Fanclub's "Speed of Light", the song is both evocative and original in its own right. "Near You" is Howdy's signature track. The song is simply euphoric, particularly during the hookline: "I get near, but I never seem to reach you." The listening experience is akin to a flying dream, where you're soaring blissfully above the heavens. Yes, the song is that good! What is even more amazing is when you peruse the Teenage Fanclub catalogue, you'll discover that Love has penned several equally inspiring songs.

"Howdy!" is very good album, an absolute must for any completist, but the band has done better. I recently reviewed Teenage Fanclub's previous release, "Songs from Northern Britain".... New fans may wish to start with this album, instead, or perhaps "Grand Prix", arguably the Fannies' catchiest collection of songs to date. In the end, it doesn't really matter where you begin your collection. Once you've listened to one album, you'll likely buy all the others as well. Then you can see for yourself why "Howdy!" really is a five-star album.

In response to the review below that criticized Howdy in the face of Songs From Northern Britain, I feel the record deserves more listens. Right out of the wrapper, I agree it seemed a bit pale, but after four or five run throughs, some tracks surfaced as perfect, perfect Fanclub songs. Love's "I Need Direction" (what a chorus) and "Near You" (there are the layers the below review claimed to miss) along with Blake's "Dumb Dumb Dumb" (hit me on the third try) and "If I Never See You Again" (they still love Big Star)are fantastic.

Alright, so Bandwagonesque was SPIN magazine's #1 best album of the year. But since then TFC have been unjustly ignored in the US (and even in the UK to an extent). I'm sure this unfortunate trend will continue with "Howdy," but let me tell you...you guys are missing out! I have only listened to the album a couple times through so far, but Howdy contains some of their best songs - Cul De Sac, My Uptight Life, Near You, Dumb Dumb Dumb, The Sun Shines From You, and the perfect closer, If I Never See You Again. And of course, I Need Direction, the first single. Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Baaaa!

When I listen to Teenage Fanclub, I am thoroughly convinced that no one on earth has ever made such beautiful music. It's not really true, but it's also not much of a stretch.

Howdy is TFC's first release since 1997's Songs From Northern Britain, and while it may not be as uniformly lovely as that album, or as viscerally exciting as Bandwagonesque or Thirteen, it's certainly welcome and worthy of the Teenage Fanclub name. Howdy is probably stronger song-by-song than Grand Prix and will certainly please their cult fan base. And maybe make a few new ones among the million or so folks who purchased the most recent Travis album, which this crushes like a grape. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

What to expect? More of the same, mostly. Norman contributes the stunningly melodic "Accidental Life" and the bittersweet Chilton/Bell-esque "If I Never See You Again", and the hypnotic "Dumb Dumb Dumb", and (probably) my personal favorite, the radiant "Straight And Narrow"; Raymond comes through on the brilliant "I Can't Find My Way Home", and the gorgeous "Happiness", and Gerry expands his already overflowing songbook of bright pop gems with "Near You", the soul-tinged "Cul-De-Sac", and "I Need Direction", Howdy's Association-esque first single.

While it lacks Songs From Northern Britain's uniformed vision (and its ensemble harmonies), Howdy is more wonderful music from a band we are all lucky to share the planet with. Buy it now, and smile tomorrow.

I almost gave this CD away, because the first few listens were very disappointing compared to TFC's other efforts. I felt that Howdy is basically a repeat of the previous album, Songs from Northern Britain. I do think that Songs is a superior effort. But I was determined to give Howdy a few more chances, because I truly respect TFC and what they STAND FOR: simple and heartfelt songs coming from a guitar pop tradition stretching back to the Beatles and Byrds. They must be the most unpretentious band out there today, and the most democratic. Norman, Gerry, and Raymond share equal songwriting space. Anyway...these are all things I respect a great deal, so I gave Howdy a few more listens. I discovered that it takes time for these songs to sink in, because on the surface they sound like a mere rehash of the previous album. TFC has found their own sound which works for them, and sometimes a band does not need to progress stylistically with every album. Their approach is tried and true. They know who they are.

As to the songs themselves, Raymond has emerged as a writer of equal standing with Gerry. For the first time, I am quite disappointed with Norman's songs, and this is why I held back the top rating. I think his material is dispensable on this record. The more I hear Howdy, the more I like Raymond and Gerry's songs, and the less I like Norman's. But this is also OK. Norman wrote a good share of their best songs in the past, and perhaps it's now time for Raymond to shine. His songs are all very well written, arranged, and performed. His melodies and chord progressions are simple yet effective and unique, always with an unexpected little twist in there somewhere. "The Sun Shines From You," and "My Uptight Life" are my favorites of his songs here. Gerry's songs are always very refreshing and moving, and Howdy is no exception. He is a classic pop songwriter, no question about it.

