Tilt - Lightning Seeds

The first time I saw The Lightning Seeds was at Newcastle Arena in 1996 when they were the support act for a dismally under par Beautiful South. I had always been aware of their existence, but never bought any of the 4 albums that they had released. However, when I left the venue that night I was a new fan of the band, and I must admit that I was disappointed that they then seemed to disappear until they released this album in 1999. A lot of people ...
...but I thought that it was reminiscent of their past releases, although maybe a touch mellower and a little more chilled out.

The opening track is 'Life's Too Short', and it shows off Liverpudlian Ian Broudie's voice to a tee (a voice which Ian hates to listen to as he thinks it is terrible!' It does not rank up there with 'Pure' but it would certainly feature in my top 5 tracks from their 5 album releases up to 1999. Even though the ... more

The first time I saw The Lightning Seeds was at Newcastle Arena in 1996 when they were the support act for a dismally under par Beautiful South. I had always been aware of their existence, but never bought any of the 4 albums that they had released. However, when I left the venue that night I was a new fan of the band, and I must admit that I was disappointed that they then seemed to disappear until they released this album in 1999. A lot of people thought it was a change in direction for the band, but I thought that it was reminiscent of their past releases, although maybe a touch mellower and a little more chilled out.

The opening track is 'Life's Too Short', and it shows off Liverpudlian Ian Broudie's voice to a tee (a voice which Ian hates to listen to as he thinks it is terrible!' It does not rank up there with 'Pure' but it would certainly feature in my top 5 tracks from their 5 album releases up to 1999. Even though the mood of the album is generally mellow, this track will certainly appeal to dance music fans. The drums are a real plus point here, and they are played by Zak Starkey, who is Ringo Starr's son, and I can certainly vouch for the fact that he has a place in this band on his merits, and not purely on who he is related to. The track is also co-written by ex Fun Boy Three member Terry Hall.

Ian Broudie is a huge soul music fan, naming Sly Stone as his favourite vocalist so it is no surprise to hear samples of the velvet tones of Al Green on 'Sweetest Soul Sensations'. This is one of the more deeper tracks on the album, where Broudie sings about playing mind games, and being disappointed by people's actions. The sing seems to limp along at times, but that is not meant in a negative way, more so that the melody is quite trippy and not as flowing as some of the other tracks, but this makes the track stand out.

The opening bars of 'If Only' always gives me goosebumps. It is just a piano playing, but it promises so much, and it does not disappoint. Again, you can hear the dance music influence, it is just really toned down, and it works so well, and I am sure a lot of this is down to the production, which was handled by another blast from the past with ex Bomb The Bass frontman Tim Simenon. It is one of the tracks on the album which will find its way into your head and then refuse to get out, so you find yourself singing it all day!

'City Bright Stars' opens up with a real orchestral feel, and it feels like it belongs on the soundtrack to a very dramatic film. This is one of the songs that when I listen to it, I am at even more of a loss to understand why the band were never more credible or critically acclaimed than they were. This is a simple song, with simple lyrics, but an absolutely knock out musical arrangement, which has a touch of classical , a big spoonful of pop music, and a dash of dance music, and they all fuse together to create a brilliant mix.

'I Wish I Was In Love' is a slow tempo song about a lost love with such an overriding feeling of melancholy that it can only be based on personal experience. This song goes the furthest towards mainstream pop out of all of the songs on the album, which is surprising to me as a listener knowing that Broudie's roots are in punk, and it is a shock to see him swinging so far towards the mainstream music we are bombarded with on a daily basis. It is still a strong song, but it sounds so stale, even after only a couple of listens.

The standout track for me is 'Happy Satellite'. This song takes me back to the glory days of their album 'Jolification'. it is catchy, it is uplifting, it is a brilliant track which stands head and shoulders above the rest. It is a song about how much of a state the world is in now, which is totally apt as I sit writing this with scenes of war showing on the television over my shoulder. The mood changes swiftly but smoothly to 'Get It Right', which has a real dreamy quality to it. This is the kind of song which will probably end up being included in a chillout compilation, but that would be a travesty, as it is far too good for that.

'Cigarettes and Lies' is sublime. A truly beautiful song, and shows that the band are very adaptable, and it is another track with an instantly memorable melody which begs for you to hum along with it..and you will. The mood and the tempo are quickly on the up again with the harder, edgier 'Crowdpleaser'. This track relies heavily on heavy synth and drums to give it the edgier feel, and again Starkey comes up trumps. The lyrics are less obvious on this track, and Broudie chants that "It's great being back out of rehab". I am sure it is....if he says so.

'Tales Of The Riverbank' is a song that reflects a lot, and thinks about what could have been if different actions were taken in certain situations, but the main focus when this was written was on the striking Liverpool Dockers who Broudie actively and vocally supported throughout their troubled times. If I had to pick out a negative point on the whole album then it would be that his voice sounds a little too high pitched for his limited vocal range and it comes across as a touch whiney. 'Pussyfooty' is the instrumental version of 'City Bright Stars' from what I can gather!

The final track is 'All The Things', and with this song everything is right, the vocals, the melody and the lyrics. It is a strong close to a brilliant album. All over I have to say this is an album I would highly recommend for even the most sedate of listeners as it will not give you too much of a jolt.
 

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