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~~UPDATED FEBRUARY 2007~~
Despite all their recent fame and glory, there was no overnight success for Keane. Although they stormed into the charts with their debut album "Hopes & Fears" in 2004, they'd actually been around for nearly ten years beforehand, forming way back in 1995. They've been described by one source as "Radiohead covering Aha". Reassuringly, Keane claim their name has nothing to do with the former Manchester United midfielder; rather they take their name from a female acquaintance who was inspirational to them in their formative years. Keane are without a guitar player and use the mix of keyboards, vocals and drums to create their music. The band is made up of Tim Rice-Oxley (31) on keyboards, Tom Chaplin (27) vocals and Richard Hughes (32) on drums. Originally from Battle in East Sussex, they used to rehearse and record in a little old room in Tim's parents' house.
The road to fame and glory was not easy for Keane. Tim Rice-Oxley and Dom Scott formed the band in Battle in 1995 and they invited Richard Hughes to join them as their drummer. In 1997, they became a four-piece band when they were joined by singer Tom Chaplin, as the others all decided they couldn't sing. The following year they moved from Battle to London in order to try and get a record deal. The next couple of years saw them release a couple of singles on their own label Zoomorphic and play as support at a Chesney Hawkes concert. In 2001, Dom left the band due to their lack of success and "musical differences". The following year, they released two singles on the Fierce Panda label "Everybody's Changing" and "This is the Last Time". Following the success of the latter, they were offered an astounding 21 recording deals by various record companies. In 2003 they signed a deal with Island Records and released the single "Somewhere Only We Know" in February 2004. This was followed by the re-release of "Everybody's Changing" in May 2004.
The best known tracks on this album are of course the four that were released into the charts that year "Somewhere Only We Know", "Everybody's Changing",
"Bedshaped" and "This Is The Last Time". Indeed, in 2004, it was rather difficult not to turn on the radio and hear one or other of them being played. Many Keane tracks now remind me of that rather long hot summer spell we had in July and August of that year. All the songs on their debut album were written by Keane themselves.
The album kicks off with the rather splendid "Somewhere Only We Know". It's a superb opening track with an evocative and repetitive piano backdrop which climbs to an explosive crescendo. You've heard it once and you're humming it all day long, believe you me. It has simple but evocative lyrics about finding some peace and tranquility in a familiar place. This one is particularly emotive if you turn the volume up loud (especially if it's your birthday, and you feel like you're getting on a bit in years….."Oh simple things where have you gone? / I'm getting old and I need something to rely on / So tell me when you're gonna let me in / I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin").
Next up we have "Bend And Break", with a great jaunty keyboard and drum backdrop. These are flawlessly matched by Tom Chaplin's superb vocals, which are sung with voice breaking emotion. It's a rather catchy track - uplifting and memorable. You're then bought down emotionally by "We Might As Well Be Strangers", a slower more mournful song. This track sounds a little like Radiohead in the beginning, but it soon swells to the crescendo chorus that dominate many Keane tracks. The lyrics suggest a failed love affair. This is a song that really could make you cry big time if you're going through relationship problems ("We might as well be strangers in another town / We might as well be living in a different world / We might as well").
"Everybody's Changing" always makes me want to cry, as it was released at a time in my life when we'd just received some rather upsetting family news. Everything in my life went topsy turvy for a while, and the lyrics really did sum about the uncertainty I was feeling about the future ("So little time / Try to understand that I'm / Trying to make a move just to stay in the game / Trying to stay awake and remember my name / Because everybody's changing/ And I don't feel the same"). At one stage you couldn't turn on the TV or radio without catching this playing. It's another excellent keyboard backdrop of repetitive notes that really do get into your head. Emotional lyrics, superlative vocals and crescendo chorus - a truly memorable record. This is the sort of record that should have been snapped up as the soundtrack to a film.
