- Audio CD (13 July 1995)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Creation
- ASIN: B00000749Q
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 193,567 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Product details |
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Swervedriver emerged in the indie band boom of the late '80s and early '90s that spawned the likes of Ride and The Boo Radleys (both fellow Creation acts). This was a time when dodgy haircuts and FX pedals held sway and Swervedriver were pretty keen on both. I have fond memories of being introduced to the early single 'Son Of Mustang Ford' by an indie-loving friend of mine. Their first album (Raise) was FX heavy and the second, Mezcal Head, was much the same: quite heavy on the guitars and psychedelic shapes. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, my biggest criticism probably being that the album as a whole lacks the quality of the best tracks ('Duel', 'Last Train To Satansville' and 'A Change Is Gonna Come').
That was set right with this album though, and in my humble opinion, the result of something of a classic. From the pretty, cinematic curio that opens the album ('Single Finger Salute') to the final Beatles-on-heavy-chemicals hidden track, 'Burning Heart', this is a great piece of work.
There was always the aforementioned psychedelic slant to Swervedriver's music, but this really seems like the album where they fully indulged their kaleidoscopic musical vision. The production of the album is quite sympathetic, possibly surprisingly so given that it's by Alan Moulder - indie producer of choice circa 1991 - a man responsible for some pretty dour sounding music. Here though, he gets the best from pretty songs like 'Bubbling Up', allowing the band's swirling psychedelia to take the song away from its more conventionally poppy structure. The title track itself is a more straightforward affair: a relatively simple rhythm propelling it along with a chirpy guitar part giving it an uplifting melody to accompany the droll, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Not quite rock, not quite pop, not quite full-blown psychedelia, it's one of the best things they ever did.
There are plenty of other highlights: the shuffling pop/rock of 'The Other Jesus', the dry cynicism of 'I Am Superman' and the lovely melancholy of 'Last Day On Earth', a song that combines gentle beauty and grace with epic rock grandeur. It's the sound of a band on top of their game. But then, the whole album gives that feeling. It's still heavy on the guitars and FX pedals, but the touch is lighter, yet more assured, than on previous albums, making for a prettier record, but one that hasn't lost the sense of the band's essential identity.
This album came out in 1995, the same year as The Bends by Radiohead, an acknowledged classic. Ejector Seat Reservation doesn't suffer by comparison. It's an accomplished record, and if you like The Bends then there's every chance you'll like this too. And if you enjoyed the work of The Boo Radleys or The House Of Love, or even the earlier Pink Floyd, then you should really enjoy this.
If you want something a little different but packed with quality and interesting twists, you should give this a go.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Swervedriver Adam Franklin's (check out Toshack Highway) '90s band
one of the two best albums the band did, along with 99th dream, and well worth getting now they're all avaialable again - not much being done now that outdoes it, with the exception of Sun Dial
one of the two best albums the band did, along with 99th dream, and well worth getting now they're all avaialable again - not much being done now that outdoes it, with the exception of Sun Dial
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
A stunningly mature, complex, and overlooked masterpiece
2 July 2000
Format:Audio CD
No finer band has had as many career troubles as Swervedriver. Whether it was labels dropping them, labels dying underneath them, or personnel changes, Swervedriver consistently faced seemingly arbitrary obstacles that prevented them from blowing up into the phenomenon they deserved to be. Nowhere is this more apparent than on this record, a departure from their earlier "shoegazer meets the MC5" sound and a move towards an incredibly complex, mature songwriting style. This record did come out at the beginning of the Oasis-driven Brit-pop revival period, and some of the songs seem to bear the stamp of that time. But that's not because Swervedriver were imitating Oasis. What the band was doing was writing thoughtful, melodic pieces that fell solidly into the English singer-songwriter tradition. And, whereas Oasis simply reproduces that tradition verbatim, Swervedriver attempted to move the tradition into a new direction shaped by the sound of Swervedriver's earlier albums. The middle section of this record, including "I Am Superman", "Bubbling Up", "Ejector Seat Reservation", and "Candy" pull this off most effectively. "Bring Me The Head Of The Fortune Teller" and "The Other Jesus" bear the most resemblance to Swervedriver's earlier sounds; "Son Of Jaguar E.", despite its title's allusion to the Swervedriver classic "Son of Mustang Ford", actually veers away from the early sound and straight into traditional Brit-pop, as does the masterpiece, "Last Day on Earth." Naturally, Swervedriver's knack for undeserved label trouble prevented this record from being released in the states. It is worth every penny of the import price. And while you're at it, buy all their other albums, too.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
ESR
15 Aug 2000
Format:Audio CD
War, famine, poverty are all pretty bad. But lets face it, the biggest injustice ever is that swervedriver aren't the biggest band in the world. They should have achieved it with mezcal head (or even raise) but this album was the one that should have made them a household name. It didn't, for a number of reasons: 1 - they got dropped by creation about two weeks after it's release, 2: It wasn't released in America, 3: No support from radio or MTV, 4: Oasis released one of the biggest albums in the history of british rock the same year. The truth is that Swervedriver were destined to be the biggest band in the world, but somewhere along the line they got screwed - repeatedly. This album was overflowing with potential hits and should have made them stars. It's not fair - But hey, life's not fair. Adam, Jimmy, Steve and Jez should have been the new Beatles. This album is criminally overlooked/underrated.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Bring Me The Head (of the Record Label Executives)
8 Oct 2006
Format:Audio CD
The earlier reviews pretty much said it all; this is pretty much one of THE best and most overlooked bands from the 90s. Swervedriver is lumped into the shoegazer category often, however, if that label scares you off then dismiss its application to this band, because they aren't so much shoegazer - in that cough-syrup-dreamy-noise way - as they are sonic rock. Yes, rock. Who knew it could still be done, and believe me, they do it well, and uniquely. If you've listened to Swervedriver before, then tehre isn't too much more to say - buy this album. It's not as hi-fi as 99th Dream or Mezcal Head (in my opinion their best album and one of the best of 90s decade), but not as fast or dirty as Raise. Now, if you have never listened to Swervedriver, this might not be the best album to start with - it all depends on your tastes. Personally, I would suggest starting with 99th Dream or Mezcal Head; either way, this has all the qualities of every Swervedriver album - great lyrics, superb and unique songs, and that urge for more when it's over. Sadly, this band was vastly ill-treated by labels and they are no longer together (however, some vestiges exist in the form of Toshack Highway). But if you want to see what you missed in the 90s - even more so, if you want to see what the best of the best from that decade truly was - Swervedriver is a must.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
