Customer Reviews

Libertine

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

 

 

I loved Gene's first album, "Olympian." Every article ever written about them mentions the fact that they were often compared to the Smiths. The comparison threatened to sink them, the way the Pulp comparison sank Rialto. So they changed their style - less witty, more personal (and somewhat weepy) at first, then more political. I kept wishing they would go back to the biting, self-mocking lyrics of their early stuff. Saying that Gene are like the Smiths is... a great, great compliment! This album combines the personal lyrics with the wit and ditches the politics. Best of all, Martin Rossiter's songwriting skills are at their peak here. Songs like "Does He Have a Name?", "A Simple Request," "We'll Get What We Deserve" will follow you down the street after one listen. And you'll recite the clever lyrics to yourself. But the real prize here is "Let Me Move On," Gene's best-ever single, probably one of the best Britpop singles period. In fact, it hasn't been released as a single in England yet, and is upcoming here. It is shimmering pop, with heart-tugging lyrics. If you like Britpop, buy this. You'll thank me.

Just popped the Libertine CD into the player. Had the luck to see Gene live at Bumbershoot, in Seattle over the labor day weekend. They played in the EMP Sky Church! Until now, I had not known that Gene existed- a shame, because their current album is super, and they gave a great concert. It has been said that Rossiter is compareable to Morrissey. I'm a fan of Morrissey, and I believe each has its own merit. Rossiter holds his own and Gene comes off with very strong song writing and sense of maturity. If you have the chance, go see Gene in concert- you won't be disappointed. I will be checking out their previous albums to Libertine. Gene was a sweet find to me!

at first, yeah i have to agree that i didn't like this cd. then i listened to it a couple of times and i really began to enjoy it. i put it up there with my all time favorites. actually, gene can't do wrong in my eyes and i am sad that they aren't together anymore. i will say that i am fortunate that i saw them perform as many times as i did and hung out with them. give the album a shot.. listen more than once and you'll love it too!

It took a while for me to like this album. I had to play it 15-20 times before I really "got it". The only two songs that I immediately loved right away are "Let Me Move On", which seems to be everyone's favorite, and "Walking In The Shallows", a bouncy pop exercise, which I heard on college radio and which got me to buy the CD in the first place. In contrast, I liked their debut, "Olympian", only after a few listens.

One big difference from "Olympian" and their 2nd album "Drawn To The Deep End" is that Steve Mason's guitars have been pushed back quite a bit, the dramatic solos aren't there and that's a shame since I think he's one of the most underrated guitarists in pop today (notice I didn't say rock as in RAWK - Mason has much more style and finesse). Check out "Truth, Rest Your Head" from "Olympian" or "We Could Be Kings" from "Drawn To The Deep End" for exactly what I'm saying. But here, the piano, not the guitar, seems to play a much larger role on many of the songs.

The melodies eventually rise to the surface: "You" has a breezy quality, similar to "Let Me Move On"; the shuffling noir-ish "Spy In The Clubs" (one number where Mason's guitars reappear) and "Somewhere In The World" is a quiet,introspective closer. Many of the tracks are similar thematically, going over fraying or broken relationships.

So not a bad album but it seems Gene are content to move away from their hip, witty shorter songs to more mature, longer stretched out tunes. Nothing wrong with that.

*** 1/2 stars.

Well, I would say this is a very mature sounding Gene album. It's certainly very good, sounding like a logical progression from Revelations. If you just know them from Olympian, you might find it a bit of a let down. This is a different CD.

My favorite track is "Walking in The Shallows" a bouncy, breezy, dirty tune. "You" is another outstanding track, as are "Spy in the Clubs" and "Does He Have a Name?".

I've really been a fan of Gene for what seems like ages, and I'm happy with how they've progressed.

A simple request, if you like melodic guitar rock, please give this band a try. Often praised/damned with the "Smith's clone" tag, don't let that scare you (fan of the late great Manchester band or not) because, aside from a remote resemblance in vocal tone and phrasing, this is not in your hip older sister's collection of jangle rock. Sonically tougher and much less quaint, Gene can rock lean and mean with the best of them, just don't hate them because the songs are well written with intelligent (not brainy) verses and sweepingly emotive choruses. That said, this particular record features few guitar driven anthems and more piano based songs with string arrangements. Big choruses still abound, particularly in stand out tracks like "A Simple Request", "Is It Over?", and "O Lover". The more complex opener, "Does He Have A Name?", is a beautiful string laden plea to lost love. Despite limited range, singer Martin Rossiter has great instincts here, check also "Walking In The Shallows". His vocals are always impeccably nuanced and varied at the right times; few bands today feature singers that work so well within each song. Their best record remains the stunning live set "Rising For Sunset", released here within the past two years. Until you can track that down, listen to this.

I love Gene. I have been a fan of their music for years. Libertine however isnt what i would consider their best work. I love the cd but i would say to people just discovering gene to buy one of their older discs. like Drawn to the Deep end or to see the lights.

wow. this is horrible. i love Gene's past records and have been following them as a fan since their debt Olympian; but there is barely anything here that has any feeling or any sign of musical substance. the only songs that i can halfway enjoy are the opening "Let Me Move On" and the closing number "Somewhere In The World."

the remainder of these songs just sound completely dull, flat, contrived, and just plain uninspired. Martin Rossiter's voice seems to be strained and weak and his lyrics are even weaker. especially on the turgid crap songs like "From Georgia To Osaka" and the laughable "We'll Get What We Deserve" where he tries to write an anthem to the working class citizen; with lines like: "we party so hard and we work even harder." all of this sung over a faux-reggae backdrop...no kidding! it's that bad!

Gene, i ask you: what happened here?

This CD is borderline awful!! "Olympian" and "Drawn to the Deep End" were both fantastic CD's. Something happened on this one. I did not get the "Revelations" CD but I have a feeling based on another review it is similar to this one. The first two albums, which were basically the Smiths of the 90's, were brilliant, send shivers up you spine, works of art - Classics - Epiphany recordings. However, since I last heard Gene, they changed their style - tried to get away from all the Smiths comparisons - Yikes!!, If this is what you get?? I will tell you that Gene is a brilliant band and would love to see them in concert - Hopefully they would not play too many songs from this album. It has little to no emotion compared to their early works. However, the opening song "Let me move on" IS the early Gene and should be downloaded at once if you are a true Gene Fan.

I enjoyed Gene's Olympian immensly. Libertine is not much like that album and I was disapointed. It (Lib) is decent enough but just not as powerful and from the soul. probably because it tries too hard. It never bothered me that they might sound a little like the Smiths. In fact, that's what I liked about them. That they had a similar feel..BUT WERENT THE SMITHS. They were their own thing and it was good. Now it seems they tried to hard to DODGE that comparison and the result is something boring. The lyrics are really too generic and sappy. Musicaly, it is okay. Not excellent but not substandard. But again, the lyrics are distracting. Not to mention the singers voice sounds different. And not in a good way. But in a whiney "I'm desperate to sound different so people won't bother me with comparisons" kind of way. If you're into pop tunes and can deal with not very insightful lyrics then this might interest you. If you're listening to mainstream pop, DUMP THAT POO and listen to this instead. If you enjoyed the energy and sincerity of Olympian, and you want more songs like those then sorry. maybe you won't like this libertine album.