Customer Reviews

Shadows

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

 

 

Hard to believe its been 5 years since their last foray into music making, but isnt it nice to have them back.

I went to see them on the opening night of their tour in Manchester and at that time hadnt heard any of the new stuff save for Baby Lee (which tho predictable, is pleasant still brings a smile to your face).. I was struck by how good the new stuff sounded, which boded well for the album.

On first listen i thought it was ok, it didnt have the immediacy of Grand Prix or Songs from Northern Britain,However, repeated plays brought out more nuances with the music and in my opinion some of the songs are up there with the best of TFC.

Ive a lot reviews on various sites and it seems to me that Raymond Mcginleys songs seem to attract a lot of criticism but to me they are the best songs on the album....especially The Fall, The Past and the lovely closing song Today Never Ends (which were played at the concert). Its a bit churlish to single out tracks though as all of them have charm and warmth (a rare commodity these days) but other strong tracks are Shock and Awe, Sometimes I dont need anything to believe in, Into the City.....though others not mentioned are all good

The playing and singing is immaculate, with great and subtle use of keyboards,banjo and pedal steel guitar. Listen to it on headphones and it sounds even better

Those expecting another Grand Prix or Bandwagonesque may be disappointed, but please, stick with it, Its not a sin to listen to beautifully crafted songs that don't rock. Everyone should have some Teenage Fanclub in their lives and Shadows is as good as anything theyve done.

Welcome back !!

As someone who came late to the game on TFC, I can understand some fans' reluctance to immediately embrace Shadows. On first listen, there seems to be very little to distinguish it from a multitude of other 60s-styled pop bands armed with glistening production. There are also those fans who expect to hear the band crank out another Bandwagonesque or Grand Prix, considering it's been five long years since Man-Made was released. Some fan's thoughts when first listening to Shadows: "These songs are weak," "Why are TFC doing lullabies?" or "These tracks just can't compare to the old stuff."

Now that I've had another 10 or 11 listens to this album, each one forcing me to go back and reassess the previous, I can happily report that Shadows is nothing more than yet another excellent, addicting addition to their discography.

Shadows' songs can indeed sound rather pedestrian on first spin, but that is only a result of their subtlety; the guys in TFC were never about wowing you with empty, overly flashy musicianship or songwriting, even when they were young lads on SNL. They had their identity clearly forged from the beginning.

If there is a comparison to make with any past TFC album, it is Howdy! An album clearly indebted to 60s American and British pop, yet staked on the band's own hard-to-define 21st century pop-rock style.

So, songs like Gerard's "Sometimes I Don't Need..." and "Shock and Awe" and Norman's "Baby Lee," "The Back of My Mind," and "Dark Clouds" can seem underwhelming at first. Then, after another play or five, you soon find yourself desperately shuffling through your iPod to find each song to hear that new melody that surprisingly began to entrench itself in your brain.

My one complaint here is a common one with recent TFC records: Raymond. Although he has certainly penned his share of TFC classics (I Don't Know, Tears Are Cool, About You, My Uptight Life, Feel, etc.) any fan of the group has to admit that he just does not have the songwriting chops, nor the voice, of either Norman or Gerard. We all know that the guys truly want to be known as a democracy, and though this may lead to better band chemistry and less of a chance of a bad breakup, this comes at the expense of putting out lesser albums. Raymond contributes two quality songs here (The Fall, Today Never Ends), but even they are weak compared to what Norman and Gerard bring to the table. His songs are too underwritten in comparison, lacking their hooks and style; this problem goes all the way back when the band first started operating in this manner on Grand Prix. His songs I'd more likely expect to hear on The Magic Garden (with all due respect) then on a TFC album.

As for a personal favorite, mine on Shadows is Gerard's "Sweet Days Waiting." It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs the band has every recorded. Bar none. However, there are many tracks here that a fan could just as easily embrace.

Shadows is not a five-star record like Bandwagonesque, Grand Prix, or (arguably) Northern Britain, but it is four-star all the way, and one of the best albums released in the Summer of 2010 in any musical genre. The guys are not in their 20's anymore...they have grown as adults should, and it shows here. If this means more albums such as this one every five years, then let's all hope that the pattern continues for a very long time.

