Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now this IS Superbi!, 14 Jul 2008
As someone who was barely satisfied with what could be The Beautiful South's last ever studio album, 'Superbi', I am more than pleased that Paul Heaton's second solo album is a far more raucous and memorable affair than many of the recent Beautiful South efforts. This is an album which, unlike 'Superbi', you will want to replay again and again. It has life, warmth, caustic wit and humour. It also has plenty of great memorable tunes (the single 'Mermaids And Slaves' is certainly as good as, if not better than, anything The Beautiful South have released this decade) and is packed full of brilliant lyrics which deal, often cynically and near-brutally, with the modern world and its often less than consistent inhabitants;
"Let's fool and coerce/The singer of verse/Died of insufferable pain,
Let's fuel the dream/Every Buckley or Dean/Was genius, misjudged or insane"
('Mermaids And Slaves')
"When someone starts a sentence/With 'I'm not racist but'
You know that the sentence is bound to end/With where they think they should be put
So next time you hear them singing/Of A land so free and brave
You know the place they hang their flag/Is where they hung their slave"
('A Good Old Fashioned Town')
"And the thin are getting thinner/The big are getting bigger
Till 5 and 75 year olds/Worry 'bout their figure
The big are getting bigger/The thin are getting thinner
Till everyone's looking (everyone's cooking)/At everyone else's dinner"
('Everything Is Everything')
I don't want to pull this album apart, track-by-track, because I really don't want to give too much away, but I believe that the content and style will be recognisable to every fan of The Housemartins, The Beautiful South and solo Heaton. All I can really say is that this is one of Paul's most enjoyable albums, with or without his bandmates and creative collaborators, and that nearly every fan of the man will be delighted with the excellent 'Cross Eyed Rambler', which is - in my opinion - twice the album of his solo debut.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't ramble, pay attention, 11 Jul 2008
I was very sad to hear the demise of the Beautiful South, but having already got Paul's previous album 'Fat Chance', the new album was a must. It has arrived and I am not disappointed, it is excellent. Lyrical as is all Paul's work with loads of catchy songs. Many of these tracks hark back to the 'Housemartins' with a much more basic sound and lots of energy. Much of the 'Beautiful South's' work was very melodic and carefully structured, this album seems to be a lot more basic, and I think is really good for that reason.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heaton has far surpassed my expectations..., 13 Jul 2008
Although I enjoyed the final Beautiful South offering 'Superbi', it's not the one I'll be listening to frequently over the course of time. I think that I was kind of expecting Paul Heaton's 'Cross Eyed Rambler' to end up sounding reprocessed and lacking any life or originality. I am astonishingly blown away. I'm still in awe thinking....how could he still be writing such incredible music after so many years!'. One would think the creative well would run dry at one point but I can honestly say, it seems his creative well is far far from dry. This cd just reminds me of a perfect blend of his entire career, there's a hint and dash from the Housemartins, and really from every Beautiful South disc. Lyrically, he is still as brilliant and witty as ever. Cheers to this incredible new release, I'm grinning from ear to ear, grateful and well, I know what will be on constant rotation for a long time to come.
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