Customer Reviews

Road to Rouen

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best Supergrass album–heck, the best album I've listened to period–in a couple of years. The previous album that had this much of an impact on me (and my stereo which hasn't stopped spinning since) was The Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots". I don't know what these people are talking about calling this album "disappointing"! Far from it! This is simply good music. This is what rock should be. These songs try to take you back to a time when music was in fact music! I can't stop listening to it, whether I'm on the road or in bed. All the tracks are catchy and were instant favorites of mine. And as you keep listening, the songs just keep getting better. You start picking out a riff or a sound that you didn't notice before. "Road To Rouen" is a bit Beatlesque, but in a good way. The Beatles had good song structure, and I think Supergrass is tapping into that on this album. The first track, "Tales of Endurance" starts out like an album should; instrumentals building up to the vocals. This album isn't mellow, but it could be to some people. It's just a bit more relaxing than those prior. If their song "Late In The Day" were an album, this would be it.

Anyway, I highly recommend it. The fact that I'm on here writing a review for it is a testament to how awe-struck I am by "Road To Rouen". I've never had the motivation to write a music review before!

This is another fantastic album from Supergrass. Taken on its own I give it 5 stars. However, it's not quite the kind of album I look forward to from them so it's not my favorite. (My favorites are "I Should Coco," "In It For The Money," and "Life On Other Planets.") I prefer Supergrass' catchy fun pop songs, but this isn't that kind of album. It's a top-notch album, don't get me wrong, I just sorta wish they'd released it under a different band name and also released an album or EP of stuff along the lines of "Grace" and "Pumpin' On Your Stereo."

And by the way, if anyone from CAPITOL RECORDS is reading this: Please get off your butts and start publicizing these guys! It's criminal that they're not as huge in the U.S. as they are elsewhere and it's only because you're not doing anything with them. No one knows about them because they're not exposed to them; there's no media blitz like there is for your other acts. You can start by making them more prominent on your slowwww, awful web site!

The last two Supergrass albums, Supergrass and Life On Other Planets, were both mixed affairs. While their sound, both mellow and energetic respectively, sounded like another step in the right direction, aside from the obvious singles there was a lack of sturdy songs on each disc. Some three years later Supergrass has returned with their fifth full-length and what a return it is. Easily their strongest and most consistent album since In It For The Money, Road To Rouen is worth the wait. This release finds Supergrass mellowing their sound without getting depressing or dull. The album still bounces around with a great, subtle energy finding all the songs brimming with a slowly growing beauty. The opening track "Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)" starts out as a beautiful acoustic number which then transforms, with the help of some majestic horns ala Ennio Morricone, into a full out blues-stomp rocker. It's a great example of Supergrass' ability to twist their songs around while staying inside the same groove and now they show this great talent through the course of nine songs. Unlike prior releases, Road To Rouen stays in the same groove and never seems spastic or inconsistent, even on the hilarious intermission "Coffee In The Pot." Singles "St. Petersburg" and "Low C" find Supergrass in full acoustic mode, both songs being prime examples of just how beautiful music can be. The mini-epic "Roxy," the funky rock of the Curtis Mayfield-esque title track, and the shimmering, electric mod-rock of "Kick In The Teeth" show us that Supergrass can still rock, even if their sound is more sophisticated than the youthful punk of I Should Coco. Despite all these varying styles, none of the songs seem out of place here. Every track on Road To Rouen grows more and more classic with every listen, making it the most beautiful album of Supergrass' career and their best in the last eight years.

I also have been lucky enough to get my hands on this before the US release. As a long, long time fan of this band i continue to wonder how they fly so far under the radar, as oasis, blur, coldplay etc. get so much atention. Sure, i love the grass's more rocking numbers from past albums as much as the rest of you, but this cd's more mellow feel is just fantastic. Mid to late era beatles and the trippy acoustic electric side of zeppelin are splashed all over this disc, just check out the opening track. This is fine work, perhaps their best to date. I do not like to write long reviews, so as a summary of perhaps the finest english band of the last 15 years....put it in your cart now!!!

