Grand Don't Come For Free, A [PA] - Streets (The) > Reviews > A Grand Don't Come for Free

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Real, down - to - earth music
Disadvantages:	Language not suitable for kids

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought this album from cd-wow as soon as it was released. The cover (a photo of Mike Skinner standing at a bus stop) is not particularly striking, and it wouldn't jump off the shelf at you unless you were looking specifically for this title. There are no lyrics inside the inlay, which I feel is a pity. Instead there are photographs of the lead singer, Mike Skinner.

The CD itself has 11 tracks, 5 of which, in my opinion, are outstanding, 4 good tracks and 2 average standard tracks. There are none I do not like. The lyrics are so real that everyone would be able to relate to at least one or two of the tracks. He tells everything like it is, with catchy rhymes and basic backing music.

The tracks kind of tell a story, with each one having a slight follow on from the last. I love it!

Track 1: 'It was supposed to be so easy". This track is great! The chorus has fantastic lyrics, "Today I have achieved absolutely nowt, in just being out of the house I've lost out." There's a quiet bass line and brass instrument in the background. My favourite line in the whole song has to be, "And of course a mondatory car drives by and splashes me." Great introduction to the album.

Track 2: "Could Well Be In," one of my favourite tracks on the album, and one I'm sure everyone will relate to. This is him on his first date with a girl and trying to read her body language to deicde whether or not she's interested. More musical, this track. There are singers for the chorus rather than Mike Skinner's voice. The lyrics are amazing, "I saw this thing on ITV the other week, said that if she played with her hair she's probably keen." The piano in the background is effective and I love the part when she is on her mobile phone and he says he's trying to look like he's interested in the football on the telly, and not just waiting for this girl to finish on the phone. Such a real track. Outstanding.

Track 3: "Not Addicted". This is not one of my favourites. It opens with clapping in the background then a voice i'm not over-keen on comes in. The bass comes in and Mike Skinner's voice enters. It's a repetitve track, with "He's not addicted, he could stop anytime", featuring way too often. Probably the worst track on the album.

Track 4: "Blinded by the Lights." Another of my favourites. It starts with a bass line, and then a trance-sounding backing music starts, followed by Mike Skinner's vocals. This track is about him going to a club and taking ecstacy. The trancey sounding backing music is so effective, the track almost sounds like it was recorded in a club. You can actually imagine him being there. The lyrics are once again so real. "I hate coming to the entrance just to get bars on my phone." We have all been there, having to go outside just to get signal on the ol' mobile phone. He's in this club waiting for the girl from track 2 and his friend, and eventually sees them kissing eachother. But by this point hes taken 2 ecstacy pills and doesnt really comprehend the situation. A really effective track.

Track 5: "Wouldn't have it any other way" Starts off with a short instrumental and then Mike Skinner's vocals. This one is about the 'simple' evenings in he passes with his girlfriend. The chorus is sung by a pleasant male voice. Great lyrics again though! "I should be standing at the bar waving a ten pound note around, but I sit here on the sofa at my girls house."

Track 6: Don't like this one as much as the others. It's predominantly sang by a woman (taking on the role of the girlfriend), telling him to "get out of my house". The rhyming of the lyrics sounds forced at times, "If I'm talking to you, you shouldn't be gawping in thin air, what about us, as in pair." Later on in the song, Mike Skinner's vocals come in later on. but sound like an out of tune atempt at singing. Really not the best on the album at all.

Track 7: "Fit But You Know it". This is a bouncy, summery-feeling, more catchy track. It's definitely more musical than any others on the album, and borders slightly, in terms of the music, on pop music. The lyrics save it from this though. He's on holiday at this point and spots an attractive girl who knows she's very attractive. "I'm not trying to pull you, even though I would like to. I think you are really fit, you're fit but, my gosh, don't you know it." It's so catchy, and again, one we will all relate to, no doubt.

Track 8: "Such a Twat". This is a great track. It starts with an unusual bass line, followed by Mike Skinner at his fantastic best! This is when they have come back from their holiday, and he's talking on the phone to his mate about the holiday. Lyrics are brilliant, he's talking about his girlfriend whingeing about the possibility of him playing away on holiday, and about her moaning about everything. He basically got annoyed with his girlfriend and slept with another girl. Excellent chorus! "Why did I have to go and do a stupid thing like that? Yeh, it felt like we were through though, but I could have ruined it. I'm such a twat." It's made more realistic by the fact that the phone keeps cutting out. "Hello, hello? Fucking phones man!" Excellent!!

Track 9: "What is he thinking?" This is a decent track. Lyrics, once again, are fantastic! The track is about him trying to read his friend's (who he thinks has slept with his girlfriend) body language to decide what he is thinking. Realistic.
"I wish I could read what his eyes were saying, staring straight and not blinking. He's not giving anything away. What is he thinking?" Good track!

Track 10: "Dry Your Eyes". My absolute favourite favourite track on the album. This song is incredibly unlike the rest of the album. It goes away from the Streets Genre completely. The musical background is slow, and the track starts with violins, followed by Mike Skinner singing far more gentle lyrics than on his other tracks. This is an emotional track about his girlfriend finishing with him. Anyone who has been so desperate to hold onto a partner will relate well to this. You can hear in his lyrics and in his voice just how desperate he is to keep her. Another male voice sings the chorus, "Dry your eyes, mate. I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up, there's plenty more fish in the sea. Dry your eyes, mate. I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts, but you've got to walk away now, it's over."

The most amazing thing about this track is the realism. Skinner must have experienced this many times, and watched others doing the same. It's so accurate, even down to the way he starts upset, and pleading, then gets angry in his desperation. Skinner's lyrics are again, amazing. "Trying to pull her close out of bear desperation, put my arms around her trying to change what she's saying. Pulling my head level with hers so she might engage me, look into her eyes to make her listen again." The album is worth buying if only for this track.

Track 11: Last but not least, the conclusion to the album. "Empty cans". This is about him trying to get on with his life. It starts with him sitting in his house saying, "If I wanna sit in and drink super tenants in the day, I will. No-one's gonna fu**in' tell me jack. But can you rely on anyone in this world, no you can't, it's not my fault there's wall-to-wall empty cans." It shows how he has sank into a depression since his relationship ended. Then it starts to talk about what he will do next, starting with getting his television reparied. He refuses his friends offer of repairing for him, and phones a technician, which ends in disaster and causes problems. Then in the middle of the song it rewinds, and starts again with the same line I quoted earlier. However there is a piano background this time, and it shows the alternative route for him, what would have happened if he had gotten his friend to repair the TV. This track then shows Mike getting his life back on track. "End of something I did not want to end. Beginning of hard times to come. But something that was not meant to be is done, this is the start of what was."Excellent end to a phenomenal album!

All-in-all, the album is fantastic. I love it! Definitely worth buying!