After Teenage Fanclub's brief moment in the spotlight in the early 90's - touring with Nirvana, winning Spin's Album of the Year 1991, etc., they swiftly receded from mainstream attention, but, thankfully, didn't totally disappear. Instead, they maintained a smaller but dedicated audience, producing music of steadily increasing brilliance that has provided this fan with countless hours of joy.

The band is blessed with three fine singer/songwriters - Norman (guitars), Gerard (bass) and Raymond (lead guitar). Some complain that their style hasn't changed over the years. Even if this were true, that would be just fine - the three guys each produce sparkling gems of songs that I usually describe as the best of the melodic 60's (Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds) mixed with the power and crunch that was a requirement of bands starting out in the early 90's. However, their style HAS very obviously changed. Mellowed, definitely - less crunch these days - the sound is cleaner, brighter, more finely polished. As the band has matured, they've grown enormously in confidence and quality, and the quality was pretty damn good from the start.

So, 20 years on, they've produced a stunner. To these ears, their best album to date, and that is no mean feat. If you're new to this band, start here and work your way backwards.

I don't like every song on here, but I must say (after most of a bottle of Cab) that when Teenage Fanclub hit their stride, especially on tracks like "Shock And Awe" (pure f'in melodic power pop majesty) and "When I Still Have Thee", it's magical. They know how to deliver a song and remove their egos from the process - they understand that the best pop songs are simple, and that overplaying would kill the beautiful buzz that comes from experiencing pure pop Utopia, which is what these guys (and very few others in this day & age) deliver. One collective sound. Melody/harmony up yer azz! The world needs beautiful, simple songs w/melody, and thank God we have bands like this one who lift our collective spirits in these dark, uncertain times. They do a better job of it than the f%@&+ng politicians, that's for sure. Thanks lads - this is a stellar release (in more ways than one).

P.S. - As long as I live, "Shock And Awe" will always live in my mind as THE soundtrack for summer 2010. Just heavenly & wonderous - one of the greatest songs ever made.

Just to echo what the other reviewers have already stated here.
No surprises on this album - which is too bad!
It's an enjoyable album and pretty much what you'd expect from the boys. But I thought that 'Man- Made' was an excellent effort and therefore hard to beat. But after 5 years...well, I was expecting a little bit more. But if you're a fan, you'll love it.
Looking forward to the US tour later this year.

Since the beginning, Teenage Fanclub always remained true and
unique. I really enjoyed this album but I have to say, its not
quite as unique as previous Fanclub releases. Memories of the
Eagles even came to mind as I listened, and thats not such a
great thing. The Byrds yes, Eagles no thank you.

The songs here seem slower than most of Teenage Fanclub's
previous endeavors, except possibly their last album "Man-Made".
"Man-Made" was more psychedelic in its approach and effect,
thereby making the slower passages more interesting because of
the psychedelic flourishes.

"Shadows" has a few psychedelic moments, very very few. For the
most part it is very straightforward rural California style late
60's and early 70's pop rock. Yes, "Songs of Northern Britain"
was similar, but also more upbeat and vibrant, with some faster
paced songs.

The first track on Shadows, "Sometimes I Dont Need to Believe
in Anything", is suprisingly written by Gerard Love. This is a
big change because Gerard's songs are usually the melodic upbeat
songs that we really look forward to on Fanclub releases. This
is not the case anymore, as Gerard has drifted off into never
neverland not only on this track but on others as well. However,
I really enjoyed this first track very much with its noisy
background atmosphere and spacey vocals. An excellent track.

Gerard's change of pace is not a bad thing here, its just
different. As track 2 kicks in with "Baby Lee" we would expect
THIS song to be a Gerard Love composition. Not so, as "Baby Lee"
is primarily a Norman Blake track, and the most melodic track on
the album. A beautiful song, played out with a lot of emotion
and lasting almost four and a half minutes, but feeling more
like three. One of Norman's all time best tracks.

