Customer Reviews

Return to the Last Chance Saloon

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After being a Stone Roses fan for years, I think the Bluetones can cut it. I'm not saying they are the great Manchester band, but many of the songs are great. I enjoy this album and suggest buying it if you like the Roses, Charlatans, or Primal Scream.

Alot had changed in British music since the Bluetones firstappeared in 1995. No longer is melodic pop/rock the fashion and withthis in mind, it was not surprising when this album did not sell as well as its predecessor. Despite this, it is actually quite a good album. Though perhaps not as consistant and certainly not as easy to pin-point, the album does contain some very good tracks. With a more American feeling running through it, tracks such at 'Tone Blues' and 'Unpainted Arizona' are unlike the usual Brit-Pop sound. However, the band still tend to excel when they stick to great, simple, melodic pop/rock. '4 Day Weekend' is one of two great tracks on the album using a cracking guitar riff and double-time drumming that shows why Brit-Pop is still the most interesting, exciting musical form around. (This song did not even make the top twenty in the British single charts when just two years earlier it would have undoubtably threatened the top ten). The likeable but dragging 'If...' is inoffensive but not particularly inspired except within the chorus itself. Whereas, the lazy 'Sleazy Bed Track' show how the Bluetones have started to widen their sound fitting together the sleazy subject matter and the correct insrumentation well. The second, and last great track on the album is the anthemic 'Ames'. It threateningly builds up before gloriously exploding into the chorus, where Mark Morris is allowed to show his vocal range. With a great rock guitar and melody throughout, this song is one of the most potent things produced by the band. 'The Jub Jub Bird' and 'Heard You Were Dead' work well, and show the rarer, darker side to the 'Tones. The album is littered, however, with too many insufficient, light pop songs ('Sky Will Fall, Solomon Bites The Worm' and 'Broken Star') which stops it from reaching its full potential. But, overall,the LP does show why the Bluetones still have remained with such an underground following years after the Brit-Pop boom.

The latest Bluetones album is amazing....more so than their freshman Expecting to Fly. Last Chance Saloon's songs are better crafted and superbly performed. The Morris brothers have again shown up Brit's babes by producing a well-rounded and well-written extravaganza for the ears and mind.

...as their debut album. This one is a little grittier and has some country and almost cowboy-ish influences befitting the album's title. However, it's a fantastic listen, and songs like Unpainted Arizona, Tone Blooze, Solomon Bites the Worm, and Heard You Were Dead, really grab you in the gut and feature some really dextrous guitarwork from Adam Devlin. Great album.

What can I say? Superb. Both slow and faster songs, well done, great lyrics. One of the best albums I own (and I own an awful lot).