You This is a very sweet and simple song, unusually for Neil, and pleasant enough. I also find something about the drums through the verses to be distracting/jarring. 'If you're wondering, what the answer is, to the question 'who', it's you (and the dog...)' 2.0/5.0 (points deducted for not drawing a distinction between wife and dog!)
Yes, though there always was some bluesy guitar playing in the beginning, it just fitted perfectly into their songs. With Return To The Last Chance Saloon, they definitely tried to toughen up a bit. That whole Western image in the songs and artwork put me off, too. On a positive note, (sorry about the diversion, @LivingForever, but you triggered this with your Bluetones mention) these are some of my favourite early B-sides: "Driftwood" has a fantastic middle eight at 1:55, which actually has several references to Dante's The Divine Comedy in the lines "The road to Paradiso/Must pass through the Inferno/I keep seeking Purgatorio".
I don't think I've summed up my thoughts on the album in general yet. I thought about waiting till we'd done the b-sides, but as it seems they have little to do with the album stylistically, maybe not. "Regeneration" was indeed an abrupt change in image and direction, but it was heavily publicised as such, so when I bought the album I had no illusions I was about to hear Début du siècle actuel or A Long Album About Bohemianism. I tried to be receptive to the new direction and judge the album for what it was, on its own terms. My conclusion then and now was that there were some excellent songs, some good, and some poor. The better songs tended to be the more serious, melancholy and slow songs, which suggested to me that's where Neil's muse currently lay. I think any fan resequencing or restructuring of the album has to recognise that and give due prominence and emphasis to those tracks, rather than try too hard to liven it up, put more upbeat songs on there and make it something it's not. Some albums are just slow and sad. The two decent singles are good enough to stay but they do stick out somewhat. But that's OK. As I've said, the heart of the album for me - especially lyrically -is three of the last four songs (i.e. not the title track) but a few of the earlier songs also complement these. I think if there were a couple more really good songs like that to strengthen both the identity and quality of the album then this would be one of the band's masterpieces. As it is, it's too uneven for me to rate as any more than a middling entry, though I agree it's more interesting than most of their subsequent albums. The whole fiasco of the band being fired so soon afterwards, and the complete u-turn, really cast a pall over the album (and the next album) too. This whole "we're a real band" schtick always rang hollow and it was soon exposed as lies. I really felt for the other band members, who'd had their roles first massively built up in importance, then taken away altogether. (EEK, I'm having serious déja vu. Sorry if I've written all this exact diatribe already in th e thread). I did not like, and still do not like, aspects of the production. I disagree with the booklover that without Nigel Godrich the album would be much worse. We have no fair comparison to judge that. Neither an audience recording of early live versions, or rejected demos and b-sides are a fair indication of what this album would have been with a different producer. On the other hand it's clearly what Neil wanted, for some reason he was in thrall to Radiohead* and Travis and their ilk at this point and was writing songs to match. And why else would they have waited so long for this particular producer. But I still think under another overseer the trendy trappings of the era would be dialled down a bit. I rate the songs in roughly this order: Lost Property Mastermind The Beauty Regime Note To Self Dumb It Down Timestretched Perfect Lovesong Bad Ambassador The Eye of the Needle Regeneration And "Love What You Do" bringing up the rear way off in the distance. Omit that one song and you immediately have a much better album. *I still like a lot of Radiohead songs but I would much rather hear those songs - e.g. "Fake Plastic Trees", "Creep", and "Just" done with a Divine Comedy style production than I like hearing Divine Comedy songs done with a Radiohead style production. I suppose "Burn the Witch" comes pretty close to the former and I do like it.
Finally, compared to the feeble attempts on some of the Regeneration tracks, this is what I see as rocking out in a Britpop/indie context:
You I actually find this pretty damn good. It seems more fully realised than "Soul Trader", and with its upbeat arrangement is a bit of nice variation from the more morose album stuff. I like the melody, the (admittedly fairly standard) indie guitar sound, Neil's unpretentious vocals and the whole thing gels into a likeable song. 4.0
I'm quite excited. I'm going to dish out one of those exciting scores that I've never done before, but one that I really want to use! You. God, what an absolute turgid and awful song. It sounds quite rubbish like Soul Trader, but the lyrics are even somehow worse than that song. The only thing that I'm thankful for is that this wasn't on the album or didn't become a single and thankfully didn't enter the charts and become a hit (for some weirdly unknown reason) which would mean that I would have to hear it more than I have done. And you know the reason why I hate it so much? Iiiiiitttttt's Yoooouuuu! 0000000/5
Derailing things - back to Scott Walker Since the album is finished, I'll also take a moment to detail things by returning to Scott Walker (although perhaps I should have waited until the next album...?). I listened to Scott 4 about a week ago and I really liked it overall. I like the more subtle arrangements compared with Scott (1), and the interesting themes (The Old Man's Back Again being a good example!). You're right that the songs no longer feel like they're primarily a vehicle for his voice. A lot of the music is really lovely. Some of the imagery feels a bit forced, with such emphasis on darkness, emptiness, death etc. to the point that these themes lose their impact a bit by the end. (Angels of Ashes in particular is constructed of couplets that seem designed to hold such weighty meaning that the whole thing crumbles under it's own weight!) Having said that there are some great, evocative images. I just love these two: "City after city, granite grey like morning, heroes died in subways left behind..." and "...hang the absurd on their wall..." Hero of the War combines a really jaunty tine with dark/serious subject matter (I can't think of anyone who might have borrowed this idea and forgotten to give but back... ) I'm still not reconnecting with his voice/singing style/massive levels of reverb which obliterates some of the more subtle instrumentation. (I hadn't quite noticed before, but he tends to use a ton of reverb on his vocals - I cant find anything without it!). I don't think I'll listen to it often (but having said that I don't listen to anything 'often' anyway - even dear old Promenade usually only comes out about once a year!). So Scott 4 gets a from me! Thanks! And sorry for the detour!