So basically, the highlights are the Raymond and Gerry songs. The Norman songs are average...not bad, just not as great as the songs from the other two writers. In fact, "Dumb Dumb Dumb" is quite annoying! But again, this band is a true democracy among the three writers, and as I said, Norman was bound to take a back seat at some point. There is nothing wrong with this. Raymond was the underdog for quite a while himself, and now he is showing significant progress. Gerry's material is, as always, excellent. But I would say that sometimes I wish Gerry would articulate his lyrics a little better, sometimes I can't make out everything he is singing. Raymond and Norman both do a better job in that department. But despite that, Gerry's songs are still outstanding, all four of them. The production on this record is--as always with TFC--clear, clean, cohesive.

Therefore I give this record four stars as a good record of straightforward songs by a straightforward songwriting band. It's not a departure from what we heard on Songs from Northern Britain, and it's not quite as strong as that record, either. But it's still a worthwhile effort from a band who ultimately deserves a great deal of RESPECT for sticking together despite apathy from the music industry, for staying democratic, and for sticking with what they love to do...writing guitar-driven pop songs. They've outlasted just about every other band from their era who attempted to do the same thing, and they've remained a true BAND, not a collection of hired hands performing one producer/writer's material. If for no other reason than this, they deserve our respect.

On Howdy! TF tones down their usual power chords. This may be a softer sound for the band, but it is not at all like Travis (as one review suggests.) This is one of the band's most melodic efforts, and it's full of great songs! Thoroughly enjoyable! A must for any Fanclub fan!

When this album first was released in the UK about a year ago, I couldn't wait for the domestic release. I splurged on the import, as I'm a big TFC fan. I wasn't disappointed.

In typical fashion, TFC has made another album full of beautiful, power pop. The one star I dock it for is that (surprisingly), Norman's songs are to me, the weakest on album. However, Gerry and Ray make up for it with some of their best stuff to date - and that's saying no small thing.

Now that the album is available domestically, there really is no excuse to not get this wonderful album.

My previous two attempts to get into the Fanclub -- with Bandwagonesque in '91 and Thirteen in '93 -- left me a bit disappointed, given the buildup at the time. But with Howdy! -- a record so un-builtup it has no American label -- Teenage Fanclub delivers something I didn't hear in those records. It's hard to describe, because it's so rare; it's something like a feeling's meeting its perfect production values. The result here isn't an album that reminds me of my old records, but a perfectly seamless redeployment of pop idioms into a whole that reinvokes what it once felt like to fall in love with an album.

Howdy! is Teenage Fanclub's Skylarking, its All Mod Cons -- which was probably the last record to breathe fresh life into Mod before "I Need Direction." Other songs take me back to the 70s and 80s, in ways that capture what the music of those times was best at expressing. These aren't just echoes; they never feel simulated; you never sense any calculation. The music has a real aliveness and conviction.

Above all, this record is a triumph for Gerard Love, whose "The Town and the City," "Near You," and "I Need Direction" are the highlights, along with Raymond McGinley's "I Can't Find My Way Home," which is just as beautiful as Traffic's song of the same name.

Talk about depressing. Not the album, which is pure joy. Rather, the fate of this amazing little pop band. Back in 1991, their second album (and first good one), a jangly, buzzing little Big Star rip-off called Bandwagonesque, was picked as Spin Magazine's album of the year -- beating out some grungey trio out of Seattle. Spin has come to disclaim that call, but I'm proud to be one of 7 or 8 people worldwide who recognize Teenage Fanclub to be far more interesting than Nirvana. Alas, each subsequent album has received less and less attention, to the point where their latest is (at this writing, 6 months after its release) only available as a high-priced import here in the States. Hard to believe that a band who can consistently come up with so many amazing little nuggets of pure pop right out of the Beatles/Byrds/Big Star songbird can be so overlooked. And while the last few albums haven't been as strong from beginning to end as Bandwagonesque, each has a fair number of unforgettably catchy tunes. This one is no different. The lead off track, "I Need Direction," which sounds like an upgraded Byrds/Turtles/Zombies hybrid, is so good that for the first month I just kept hitting the "back" button and never listened to the rest of the album. No kidding. And the next 4 or 5 tracks are pretty good, too, with plenty of killer hooks and harmonies. Unfortunately, the second half of the album gets kind of dull and repetitive, lacking the drop-dead choruses which make their better songs distinctive (a problem which plagued much of their prior album as well). Still, the album (and the band) deserve better than to be relegated to a UK-only release. "I Need Direction" may be the best pop song of 2000, and thanks to some idiot music industry types, most Americans will never even here it.