Having read all the negative reviews about 'Down In Albion' I decided with some trepidation to give the Babyshambles album a go anyway. I had really enjoyed their singles Killamangiro and ---- Forever and thought 'what the hell!'
Well i'm glad to report back that the album is no where near the disaster that other reviewers have suggested, in fact its a little gem and with a little tweaking it could have been a classic. By this I mean a couple of songs could have been shaved off such as Pentonville to give the album a bit more momentum and focus. Whilst the single versions of Killamangiro and ---- Forever should have been retained. That said Pete Doherty's talent is plain to see, the guy can write songs and there's a lot of strong tracks on here; The 32 Of December, Pipedown, Albion and Loyalty Song just some of them.
All in all this album has really grown on me, it is messy and raw but that's a refreshing change from a lot of over produced music thats around. There are lots of moments of inspiration that warrant this being part of your album collection.
One can only hope Doherty cleans himself up and manages to reach his full potentional as a brilliant musician.