Customer Reviews

Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six Seconds: A Short Cut To Teenage Fanclub

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over a decade ago, amidst the grunge period in alternative music's hey day, Teenage Fanclub was quietly releasing albums on the same SubPop imprint that birthed hundreds of alt/grunge/punk bands that we've all come to know and love. I remember hearing a song of theirs on a compilation, thinking how out of place it sounded among other more disjunct and chaotic members of the imprint, and how a band like this would never reach the pinnacle of success seen by bands with less skill and purity that they possess...because Teenage Fanclub makes the music that you don't fall in love with at first sight, you ease into it until it becomes a comfort....like an old recliner in the living room that's been worn down to your shape...

I've always said that Teenage Fanclub is what the Beach Boys would be if they grew up today and didn't surf. And while this can't really be the perfect album (being a best of...retrospective kind of effort), it's a worthy addition to the collection of anyone trying to get caught up, or needing a crash course in one of the most underrated bands in the world.

Teenage Fanclub played before the Brit-pop invasion, and they're playing just as well after we saw it come and go. Their mix of relaxed lyrics and jangly guitars don't really fit into a genre other than pop, but it doesn't have to. They create the kind of sad, sweet music that manages to have some prestige to it, rather than just sound cheesy or hollow.

"Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From" is a short acoustic number that tugs at all the right strings, while "Ain't That Enough" is the closest proof I can find to the Beach Boys comparison stated above. But even looking at the song titles, "The World'll Be OK", "I Don't Want Control Of You", "Don't Look Back", they sing with reckless abandon about love, loss, peace, etc.....things that should warrant a roll of the eyes but strangely work in their context.

Buy this, and if you like what you hear, go buy the album "Songs from Northern Britain". Find out why Teenage Fanclub has lasted the test of time, and never had to change their tune.

I am not going to bother you lot with too many superlatives about this Scottish band. Needless to say there are ommisions to this 'Best Of' compilation such as Mount Everest and If I Never See You Again, and yet it is a quality retrospective of their work. They remind me of The Beach Boys, not only because of the close harmonies, but also the fact that a lot of the songs are very understated in tone. But also Nirvana, as they could prove just as comfortable with an accoustic guitar as an electric guitar. The MAIN reason why I purchased this album though is because of the 3 new tracks available on it. Of the three new songs I would have to rate 'Did I Say' as not only the best track on the album, but quite possibly one of the most beautiful and uplifting tunes of the last ten years by anyone. Forget Travis, Coldplay and all the other British music chancers of recent years, Teenage Fanclub are the real deal!

There's a Teenage Fanclub song called 'Norman 3' (alas, not on this collection) that follows its first verse with 'Yeah, I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you, and I know that it's you'. After this simple chorus you expect a second verse but you don't get one. Instead the chorus is repeated, without variation, another TEN times - way beyond any conventions of songcraft. At first you feel surprise, then you start to believe that the singer is really in love, then a kind of euphoria takes over as you start to share the same feeling. Another song of theirs (on this collection) starts with a selfless expression of love that must be unique in rock music: 'I don't want control of you. Doesn't matter to me. The very heart and soul of you are places I wanna see'.

Teenage Fanclub sing songs of love. Love for their partners, love for nature (the Scottish Highlands in particular) and love for the planet. Their songs are generous and selfless. They have no trace of archness, hipness or postmodern irony about them. Their songs have gorgeous melodies, aching harmonies and neat arrangements played on jangly guitars. Although they have learnt a great deal from the Beatles and the Byrds, they are definitely their own men. In my humble opinion they are the finest songwriters working today. This CD is an excellent collection of some of their best songs. You should buy it.

This is a well thought out collection of the band's music. A few songs are taken from each record, and so the less catchy songs from Songs of Northern Britain are placed alongside the very melodious earlier songs. The listener is thus aware of the increased maturity of the band with time. Songs like Your Love is the Place I Come From can be ignored on a single listening, but with a few listens, become favourites from the album. Rather in the same manner that Dylan's One Too Many Mornings can be ignored at first.

An essential piece of music for anyone who loves melodies and one of the best cds I've heard in a long time.

In my ever-so-humble opinion, Teenage Fanclub are one of the most criminally under-rated and under-known bands in existence. True, they've shunned the spotlight. But word-of-mouth alone should have made them superstars. That is part of the reason why I'm writing this review.

To limit myself to just one descriptive sentence to describe this music: Teenage Fanclub create thoughtful, beautiful, moving rock music. And I am employing those adjectives to the fullest extent possible.

This is a wonderful collection of the highlights from Teenage Fanclub's career to date. The tracks were chosen by the band, and make a great introduction if you are a new fan, or are one of those people who only know them from their brief time in the American spotlight in 1992. If you are one of these people, I strongly urge you to check this out.

Dedicated fans probably have all the studio albums (unfortunately there's only 6 to date), but will agree that they did a nice job of picking the best tracks from those albums. Other reasons for dedicated fans to purchase this are the 3 excellent new tracks, great liner notes (although I bought the UK version, which may be different in that respect) and the remixing of some of the older tracks which give them a fresher sound.

