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Amazon.co.uk Review
Review
It could be argued that not since Never Mind The Bollocks... has there been a record that has said as much about being young and living in the UK. Moreover, what makes this album even more remarkable is that it is the work of a one unassuming 22 year old, namely Mike Skinner.
Despite an early passion for hip hop and house Mike was never embroiled in the London's pirate radio scene, in fact he was working in Australia when the UK garage cemented its position in the mainstream. Perhaps it is this cultural and geographical distance that has kept Skinner's musical slate clean and allowed him to forge this unique 'high rise' style. Ska, dub, house, drum and bass, hip hop and UK garage have all been thrown in to The Streets' sampler for processing and rearrangement. When combined with his vocal delivery the results are mesmerising - not quite hip hop, not quite an MC and not quite slam poetry but somewhere in between. He's engaged, enlightened and writes with a degree of insight that is humorous, heart-wrenching, humbling and worthy of so much more than this little review.
By his own admission Original Pirate Material is the "day in the life of a geezer" yet amongst the bitter sweet, inner city anecdotes of drugs, violence, playing computer games, trips to the garage and going clubbing, Mike's best punches are pulled when he is at his most sensitive. In "Weak Become Heroes" he muses "It's easy, no one blames you, it's that world out there that's f**ked!... you're no less of a person and if God exists he still loves you, just remember that". In "Has It Come To This" he announces, "The music's a gift from the man on high, the lord and his children". More of these gems are revealed with successive listens and it is clear as the title in "Let's Push Things Forward" suggests Mike is on a mission.
In the years to come if you're ever asked what it was like being young at the start of the twenty first century you could do a lot worse than dig this album out of your collection provided, of course, you've taken it out of your CD player. Genius. --Christian Hopwood
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a masterpiece,
This review is from: Original Pirate Material (Audio CD)
Had heard a lot of good things about this album but, at the time, was a committed indie fan so didn't really take much notice of the hype, then i actually heard the album. Every track on this album is great, from turn the page to stay positive, with the stand out tracks being the magnificent weak become heroes and the under-rated its too late. The main attraction of this album is that it speaks to everyone and everyone can relate to what mike skinner is saying in these songs, from indie fans who woul never go near this type of music, to dance fans who will like the beats in songs like weak become heroes and has it come to this.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this Album - Simple Common Sense,
By The Flashman "Matt" (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Original Pirate Material (Audio CD)
Masterful, quality, top-notch Urban poetry at its gritty best. Skinner lays insightful, dark, deep, philosophical - often plain hilarious lyrics over quality beats to achieve an unforgettable album. "Turn the page" - what a beautiful beautiful song. Powerful lyrics with a rising, rising pheonix of a garage beat - the strings repeating, rising. Beautiful. Seriously, it makes my spine tingle when I listen to it. Such a good album. "Geezers need excitement" - dark social commentary that provides a superb line. The rest of the album is equally superb - please buy this.Masterful. Such a good album. If you haven't listenend to this yet, you're in for a treat. Don't listen to anyone who calls it "chavvy" or anything like that, and don't be put off by the hip-hop/garage sound to Skinner's music, this is an album that transcends any boundaries - if you love music and have an open-mind, you'll soon recognise how superb this album is.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MENTAL!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Original Pirate Material (Audio CD)
I hate garage, wouldn't really class it as garage, some of the beats maybe, but i think this a ballistic album, decent vocals not some cheesy mc or one you can't understand. Proper lyrics that people can relate to. This is going to be a top act!
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