Kaiser Chiefs have stolen their `cheeky scamps' media ruse, Bloc Party have pilfered their blueprint of energetic bursts and God has thinned their hair, but Supergrass have used these obstacles to their advantage on their fifth studio album. Having debuted some of Road To Rouen's tracks on support slots with Coldplay over the European summer, the follow-up to hits compilation Supergrass Is 10 finds the Supergrass japery of old well and truly exorcised. With the band now into their 30s and a long way from the days when Steven Spielberg wanted to create a Monkees-style television show around their chummy tomfoolery, Road To Rouen ditches the high energy pop of old favourites Going Out, Pumping On Your Stereo and Mary in favour of mellow paeans questioning where the band stand in today's pop world. The fact that this is the first album not to feature portraits of the quartet on the cover acts as an initial pointer to a change within the Supergrass world, with the forlorn lyrics of Road To Rouen finding the band apparently less self-assured than ever before. Once the grinning star of memorable video clips such as Alright and Caught By The Fuzz, a shell-shocked Gaz Coombes now sings lyrics such as `Before you know it's gone, turned to dust' on Sad Girl, `You cut me down, but there ain't no use in crying' on Kick In The Teeth and `I'm going nowhere fast' on the title track with a sense of paranoia and anxiety. While the harpsichord cool of St Petersburg and the spaghetti western instrumental of Coffee In The Pot ease the tension, it's hard to avoid the feeling that Supergrass are feeling spiritually detached from expectations, even noting `We hail commercial suicide' on explorative album opener Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 And 6). Strangely, moving from chipper to chip-on-shoulder has done wonders for the band, with the pitching of pop shackles creating Supergrass' most fulfilling album yet. Far more downbeat than even Life On Other Planets' black moments, Road To Rouen finds Supergrass back on track and offering a great collection of tunes - no matter how grey they fear their future may be.

I first noticed Supergrass with their "We Are Young" video tagged onto the end of the Clueless DVD. Seeing them at The Fillmore in 1997 made me a dedicated fan. But their last release, Life On Other Planets, while still catchy and fun, left me thinking the band was about out of steam and creativity - it also left me wondering if I hadn't put on Electric Warrior by mistake.
I gave my wife Road as a sure-fire Christmas present, expecting good and catchy tunes that were more of the same, but I was blown away when she put it on. Road to Rouen is an album of vibrant color and depth that also captures the energy and buoyancy of the Supergrass we all know and love. Their best since In It For The Money, if not their best - period. And no, the sound is not the same as the raw hormonal exuberance of I Should Coco, just as Revolver wasn't Please Please Me. A great, fully realized album that leaves me eager to find out what they will create next.

When one listens to Mansize Rooster and then Fin off the new album it is truly difficult to believe that the same band wrote and recorded both songs. To say that Supergrass have matured as a band with their unique sound is an understatement. Standout tracks for me are the last two. An essential album.

When I first heard "Tales Of Endurance" on the radio I didn't payed much attention first but when the vocal started I said to myself: I know this voice! That's great!! After a while I knew it was the new Supergrass album which I was waiting for some years. Their last effort ("Life on Other planets") wasn't as great as their older albums but somehow I knew that their new effort will be much better.

First of all, the songs are more mature and the band is taking it real slow in order to achieve a feeling of grandeur.
The best song is definitely "Roxy" where band and orchestra deliver one of the best climax ever recorded by a rock band.
"Sad Girl" & "Keeck In The Teeth" is classic Supergrass while spin-off "Coffee In The Pot" provide an "intermission" between songs. For the first time (since 2nd album "In It For The Money") the band is using more of its multiple talents (singing & orchestrating) to receive one of their best albums.
"Road To Rouen" is an awakening for Supergrass fans and a call back to real music.

Hardly anyone in Australia has heard of Supergrass...it's a real shame because millions of people don't know what they're missing out on...nevertheless I was fortunate enough to hear their self-titled album one night two years ago when a band here threw in a Supergrass CD between sets...and I havent looked back.

"Road to Rouen" sees a maturing of Supergrass. 'Tales Of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)', 'St. Petersburg' and 'Low C' are the elevated moments on this too-short album (9 songs is a bit of a rip-off, hence the 4 stars) that sees a musical development that was touched on with the previous 'Hollow Little Reign', 'Moving' and 'Prophet 15'. You'll be excused for thinking like I do that you're listening to a titivating rendition of "Abbey Road"...there is no mistaking it...it's very Beatleish but that's ok because it works without being tacky. It's low point is 'Coffee in the Pot" which sounds like it should be on a Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass album but Supergrass can get away with it becuase their music is so diverse...I just don't think many people will like it. Overall the album is good; very good. Now I just have to wait for the next one!

Well its nice to see there is still music around thats not marketed to sell, that said, it would be nice if this album was marketed and actually promoted by the their record label a bit more instead of being shunned from the spotlight which it rightly deserves.

This is the best Supergrass album yet, and is a nice improvement over "Life on other planets" which seemed to be a bit lacking in focuss when it came to the songs.

This is an essential album.