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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential for any musical anglophile, November 20, 2005
This review is from: Singles (Audio CD)
In the 70s it was Bowie. In the 80s it was The Smiths. In the 90s it was Suede. For anyone who believes the most compelling and enjoyable rock music comes from Britian than this disk is a must. Of the 21 tracks 13 are great. Yes there are 3 or 4 embarassingly bad songs on the disk but how often do you find 2 great songs, much less 13 on a single disk?
Suede IS Britpop. Merging melody, metrosexuality, and and nifty guitar work Suede is a band with infectious music. "Singles" will give a newbie a good intro to the band. Hopefully it will motivate you to explore the individual disks. There are so many wonderful songs here that to pick out 2 or 3 favorites is impossible. Suede has been compared to a Morrissey-Bowie hybrid. I'm not sure that is correct. Suede's lyrics are too superficial to compare to Morrissey and Brett Anderson's vocals are not as Cockney as early Bowie. But Suede is the British torch bearer of the 90s. If you had to choose only one Britpop disc "Singles' would be it.
Suede's sound is quite diverse. There are instances of power pop, metal, soft ballads, and just plain camp. Suede was the response and antidote to the boring and languid Grunge. Blur, Oasis, Catatonia, etc... followed but never quite measured up. "Singles" shows why.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly great singles band, May 9, 2004
This review is from: Singles (Audio CD)
Suede epitomizes the glam-pop single. Their career began with three devastating hits - "The Drowners," "Animal Nitrate" and "Metal Mickey," each of which has mysterious, dreamy lyrics and Bernard Butler's brilliant guitar lines driving the hooks home. These songs epitomized fey teenage romance for all ages. "Stay Together," their not-on-any-album masterpiece, is another melody true enough to convince half the world's songwriters to give it up and take up needlepoint. Its lyrics are perfect Suede, with that element of the sinister built in - "There's a time bomb in the high rise"... "We will dance in the poison rain"... There's always something perverse and twisted in Brett Anderson's lyrics. Noel Gallagher even admitted to a journalist - "I write okay lyrics, but I'm not Brett Anderson." Suede's post-Butler career has been better than anyone could expect although never as peerless as their early work - the first two albums and the b-sides collection. This is a collection of stunning pop songs from Britpop's greatest singles band.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great, breathtaking band!, May 14, 2004
This review is from: Singles (Audio CD)
Wow!!! My only introduction to Suede came from a few listens of their first album, which in its own respect was outstanding, but I was unaware of how well they matured as a band. Most debut bands follow up with mediocre, disappointing albums and songs. However, Suede's songs seem to get better and better with time. Suede's music is gritty and hard without abandoning the hooks that make their songs catchy. Brett Anderson's voice is snarly and snide but not devoid of melody or mellifluence. "The Wild Ones" is a great example of this. I bought this album and have listened to it non-stop. Suede meets and even surpasses the fine albums and songs of other great British bands like Oasis, Pulp, and Blur. If you like any one of those, you will most definitely like Suede. Pick this album up if you are unfamiliar with them.
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