Customer Reviews

La's

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The La's produced one great album. Lee Mavers, in his quest for perfection, went through band members like some people go through shoe--he wore them out and then replaced them. Only the bassist in the band was a consistent member besides Mavers.

That quest for musical perfection led to the firing of a number of producers (including John Leckie of XTC and Stone Roses fame). Finally, Steve Lilywhite (Peter Gabriel, Xtc, U2) came to the rescue. He, too, was fired before the album was completed. Despite the checkered production history, The La's is a terrific album brimming with melody, jangly guitar chord changes and top flight performances.

I would recommend the Japanese import version which has 8 bonus tracks (all previously unavailable on CD b sides with the exception of the single version of There She Goes). This is the completist version of the album. It has everything the band committed to vinyl and had released. A pity that Mavers isn't doing much as he showed tremendous promise with this, The La's debut.

Though they didnt last long after the release of this CD they were together 7 years, 1985-92, some of them went on to form the group Cast. Some how it didnt work for the La's, but this CD tells a different story. 4 years in the making! producer after producer till they finally settled on one. Produced by one of the best, Steve Lillywhite, who also produced XTC.

The group is from Liverpool, and in some ways its obvious, yes you guessed it, the fabs and others, It wont take you long to find out who their heros were.

The song "I can't Sleep" is worth it by it self, the vocals dance for you weaving in and out. and the guitars on this CD, it will hook you and you won't want to listen to anything else for a week. The well known single is on here as well, "There She Goes".

The folky Doledrum is great, the vocals once again weave all over. the Beatlesque "Feelin" you will want to play it again and again on your CD player. "Way Out" this time the guitars do the weaving complete with hand claps (dont hear that much any more. You'll love it!, buy now and enjoy.

Too bad this group saw fit to release only one CD. But what a great one it is! Of course, 'There She Goes' has become a pop classic, despite its middling chart position back in '90. It also blows Sixpence's recent remake version away. The rest of the songs on the CD come close to that standard, while the psychedelic last track brings the CD to a shattering close (a cool way to end it). Very worthy addition for an intelligent pop CD collection - you won't find this stuff on the 'soft and easy' music stations.

I bought this album instinctively based on the reviews I had read for it. Of course I already knew "There she goes" (the original one here, not the recent cover by Sixpence None the Richer). But I hadn't heard any other songs by this one-album wonder.

The first thing that struck me when I listened to it was Lee Maver's voice. While most British artists tend to lose their accent when singing, his Liverpudlian accent comes right through in the songs. This is especially noticeable on the opening track "Son of a gun" when Maver's sings "...well person-arly I think that's fine...if you're in the right mind". Definitely the most unique pronounciation of "personally" that I've ever heard.

What also struck me after the first listen was how different the vocals and music sounded to "There she goes". It's almost like a different band, and I'll admit this was a bit of a shock on first listen. A few other songs, like the tuneful "Timeless melody" and "Liberty ship" struck me as well.

After several listens, the brilliance of the album started to shine through. Suddenly I started hearing things that I'd never heard before: the gorgeous harmonies on "Son of a gun", the brilliant guitar work in "I can't sleep", the superb broadway musical sound of the bizarre "Freedom song".

Then there's "Looking Glass", the superb closer to this brilliant album. I don't think I can praise this song enough, it is the work of genius. Listen to it again and again and you will constantly pick up new things. Listen to it again, and listen CAREFULLY. You'd be surprised what you notice near the end of the song. I won't tell you because it will spoil the surprise.

The best way to describe this album is a charming masterpiece. Sure, it has its fair share of cheesy moments. Take the lyrics in "I.O.U." for instance: "On the street for knowledge...you must eat your porridge". On any other album, I would dismiss this as cheesy rubbish. On this album, it simply adds to the charm.

Lee Mavers, like all great artists, became a little eccentric near the end of the recording of this album. He became a crazed perfectionist, constantly re-recording the songs because he wasn't happy with them. In the end they had to hire a producer to finalise the album so they could release it.

Mavers has since disowned this album. It's a pity, because after ten years, it still remains a work of genius. Not many pop albums have that kind of longevity.

The La's are what music is all about. From the opening chord of Son Of A Gun to the crashing, epic, emotional end of Lookin' Glass this album penetrates your soul. It has the organic purity that cannot be seen anywhere else in any genre of music so perfectly. Some of the songs have only 3 or 4 chords in, but they are crafted so exquistley and with such sensitivity that the result is deeply profound. Lee hated the album as the producer, Steve Lillywhite, finished it with out his permission. The original versions of 'Timeless Melody' and 'Way Out' are both, somehow, superior to the versions that appear on the album and prove that if Lee had been given the chance, he could have made it even better. Lee Mavers is undesputedly a genius, the spirituality that shines through despite Lillywhite's interference is up there with William Blake's most visionary moments. Its from another world. Obviously everyone should buy this album....its the best tenner you'll ever spend.