Seconded. That's definitely the unexpected highlight of the whole song for me. There's nothing in the song itself to suggest it is addressed to the dog as well, though. The "you" could of course refer to two beings, but the subject of the song is only addressed as "baby". Speaking of which, that term for a woman (or indeed a man) has always rubbed me the wrong way. So I've deducted a point for that since I don't like to hear it in song lyrics unless it refers to a baby à la the new Maximo Park song "Baby, Sleep", which would probably appeal to @LivingForever. 2 I can also hear a 60s vibe in the chorus, but musically the verses remind me more of some Pablo Honey-era Radiohead (and not the good stuff). The opener of that album is even called "You" as well and has a similar drum rhythm (though not much similarity elsewhere, especially in the lyric department ). And the acoustic guitar and vocal style of the verse is reminiscent of "Thinking About You" (that word again ).
I don't hear much resemblance to Pablo Honey at all myself, if any. "You" from that album is one of the few songs I somewhat like from that album, but it's a much harder rocking song. Very influenced by that early 90s soft/loud contrast. Its Divine Comedy namesake is a much lighter, fluffier poprock ditty.
You're absolutely right. That's why I only singled out the drum bit (for the benefit of @James Cunningham, who pointed out that he didn't like it in the Divine Comedy song ) and noted that it's different otherwise.
And today’s “this B-side sounds like a 90s indie song”: anyone notice that the jangly guitar figure in “You” sounds like “She’s a Waterfall” by the Stone Roses? It’s even worse in the early live version!
I remember enjoying You quite a lot when I was 12, but its lost much of its charm now - the vocal is pretty horrible! I do think the verses a quite nice - the organ blends in very nicely with the guitars. 2/5 Afraid Soul Trader isnt much better, but then I never really liked it - its just a bit ****! 1/5
You The verses are pretty generic, but I kinda like the chorus. And as others have stated the guitar part towards the end is cool. Overall there's not much about it that feels like it could only have come from Neil/DC. 2.5/5
Interesting - I imagined You would rate more highly than Soul Trader, but it doesn't seem to be heading that way. Still, I'll do my best! I'd rate You as considerably stronger than Soul Trader. Not top tier Divine Comedy, but a top tier b-side, if that makes sense. I won't deny that it sounds a bit generic (yes, @LivingForever, to your Stone Roses comparison), but it does what it does effectively. Some nice guitar work, both throughout the verses and in the solo at the end. More recorders, and the backing vocals in the chorus are a good feature. I've said before, I always like it when Neil does genuine from-the-heart writing, as it's such a contrast to his usual stuff, and I think the lyrics are quite lovely in their lack of pretension. Unlike yesterday's track, I think this would have worked on the album - I'd imagine it shared too much lyrical similarity with Perfect Lovesong to have been serious considered for it, and if so, I can see why it wasn't used, but I'm delighted it exists. 4/5
I'm a bit surprised that these B-sides in general aren't scoring higher (yet, anyway), especially when many people found the album tracks to be dreary, overlong and lacking in joy. But on further pondering, it strikes me that whilst much of the main album is Neil trying to write "serious alt music" (like Radiohead), a lot of these tracks that ended up as B-sides are Neil trying to write more jangly, upbeat indie tracks (like... 1001 other Britpop bands) and that perhaps that ultimately isn't what Divine Comedy fans are really looking for either. Where's Neil's personality in any of these tracks?
You Seems pleasant enough at first. Certainly innocuous, and maybe that's the problem--it doesn't excel. The vocal line is ok (except, I would agree the "it's you" part is not the finest moment), but the unremarkable backing music must be held to account in this case. Ultimately it falls short of being memorable, as Neil recognized. (And, am I wrong to feel bad that a song he wrote about his wife was relegated to a b-side status? Maybe it's the romantic in me...) 2.6/5
... which is what he wanted to get away from, wasn't it? But maybe that's just where you end up if you're writing primarily on an acoustic guitar for the first time since you were in a Stone Roses-era indie band... Perfectly enjoyable B-side that hasn't crossed my mind since 2001. "A distinctive new sound stubbornly refused to appear" indeed. Chop out a couplet from each verse, write and arrange it four years earlier and put it on A Short Album About Love with something about sheep in the chorus, we'd all be giving it 4s. 2.5/5 I keep transmuting it into What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted. "Soul Trader, you trade in souls, who had love that's now departed..." (Glad you enjoyed Scott 4! But will not derail with further comments...)