Raymond McGinley's track 3 "The Fall" is a brilliant composition
that starts out humble and develops into creative harmonies and
unique chord changes. One of the best tracks on this album. Pure
and uplifting, yet slow and moving in a subtle way that is very
suprising for a Raymond McGinley song. I've always enjoyed
Raymond's songs but this is a notch above the rest.

Gerard Love is back with track 4 "Into the City". A really nice
track with brilliant vocal harmonies. Although not really a
standout composition, this song has some brilliant vocal
arrangements that carry it through to the end. Very nice.

Hats off to Norman once again for track 5, "Dark Clouds". Norman
really comes through with the songwriting for this album. I
usually prefer Gerard Love's songwriting, but not as much on
"Shadows". "Dark Clouds" is just a beautiful song through and
through. Nothing too unique or special here, just a great song.
The snare drum bugs me on this track though, as there is a
double snare kind of thing in the chorus that doesn't fit. The
snare sound on this track isn't very good either. This is still
an excellent track. Euros Childs played the piano on this track. I wish we heard more of that, because Euros Childs is a genius. He fronted the band "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci" for over 10 years and is a great singer and songwriter.

Track 6 "The Past" is typical McGinley style, not a bad song,
but not a great one either.

Track 7, "Shock and Awe" is a Gerard Love composition and a very
nice one. Still, nothing blows me away with this track. Tracks 6
and 7 kind of go together because, well, they are sort of
boring.

Track 8, "When I Still Have Thee", is a Norman Blake track, and
a very nice track again, but nothing great here. This track
sounds like The Eagles and I don't really like the Eagles very
much. I do like the harmonies on this track very much and it has
a nice melody.

Track 9, "Live with the Seasons", is more unique than the
previous 3 tracks thankfully. Nice chord changes, harmonies and
very very nice guitar flourishes. Nice job Raymond!

Track 10, "Sweet Days Waiting" is probably the slowest song
Gerard Love has ever written for a Teenage Fanclub album. Its
really a nice song with beautiful pedal steel guitar, great
melodies. You can slow dance all night long with your lady. Ok,
we gotta pick up the pace though at some point right?

Track 11, "The Back of My Mind" is a really pretty Norman Blake
tune, with excellent harmonies and a very Byrds-like feel the
whole way through. Very nice Norman, your songs just get better
and better!

Track 12, "Today Never Ends" is an uneventful McGinley song to
end the album. Its nice but very slow again and not my favorite.

Track 13, "Dark and Lonely" appears on one of the import
versions of "Shadows". I don't know who wrote this track but I like it a litte better than "Today Never ends" and maybe it should have appeared as Track 12 on the regular "Shadows" album, followed by "Today Never Ends" as the album closer. Its upbeat, melodic and really nice.

Overall, an excellent album with great songs, beautiful
harmonies, and a lot of emotion in the performances, except for
the drums. I don't know whats up with the drums, they aren't too
good on this release.

I hope Teenage Fanclub continue to work with Euros Childs. He is just as gifted as the other members of the band and would make a welcome addition. Maybe he will become a full time member of the band? Who knows. I believe Euros was around 17 years old when Gorky's Zygotic Mynci formed in the early 90's. His musical output through the years has been incredible, check out Gorky's albums "Tatay" and "Bywd Time".

Somewhat slow for my taste, it seems like so much music coming
out right now is so slow for some reason. I wish Teenage Fanclub
would have really picked up the pace and included some really
fast tracks like they did on Thirteen and Bandwagonesque. Maybe
next time, but for now, we have another excellent album by
Teenage Fanclub to keep us company on the open road. At least we
will be driving a little slower for now...

There's a couple of great moments in this album, babylee and when I still have thee are classic fanclub tunes. The downside is this is the third mediocre Teenage Fanclub album on the trot, so it looks like the band are way by their best and Norman Blake seems to be the only one of them with the ability to write a descent tune nowadays. I would say this one is for the hardcore fans, they really have released alot better.[but not lately]