Okay I remember hearing "There She Goes" when it came out and being blown away by it. I must have played "There She Goes" 300 times the day I bought the album. It's a song that has turned up on many soundtracks/commercials, including "So I Married An Axe Murderer", TV's "The Gilmore Girls", etc. Sixpence None the Richer covered it and committed the crime of getting some of the words wrong-shame!
Lee Mavers is a fractured genius who was hell bent on canning this album by withholding it's release until the band imploded. His aim was perfection but ended up in career suicide. He remains in Liverpool speaking Zen riddles and raising his kids, getting together to record with the old la's but never releasing anything.
One of my favorite tracks is the steady ruminating "Looking Glass". It is characterized by Mavers' singular acoustic guitar sound over a military marching beat. The song eventually samples every other track on the album as it speeds up and careens into bits with the drums toppling over and mics feeding back. Possibly the best ending to an album ever. Also eerily the story of the La's encapsulated into a few minutes.

The first time that I heard The La's was a live performance, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of them, other than that they were an intriguing band. Since that time, this disc has grown on me, and has become part of my being. Challenging at the first listening, as is all good music, each song is unique, without any sense of being forced or over reaching. I will not even mention the single. This disc shall never leave my changer.

Go right now and buy this album. Sadly it's out of print in the USA. It should be in print. Everyone should own this album. It's *THAT* important.

This is the oldest CD in my collection. I bought it as a freshman in college and still have it. I don't let it leave my sight.

The La's have done what so many others wish they could do. They recorded and released one album and then disappeared from the scene. They pulled a Robert Forester in real time! The stories about Mr. Mavers and his band are sad. However, they leave us with an album that is absolute perfection.

Every song has the capability of being a Number One song. They do what a pop song should do...tell a story, have great vocals, lay down a wicked beat, feature tight melodies and harmonies, and finish quickly. This last feature is one many pop bands should learn. Say what you must say and learn when to stop. The La's stop, but you want them to go on. They get it done in three minutes or less nearly every song. That's perfection.

Every time I hear this CD I am magically transported to the days before grunge and after the boy band craze to a time when pop music actually valued melody, harmony, and great lyricism. Do you miss these things in the 21st century? Then buy this record and hear what pop music is supposed to sound like. The La's made the blueprint and disappeared so everybody else could hear what's to be done.

One and done. That's all you need to know. It's that good.

It is one of the most terrible disappointments in music that so many people are blind to the sheer genius of this album, the one and only by the La's. Released back in 1990, it has not aged a day and goes far beyond the simple "60s sound sampling" that a lot of British bands were privvy to practicing back in those days. The entire album is a 40 minute long joyride through sublime melodies, tight musicianship and humorous lyrics. Because primary songwriter Lee Mavers was such a perfectionist, all the songs are perfectly put together - even though he claims he was rushed into finishing the album and handed the record label an album of "demo" quality. This perfectionism also essentially killed the La's because they haven't recorded anything since. The band was a killer live band, due to 12-hour rehearsals to be on top of their game. Mavers apparently still writes songs, but refuses to record them.
"Son of a Gun" is a great little ditty that opens the album, crisp acoustic guitars and a man who's at "loggerheads with his past". Doesn't even reach 2 minutes, but still great. Follow-up song "I Can't Sleep" is another killer melodic song, bouncy and fun. "Timeless Melody" is exactly that. "Liberty Ship" sounds a little like an old sea chanty from another century, huge fun. "There She Goes" is the band's signature song and has relegated them to a one-hit wonder, which is a terrible shame. It's also funny how Sixpence None the Richer, a Christian band, got famous for covering this song: it's about heroin. "Doledrum" is a bouncer about visiting the village of Doledrum, apparently a boring place.
The second side begins with "Feelin" a song with a guitar sound lifted right out of 1966. It's a big song with the Naked Chef, he plays it during the intro to his show. "Way Out" is a simple acoustic song performed in 6/8 time, very catchy. "I.O.U" is just great, another catchy song (aren't they all?). "Freedom Song" is the one song that is cut from a different cloth, an acoustic lament with very sharp lyrics. "Failure" is like a furnace blast, a raucous meditation on teen angst the year before Cobain Americanized it. Album closer "Looking Glass" is the perfect epoch of the La's sound, the longest, most luxurious and most melodic song on an album chock-full of melodies. As the song fades out, snippets from the past triumphs are mixed together and fed through backwards faster and faster until the album suddenly ends. "the glass is smashed..."
I don't know if I sold too many people with this review but I hope you do consider my ramblings as those of a man who holds this wonderful album as a precious jewel in his almost 300+ album collection. Amazing everytime you listen to it.

This album is in my top 5 and let me tell you, I've heard a lot of CDs! I can't believe Lee Mavers is so lazy. Lee, where are you? Noel Gallagher from Oasis said he was the best songwriter of his generation and that's right. There she goes, Timeless Melody and Looking glass are my favorite ones. These songs are just too powerful.