- Audio CD (12 Aug 2002)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Nude
- ASIN: B000026EV6
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 81,741 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Review
After the party - the hangover: One year on from the louche-but-rocking debut, Suede had begun to irrevocably fracture at their very core. Luckily, out of such travails are great works of art born.
By this point the chemistry (in all senses) was becoming a little strained. Retreating into a drug-assisted solitude, Brett Anderson's lyrics were less concerned with the politics of modern love and more with the effects of the morning after. Solitude, paranoia and self-loathing were the themes here. When he sings 'If you stay we'll be the wild ones!' it's with a quiet desperation that's clinging to a lifestyle that's gone horribly wrong.
The downbeat mood pervades everything here. Even on peppier rockers like 'The Hollywood Life' or 'New Generation' the guitars of Bernard Butler here sound more spiteful, suffused with a vicious metallic edge. It was here that they formerly parted from the Britpop pack as well ('I don't care for the UK tonight' sings Brett on 'Black And Blue').
At the heart of this album is the real-life drama of Anderson's and Butler's increasing alienation. Before the album had even been mixed the pair, once touted as a Lennon and McCartney for the post-E generation, had split. Butler subsequently told of how he turned up to the studio one day to find all his equipment outside the locked door.
Yet, while Dog Man Star stands as a testament to the destructive power of thrill-seeking love and ego-bloating drugs it remains a far deeper and sonically adventurous ride than its predecessor. There's still a huge dollop of Scott Walker-meets-Bowie-in-the-streets-of-Soho-at-5-in-the-morning archness that can grate. And Anderson's melodrama can be slightly over-egged on tracks like 'The 2 Of Us', yet with its reverb-drenched lushness and fabulously melancholy audio verite ambience (virtually every track is prefaced by or marbled with some low-key moodiness that recalls Talk Talk's golden period) it's an album that continues to fascinate and reward: It's possibly their least dated work.
While the band struggled heroically (and succeeded) to consolidate their success after Butler's departure the legend of the band's lost potential really stems from Dog Man Star. Never had misery sounded so alluring, reaching out to all the lonely urbanites that ever woke up alone. For this alone it remains timeless. --Chris Jones
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CD Description
Guitarist Bernard Butler left the band during the mixing of "Dog Man Star", often regarded as Suede's masterpiece. This deluxe re-mastered edition features the non-album a- and b-sides, as well as demos from the collections of Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler, including a previously unreleased song. Also making their first ever appearances are the much sought-after, full-length, unedited versions of "The Wild Ones" and "The Asphalt World".
The DVD features the newly-discovered and previously-unseen exciting footage of the band at the Casino de Paris, playing the "Dog Man Star" songs before the album recording sessions, and the band playing in FNAC in Paris, along with the song-films specially created for the "Dog Man Star" tour, also issued for the first time. The bonus feature is a candid February 2011 interview with Bernard and Brett about the making of the album, along with a short film put together by Simon Gilbert from his own contemporary camcorder footage.
The booklet contains a specially-written note by Brett Anderson, along with all the lyrics, hand-written lyric drafts, studio tracking sheets and tape boxes, and previously unpublished photos from the collections of both the band and their friends.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
One can only wonder what Suede would have go on to achieve if Anderson andButler had not fallen out. The debut and this spectral masterpiece of analbum could easily stand up to any bands first two albums ever, TheBeatles and The Smiths included. Dog Man Star is very much a winter album.Lyrically it is a very paranoid, reclusive piece. It is alleged that Brettlocked himself in his flat in the middle of nowhere with a mountain ofL.S.D. to write it. Bernard's guitar work is incredibly atmospheric anddense, particularly on the near-ten minute Asphalt World the final cut ofwhich upset him due to it's severe edit! God knows what the demos musthave sounded like. By a mile suede's finest album, it is an undeniablyEnglish work, Syd Barrett, Julian Cope, Kate Bush, and yes, Bowie and theSmiths are all in there somewhere. There are a few up beat glam-stompers,New Generation being the best up-beat number, but most of the set isdrug-addled and claustrophobic. Daddy's Speeding is the oddest track, afeedback entrenched eno-style piece about James Dean that eventuallycollapses under it's own weight. The opener Introducing the Band couldalmost be off Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and Heroine surely IS a DavidBowie song. The reason Dog Man Star is such a work of genius though, isthe last four tracks. Roughly 25 minutes of music that is so enormous thatif Brett and Bernard had stayed together, they would have probably landedon the moon. The 2 Of Us is a dark, sparse romantic ballad written about apossibly imaginary lover, Black or Blue is another drug track which couldbe out of a particularly creepy West End musical, The Asphalt World iscolossal and features Butler's best ever guitar work and closer Still Lifeis the last track because it simply can't be followed, so vast andglorious is the orchestral outro. So there you have one of the greatestever english songwriting teams, splitting up under the strain of their ownambition. Please buy Dog Man Star, it proves that Suede are arguably themost underated band of all time.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
...and Johnny Marr pops around for a spot of tea.By the sounds of things they weren't just drinking tea...
Dog Man Star is truly sensational. When one compares this effort to what immediately preceded and proceeded it (in Britain at least), nothing else compares with the over-produced, orchestral bombast (notably on Still Life), the claustraphobic intensity (The Two of Us), and brooding menace(Asphalt World) which it exudes. A tip: listen to the latter track whilst driving around a hole of a town, perhaps Weston Super Mare, very late at night. You might have to lock the doors and windows of your car and/or not stop at traffic lights, but it is worth it in order to soak up the seedy atmosphere of low-rent, burnt-out, drug-frazzled 'glam'. It works best if your car is a shitty old Ford (either an Escort or a Probe for apt comedy value).