The next two tracks are slower and more somber; "Your Eyes Open" is a pretty enough tune but it's not particularly memorable and it's not one of my favourites. The same could be said for "She Has No Time", which tells the sad tale of a failed love affair. Lovely vocals, but they do sound a little bit like Radiohead again, especially at the beginning of the song, which is a little emotionless. However, the song is saved by a typical crescendo Keane chorus, which injects some of the missing feeling into the song. Things go up a tempo next with "Can't Stop Now". Big piano sounds dominate this track - it's upbeat and the emotion shines through in the lyrics. This track amply demonstrates the keyboard skills of Tim Rice-Oxley to a tee. The same cannot be said for "Sunshine", which I always tend to skip past. It's rather a strange one - a little bit airy-fairy and hippyish. This track is really not one of their stronger moments. It's a pretty enough lyric about protecting and sheltering, but it really doesn't go anywhere. It just sounds like a 1960's/1970's flowers in your hair type track.
"This Is The Last Time" is another well known song, and a fairly atypical Keane track in that it starts slowly and builds to a crescendo. It's all about saying goodbye and leaving, and it's sung with gut-wrenching emotion. Another memorable and catchy tune with superb keyboard backdrop. The sort of song that could easily become an anthem if you're in the process of breaking up with someone. Similarly, "On A Day Like Today" tells another story of a failed love affair ("But I could never seem to say / The things I needed to / on a day like today / No other words would do"). Keane once again demonstrate their first class lyrics and vocals by really expressing their emotions in their songs. A slow track sung with real feeling - Tom Chaplin's voice almost cracks with emotion. A real tearjerker with outstanding piano backdrop. This
Pictures of Hopes And Fears - Keane
Keane
one is best listened too loudly so you can really wallow in the emotions and music."Untitled 1" is a bit like "Sunshine" in that it doesn't really do anything for me. It opens with a simple piano rhythm and drumbeat, but the vocals lack feeling and they end up sounding a bit Radiohead again. It sounds a bit space age and hippyish - I could see them launching into the age of Aquarius halfway through this one. It's definitely not one of their finer moments - maybe that's why they haven't named it.
The album concludes with the rather splendid "Bedshaped", and it really is a superb conclusion to a first class album. It has that catchy piano backdrop again with a slow start building into a blinding chorus. Chaplin really knows how to drain the last drop of emotion into the lyrics here with superb vocals and excellent keyboard accompaniment ("Don't laugh at me / Don't look away / You'll follow me back"). Lovely stuff, and my all time favourite Keane track….though I'd love to know exactly what "bedshaped" means…..
Full track listing:-
[1] Somewhere Only We Know (highest chart position = 3 in February 2004) [2] Bend And Break [3] We Might As Well Be Strangers [4] Everybody's Changing (highest chart position = 4 in May 2004) [5] Your Eyes Open [6] She Has No Time [7] Can't Stop Now [8] Sunshine [9] This Is The Last Time (highest chart position = 18 December 2004) [10] On a Day Like Today [11] Untitled 1 [12] Bedshaped (highest chart position = 10 in August 2004)
I still like this album a lot - in fact I've been consistently listening to it on and off for the last two to three years now. It's a superb collection of songs. Most of the songs are short. They mostly have simple lyrics and repetitive choruses. There are few clever instrumental sections - just excellent vocals and well-sung songs. After ten years of struggling to be heard in the music industry, I think that Keane really did earn their success, and I hope they continue to write and produce such good music for many years to come. It's true they do sound a little like Radiohead in some of the slower songs, but this is perhaps due to the fact that Tom Chaplin sounds somewhat like Thom Yorke in voice. Musically, their songs are more tuneful and not so "off the wall". However, I fail to see where the Aha comparison comes in as I have yet to hear a track that sounds anything like Aha…….can anyone else? This is a superb collection of songs and contains something for everyone. If I had to make any criticism at all it is that some of the songs are a bit mournful and unhappy, but they're never sung without gut wrenching emotion. I really do think that Keane did the hard graft on their ladder to success and that they're here to stay now.
Universal Island Records released the album on 10th May 2004. It can be picked up rather cheaply now due to it being several years old.
Online it can be bought at: www.amazon.co.uk £6.97 or from Amazon marketplace from £2.99 www.cd-wow.com £6.99 www.101cd.com £5.95
Further information on Keane can be found at: www.keanemusic.com or www.keane.at
In February 2005, Hope and Fears won the best British Album award at the Brits (as well as the award for Best British Breakthrough Act)
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