Details
Track Listing
1. Friends & Lovers
2. I'd Do It Again If I Could
3. Cocoon
4. Smile
5. You Must Go On
6. No Easy Way Out
7. Everyone I Know Is Falling Apart
8. What Happened to Me
9. Let's Go Away
10. Precious
11. Has Your Mind Got Away?
12. You'll Feel It When You're Mine
| Details | | Producer: | Bernard Butler | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel includes: Bernard Butler (vocals, guitar).
Soon after his departure from Suede, where he had been lead guitarist, Bernard Butler made it clear that, though he was finished with glam revival, he had no intention of abandoning the '70s influence he had helped to engender in his former band. FRIENDS AND LOVERS, his second solo album, maintains that stance, exploring some of the same territory as people like Al Stewart (on "I'd Do It Again If I Could") and Jackson Browne (on "No Easy Way Out"), albeit with a distinctly late-'90s vibe.
The record is at its best when focusing on less aggressive material. On "Smile," a simple acoustic guitar, augmented by synthesizer washes and crow calls, gives way to slow, pounding drums and a sonic density that recalls the spectacular swells of bands like Spiritualized and the Verve. "Everyone I Know Is Falling Apart" is a downbeat, though ultimately uplifting, track featuring brushed drums, reverberating guitar, and Butler's vocals at their most fragile. Mojave 3's Neal Halstead makes a guest appearance on the eight-minute epic "Has Your Mind Gone Away?," bringing with him a touch of his band's spacious lethargy and giving Butler a chance to indulge his guitar-noodling (meant in the best possible way).
Industry Reviews
...FRIENDS rocks....Butler's always been capable of both disarming delicacy and cock-of-the-walk crunch....he's hit a creative growth spurt at the same time that he's pared back the wandering opuses that bogged down his last disc....bringing something new to the table.
CMJ (02/01/2000)
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
All rights reserved.
