Vol. 1-You Held the World in [Single, Import]

Idlewild | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single, Import
• Label: Virgin
• ASIN: B000066HDU
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,969 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. You Held The World In Your Arms - Idlewild

2. All This Information - Idlewild

3. No Generation - Idlewild

Editorial Reviews

Full title, 'You Held The World In Your Arms'. The first single off the Scottish indie rockers' album, 'The Remote Part'. Tracks, 'You Held The World In Your Arms', 'All This Information', 'No Generation' & the video to the title track. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the song itself only, which is brilliant, June 19, 2002

By 

drew m (maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vol. 1-You Held the World in (Audio CD)

"You Held the World in Your Arms" is available for a free listen over at Idlewild's website. It's worth listening to there, and worth purchasing if you cannot wait for the release of "The Remote Part," which is due in July in the UK, but perhaps not here in the US.

Either way, the song is proof that Idlewild is ready to become the U2 of Scotland. Not only is the song a step up in production values from their earlier albums, but the incorporation of string elements adds a sense of bigness, of rock melodrama, that tells you Idlewild is ready to arrive. Lyrically, the band has somewhat abandoned their near-incomprehensible poetry for a more straightforward song about losing precious time. It's more accessible without being generic, and listeners will be able to identify with its themes instantly.

In terms of melody, Idlewild has taken their Clash-meets-Nirvana sound and added a pop sensibility that fits right in with pre-Joshua Tree U2. It's serious without being depressing, which is something most rock records today forget to be. This is as direct as rock and roll gets, and that's why it works so well. "You Held the World in Your Arms" would be a worldwide smash, if this was 1984. But today, in an age where recording artists are still in debt if they sell five million records, the song itself isn't enough. It needs a gimmick to go with it. Idlewild have none, which is wonderful for true music fans, but lousy for shady record execs.