MV : "Let the good times be never ending" by The Charlatans

Good times indeed.

The Charlatans - modern nature

Back into 2015 with The Charlatans latest album. Its a long time since "Some friendly", much water has flowed under the bridge since then. But you can still hear elements of the core Charlatans sound in this wonderful album. There is still a "Madchester-esque" beat at times, and plenty of psychedelic organ but there is also a mature and stylish groove underpinning a lot of "Modern nature".

Stand out track is "Come home baby", a simple yet moving song with an irresistible beat, dancey but slow enough for old farts to keep up to. Hey we all get older. "Let the good times be never ending" is another highlight, it rollicks along superbly with dancey and bluesy notes in abundance. The spacey "Talking in tones" is an emotional opener, this album coming after the sad death of founding member Jon Brookes.

The album has no shortage of highlights. Some reviewers have said its their best album to date but thats a too easy cliche to write and can only really be said in the future after the dust has settled a bit. But lets say its one of their best albums, an album of brilliant pop songs by a band on top of their game. Still.

The Charlatans - some friendly

The Charlatans slipped into the Madchester baggy indie scene with this, their debut album, back in 1990 which spawned 2 top 10 pop hits (when you actually had to sell more than 3 records to make the charts too!) In truth the album is a collection of some great songs and some filler but when the Charlatans are good they are really really good which makes the album patchy but essential.

"The only one i know" is a peerless track with some of the best pop melodies around, i still think its one of the best indie tracks ever recorded... and its broken through into the mainstream pop consciousness (the last time i heard it was in a Harvester).

"Then" and "Sproston green" are also excellent indie pop tracks bringing in baggy beat into a neo-psychedelic helter skelter. "You're not very well" is also a bit decent though some of the other tracks get lost in their own mediocrity. But hey its a debut and as a debut it was very good and started the band off on a long career. Come 2015 and their latest album is also wonderful but thats a story for another day...

The Charlatans - melting pot (Beggars Banquet CD)

When i was young, at polytechnic (and an idiot), the Charlatans were an essential part of my life soundtrack. But then the baggy scene they had been a part of (though a bit of a later addition to be true) died away, the Charlatans went a bit more rock as part of the new Brit Pop scene and i thought they were now rubbish. Like i said i was an idiot as the total opposite was true... though the Brit Pop scene in general was a bit rubbish. This compilation brings together key tracks and hits from their early years with Beggars Banquet and its a pretty great selection of early-mid 90s indie too from the fall-out of baggy to Brit Pop.

We start off with their baggy-era and iconic early 90s tracks like "The only one I know", "Then" and "Weirdo". They still sound refreshingly neo-psychedelic and naive, plenty of organ and an indie beat with superb pop harmonies and melodies.

Later tracks like "I never want an easy life..." and "Jesus hairdo" i frowned upon back in the 90s (i.e. my idiot stage) but now i recognise them for the more-mature rock hits that they are fitting perfectly into the heavier mid to late 90s indie scene. They captured the zeitgeist perfectly with good quality indie rock, i guess i just wanted them to redo "Then" and "Weirdo" over and over again. The world moved on, the Charlatans moved on and finally i did too.