If you're looking for a knowledgable fan's opinion on whether this makes a good purchase, then the answer is, obviously, a resounding YES.

I woke up and looked out of the window and lo! it was raining and the clouds looked like porridge.
I grabbed my iPod and frantically searched it for something to cheer me up. The fannies jumped out at me.
Needless to say the Fannies did their job.In my head the sun is shining and this remains the greatest testiment to one of our greatest bands ever.
Long live Teenage Fanclub.

I'll admit I am normally not a fan of GREATEST HIT albums; but to me - Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Six Seconds: A Short Cut to TEENAGE FANCLUB...exceeded all my past expectations on that account. Many "Best Ofs" feature the band's recordings in chronological order from a debut through the band's last album, which may not have much variety in between. That is not the case for Teenage Fanclub though, they mix up and rearrange MOST of their best tracks on this Jam-packed 21 songs; clocking in at a GOOD 79 minutes worth of music!
So of course the band had to make some omissions, like "Metal Baby" - "December" - "I'll Make It Clear" and others.
It did however include my favorites: "Ain't That Enough" - "Star Sign" - "Sparky's Dream" - "Neil Jung" - "Radio" - "My Uptight Life", really all of them!
This is really all you need if you are at all interested in the absolutely brilliant songwriting skills of this trio: Norman Blake, Gerard Love & Raymond McGinley. Three talented minds heavily influenced by Big Star (you'll see the resemblance once you hear them) putting forth their best all on one Cd. 4766 Seconds...also include 3 new "hits" to add to this release(2003), along w/ 3 each from "Bandwagnesque"(1991) & "Howdy"(2001). There are 2 songs from "Thirteen"(1993) < considered somewhat of a low point in the Fannies' career, but Thirteen has my favorite song "Radio" on it, also on this. Four songs...from "Songs from Northern Britain & Five songs from "Grand Prix"(1995)<their BEST studio album IMO. One last song "Everything Flows"(1990) from their debut - "A Catholic Education. All songs go VERY well and flow quite nicely.
If you are a fan, like me of Big Star #1 Record/Radio City, than I do believe you would REALLY like this. I still get chills once this Cd plays all the way through from opening track to closing track. - 5 STARS!

There were no bands more fun, more diverse, more intelligent, and more talented then the members of Brinsley Schwartz and NRBQ. That is unless you were a Teenage Fanclub fan. While I disagree with a couple selections, this CD is still great enough to prove that they will be forever remembered. Get it and you'll feel good.

There are many fringe-popular bands along all spectrums of rock and pop music who make putting together a greatests hits or retrospective collection a real chore. When most of their singles, let alone album tracks, are relatively unknown to most music buyers from this side of the Atlantic, it is hard to know whether what you are buying represents the best of a particular band that you have "only heard of."

Teenage Fanclub were one of those bands that I had always "only heard of," until about three years ago, when I was going through one of my many Big Star phases. I started with Bandwagonesque, and that quickly turned into a near-obsession that I have not stopped with since. After all that time, I am still not out of my Teenage Fanclub phase.

For the casual listener, this collection will do just fine, and the three new tracks, each written by one of the band's three pop masters (although, to be fair, despite several outstanding tracks over the years, Raymond McGinley is far behind Norman Blake and Gerard Love in quality output, as evidenced by his having only three - not counting the new track - of the album's 18 selected songs listed) stand tall next to their many classics.

The Fannies are simply one of those bands where a greatest hits comp is a sticky proposition. Any fan of classic pop from any era would most definitely benefit from buying each of their seven albums (with A Catholic Education perhaps being the least of them).

Although the band fills up nearly the entire disc, it hardly leaves room for such stunning music in the form of songs such as "Tears Are Cool", "December", "Everybody's Fool", "Fear of Flying", "I Don't Know", "Alcoholiday", "Going Places", "I'll Make It Clear", "Discolite", "God Knows It's True", and "Start Again" (among many others). If you want to know the Fannies, these songs need to be heard as well.

For someone whose taste runs the full gamut of styles, the Fannies have become one of my all-time faves. Buy this album if you only have the need for one, but don't say I didn't warn you of the addictive nature of perhaps the finest, and maybe more importantly, most consistent pop band of the last two decades.

ps for anyone who's looking for a similar pop fix while TF ponder their next move, check out former Fanclub drummer Paul Quinn's The Primary Five. Another fantastic, yet unknown, foray into this same type of sunny, contemplative jangle-rock.

What? No Alcoholiday?!

Still a great collection

The odd edited track from Howdy! but I think this is a good place to begin for the band

Their best remains Bandwagonesque, so maybe pick that up. All of their albums are worth checking out, although Man Made (aside from the opening track Its all in my mind) hasn't really grabbed me

A superb band, and a superb compilation. Well worth checking out! And the new songs (particularly "Empty Space") are fantastic as well

I understand they're still recording, which can only be a good thing. Irresistible pop, really. Check out "I don't want control of you", or "Ain't That enough" Or perhaps even "Start Again" (about divorce, apparently!)

Real good band. VERY highly recommended