Four Thousand Seven Hundred And Sixty Six Seconds (A Short Cut To Teenage Fanclub) - Teenage Fanclub

Teenage Fanclub have been around for a fair old time now (mid 80's?) and seem to be a collection of like-minded musicians who appreciate the finer things in life (melody, rythme and harmony). Of Scottish extraction the main players/founding members are Norman Blake and Raymond McGuinley.

Teenage Fanclub came to my attention in the early 90's, just as I was discovering music myself (buying rather than creating!) They were not a band ...
...the trendy music magazines of the time (remember Select?) Their career (so far that is, they're still going!) Has been a progression, and in my opinion an upward one.

For anyone who cares to remember, they first came to prominence in association with the so-called 'Shoe-gazing' genre of the day (pre-grunge). Others from this bracket I can remember were 'Ride', 'My Bloody Valentine' and various others. Everything was messy back then, ... more

Teenage Fanclub have been around for a fair old time now (mid 80's?) and seem to be a collection of like-minded musicians who appreciate the finer things in life (melody, rythme and harmony). Of Scottish extraction the main players/founding members are Norman Blake and Raymond McGuinley.

Teenage Fanclub came to my attention in the early 90's, just as I was discovering music myself (buying rather than creating!) They were not a band that would appear on Top Of The Pops, rather in the trendy music magazines of the time (remember Select?) Their career (so far that is, they're still going!) Has been a progression, and in my opinion an upward one.

For anyone who cares to remember, they first came to prominence in association with the so-called 'Shoe-gazing' genre of the day (pre-grunge). Others from this bracket I can remember were 'Ride', 'My Bloody Valentine' and various others. Everything was messy back then, the hair, the sound (in a good way), the clothes (remember Ned's Atomic Dustbin?) This in the middle of the Madchester scene and everyone was picking up their guitars again (thanks mainly to 'The Jesus & Mary Chain' and 'The Stone Roses').

Not many survived those years, and even fewer went on to create the lush sounds that the Fannies did. In my view bands with guitars/drums and bass tended to fail back into a particular mould, for instance, Oasis attempted to be 'The Beatles' sound-a-likes and Primal Scream 'The Rolling Stones'. To my ears Teenage Fanclub most definetly became 'The Byrds'. It's impossible to get away from the comparison. But that said, they do it very well!

So this collection..Any good?..
An emphatic 'YES'. It's brilliant. It's good on many levels; as an introduction to the band for someone who is new to them, or for a fan who wants lots of their best stuff in one place. It's a good demonstration of how their sound has changed down the years. From the classic, grungy, 'Everything flows', right through to the sublime, 'I need direction'.

It's a collection that for the most part is very easy on the ear (noteable exceptions being some of the earlier distortion driven pieces e.g. 'Hang On' which starts out like one of Nirvana's hidden tracks and turns out to be quite polite really). The Fannies have matured well. The earlier albums (i.e. Bandwagonesque) were like the outpourings of a youthful band that had just found a voice. The middle ages (Grand Prix, which contained the wonderous 'Sparky's dream' - possibly their most accessible pop moment) saw them perfecting their craft. And laterly we see them building on solid foundations with there mix of folk, jangly guitar, and pure pop.

The last official release, (which came after this) 'Man-made' can also be recommended. But for a retrospective this cannot be bettered (other than buying up all the albums individually). It is not constructed chronilogically, but rather (I'm guessing here) in the order the band want you to hear the songs. Therefore you get a song from 'Howdy!' (released 2000) before a song from Grand Prix (1995).

And one final point: These guys are such great blokes. I saw them live a few years ago, and honestly it was one of the best gigs I'd ever been to. They seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves (and thanks to the beer, so was I!) They also don't seem to be that bothered about massive financial gain, which I think comes across in the beautiful music that they create. I listen to the Teenage Fanclub albums all the time (especially the later ones). There are not many albums I do that with and I think that is the highest accolade I can pay them.

An essential British band. Get on board!

TRACKLISTING:

1) The concept
2) Ain't that enough
3) The World'll be OK
4) Everything Flows
5) Star Sign
6) Mellow Doubt
7) I need direction
8) About you
9) What you do to me
10) Empty space
11) Spark's dream
12) I don't want control of you
13) Hang On
14) Did I say
15) Don't look back
16) Your love is the place I come from
17) Neil Jung
18) Radio
19) Dumb, dumb, dumb
20) Planets
21) My uptight life 

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