Customer Reviews

Mainstream

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Geez...where to begin?

Excellent album. Stunning. Maybe better than "Rattlesnakes," but we're in apples and oranges territory there.

The opener "My Bag," is like nothing Cole has done before. It's very showey and fast-paced and diplays the different kind of production that will follow on this album. Lloyd Cole and Co. are expanding their sound to include more synth elements and a more layered sound, which has done nothing to water down the songwriting here. There is more "mood" happening, and it sounds gorgeous.

The highlights here are "29," "Mainstream," and "Big Snake," a dark jazzy tune featuring backing vocals from Tracy Thorn (from Everything But The Girl). "29" recalls the anxious feeling of turning thirty and taking account of his life thus far, exclaiming finally that he really is a "fool for love." The song "Mainstream" has so many great lines, my favorite being "when am I ever going to kick the curse? I took my medication...I feel worse. Swimming is easy when you're stuck in the middle of Mississippi, all you have to do is crawl." I love that!

The music in Mainstream is like the song...the musical elements are just "crawling" around Lloyd Cole's voice, either at a snail's pace or a gallop, like in "Sean Penn Blues," which I assume refers to the failed marriage between the bad-boy namesake to some singer named Madonna. Haven't heard of her...

Anyway, this is the last album Lloyd Cole and the Commotions recorded together as a whole band, so there are some underlying melancholy elements that are palpable, but the music is still just as playful and wistful as anything else in Cole's songbook to date. Just a really great album!

DO try to get your hands on "Easy Pieces," the band's second album (which I think is only available by import, unfortunately). The album is worth the trouble just for the song "James." Heartbreaking!

Mainstream completes an evolution from the Rattlesnakes debut through the also excellent Easy Pieces followup. The guitarwork is more subtle with less "gee wizardry" jangle from Neil Clark and the atmospherics electronics more prevalent. What remains the same is the excellent songwriting and Lloyd's ability to mix an album with slow introspective songs right along with hook-happy singalong pop tunes. The first three Lloyd Cole and the Commotions discs are a lost slice of 80's (well OK, 1990) pop music that should not be missed. If you like the work that the Smiths were doing at this time you'll probably find a lot here to like.

This is a magnificent album, in the same vein as Paul Simon's 'Gracelend'. On first listen their are several standout tracks, then on repeated listenings the quality of other songs and the lyrics and mucianship reveals itself, layer upon layer. In Lloyd's case he has never had any trouble with wonderful, meaningful lyrics, but the arranging and the juxtaposing musical styles are revelatory. Ditto for Graceland.

The standouts songs initially are 'My Bag', 'Jennifer She Said' and 'Hey Rusty', all of which are very different in style and subject matter. Then upon more listenings, the wonderful title track washes over you before it becomes, as a previous reviewer noted, a lyrical wonderland. Then there is the great track '29' as well as the final track on this mysterious album. 'These days' is a enigmatic little song, but very powerful nonetheless. A great album and wonderful bookend to Rattlesnakes ( was there ever a better debut album?). The irony of 'Mainstream' reinforces it's appeal. Listen and enjoy for eternity....

This album is easily Lloyd Cole's best work. Every track is special. I've been listening to this one for 15 years or thereabouts, and 6 or 7 of the songs have been my favourite at different stages(the title-track being the most recent). The sound world these songs inhabit is a remarkable mix of rock, blues, folk, country and pop. Lyrically too, Cole is in top form, from the playful, throw-away lines of "My Bag" and "Sean Penn Blues", to the truly haunting "Big Snake". An absolute must listen for friends and strangers alike.

This is easily the best of all the Lloyd Cole & the Commotions albums. Sure, it may not have the absolute killer tunes of the Rattlesnakes album, but they are almost as good. It's more of a varied sound and features some of the best guitar work by the guy with the Popeye arms whose name esacpes me. I'm just glad I saw them live on this LP's tour--magical!

I'll totally disagree with the 1st reviewer here. The best tunes are "My Bag," "From The Hip," "Jennifer She Said" and "Mister Malcontent."

"Mainstream" is just OK and I found "29" and "Big Snake" tunes I never plop into my iPod at all. Just my tastes.

This was the first album I ever heard by Lloyd Cole (as a college freshman in 1990)and it is still one of my favorites. Loved it then and still love it now. Ironic, poetic, beautiful. Buy it.

Unfortunately, this record is out of print, but I hope they reissue it again