The Asphalt World aside, the rest of the album, as another reviewer mentioned, is best heard through headphones on a Discman turned up to a level not entirely healthy for one's ears. Even if you do go deaf as a result, chances are there's nothing much worth listening to after having sat through Suede's sophomore set.
While it would be thoroughly misleading to say that the album is one of light and shade (it is unrelentingly bleak), it is characterised by a variety of different styles. Unlike, say, Coldplay, who have two modes (1.bland, and 2.paint-dryingingly, fist-eatingingly, nondescript vapidity), Suede run the gamut from up-tempo glam-rocking in New Generation, through fuzz-guitar-enhanced Smithsian janglepop (Heroine), ending up with the overblown chamber music of Still Life. They even throw in some Eno-ish nuggets of experimentalism (Introducing the Band, and Daddy's Speeding) which, surprisingly, work a treat.
I first heard this album around eleven years ago, and I loved it. Having endured the last eleven years, which have been one disappointment after another where music is concerned, it has increased in my estimations. Dog Man Star is better than anything else Suede ever did (yes, including their fine debut). I would go so far to say that it was the best album of the ‘90s. Buy this album and listen to it repeatedly by yourself when you have the time to give to it the attention, not only that it deserves, but that it commands.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I don't know why it took so long to get into me, but once it did, it marked me forever!!!
I bought their first and Dog Man Star at the same time, because someone told me about Suede and how great they were. To be honest, after listening both of them, I thought they were plain good, very Bowie-like, and, because at that time I was more into Travis, Coldplay and stuff, I forgot Suede for a time. Then, with repeated listenings, "So young" and "sleeping pills" started to grow into me. So I started to understand how great they were. Still, I didn't like so much Dog Man Star. I thought it was boring. But one day I took the cd to my office, and I don't know what happened, but "We are the pigs", "The wild ones" and "new generation" suddenly appeared to be three of the greatest songs i had ever heard. Maybe that's the way it is supposed to be, but today (one year after I listened to Dog Man Star for the first time), I can say without any doubt that it is one of the best cds of all time and every song in it, is, indeed, in the top list of the best songs I have ever heard. It really is a masterpiece (one of the few out there). I think the best way to discribe it is: tragic romantic! The lyrics cut deep, and the music cuts even deeper. You won't be able to listen to it without getting goosebumps and maybe tears... Go ahead, buy it and discover the "old Suede". For some better than the actual, for others not quite, but it was certainly different.
I bought their first and Dog Man Star at the same time, because someone told me about Suede and how great they were. To be honest, after listening both of them, I thought they were plain good, very Bowie-like, and, because at that time I was more into Travis, Coldplay and stuff, I forgot Suede for a time. Then, with repeated listenings, "So young" and "sleeping pills" started to grow into me. So I started to understand how great they were. Still, I didn't like so much Dog Man Star. I thought it was boring. But one day I took the cd to my office, and I don't know what happened, but "We are the pigs", "The wild ones" and "new generation" suddenly appeared to be three of the greatest songs i had ever heard. Maybe that's the way it is supposed to be, but today (one year after I listened to Dog Man Star for the first time), I can say without any doubt that it is one of the best cds of all time and every song in it, is, indeed, in the top list of the best songs I have ever heard. It really is a masterpiece (one of the few out there). I think the best way to discribe it is: tragic romantic! The lyrics cut deep, and the music cuts even deeper. You won't be able to listen to it without getting goosebumps and maybe tears... Go ahead, buy it and discover the "old Suede". For some better than the actual, for others not quite, but it was certainly different.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Introducing The Band...Again!!!!.....
This is an amazing re-issue of an amazing cd from one of my favourite bands...I am thrilled to be able to get the b-sides and demo recordings as well... Read more
Published 10 months ago by David Tiberi
Great for newbies, but ....
Having finally managed to absorb all five of these deluxe re-releases I can now review each of them. Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. Wright
Yes truly, the greatest album of the 90's. Masterpiece.
We all know about the albums Blur, Oasis and Pulp put out but it was Suede that created the defining record of the 1990's. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Peter Fisher
Where less isn't more
Dog Man Star flew in the face of convention, even nearly two decades ago. Owing a debt of gratitude to Scott Walker, Bowie, Joy Division and Brian Eno it is nevertheless a unique... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Baxter
Genius at work!
Just got this today. The album is brilliant and serves as a reminder of just how weak the British music scene is these days. It is worth getting for the dvd alone! Read more
Published 11 months ago by Benjamin R. Hill
"A 50 knuckle shuffle heavy metal machine"
Four or five years ago, there was minimal, if any, talk about Suede - they seemed to have slipped into Britpop's dustbin, despite having preceded said "movement" by a couple of... Read more
Published 11 months ago by octophone
Suede's masterpiece
Like, I suspect, most purchasers of this item, I already own Dog Man Star and Sci-Fi Lullabies. However, I am always happy to replace what I have for remastered and deluxe... Read more
Published 11 months ago by N. Hudson
Europe America Winterland....
A unique, timeless sonic and lyrical journey that has satisfied my Anglophile needs for over 15 years. Yes, this is perfect timing for Dog Man Star to re-enter my life. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Michael
Fantastic Reissue
This is a great remaster package. DVD is fab, but the cream is the uncut versions of "The Wild Ones" and "The Asphalt World",, now even more essential. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Stormin'Norman
Introducing the.... remaster CD DVD set
This is a quite brilliant package - the original tracks are crisper and sharper and sound as fresh as the day they were recorded. Read more
Published 11 months ago by N. Button
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