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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Rarely has the burden of expectation weighed so heavily as it does on the Strokes' second album. Room on Fire is an overwhelmingly anxious record, where the band's dilemmas are there for everyone to hear: should they make another record as concise as Is This It? Will they be able to capitalise on their wiry winning formula but avoid exhausting it? And can Julian Casablancas be convincingly offhand when we now know how much effort he makes to sound so disinterested? As a result, Room on Fire isn't an entirely successful album, but it's certainly a compelling one--the testament of five handsomely talented men struggling to work out what should happen next. At worst, songs like "You Talk Way Too Much" are paranoid retreads where the Strokes, having minted such a precise and appealing sound, seem doomed to repeat it in progressively more joyless ways.
But there are moments when Casablancas nudges his band into new, promising directions. "12:51" seems malnourished on first listen, but its sulky, understated twists soon turn out to be memorable. "Reptilia", meanwhile, showcases the fabulous--and teasingly underexploited--guitar playing of Albert Hammond and Nick Valensi, being a collection of chiming riffs and tumbling solos that suggest the Strokes should allow themselves the freedom to rock more often. Oh, and "Under Control" is a dream--specifically, one where the Smiths are playing "Tracks of My Tears". Best think of Room on Fire, then, as an album where the Strokes plot their escape from the predictable, but are a little too cautious to make a proper getaway. Courage, gentlemen. --John Mulvey
Product Description
Room On Fire Audio CD.
Song Title
1. What Ever Happened?
2. Reptilia
3. Automatic Stop
4. 12:51
5. You Talk Way Too Much
6. Between Love & Hate
7. Meet Me In The Bathroom
8. Under Control
9. The Way It Is
10. The End Has No End
11. I Can't Win
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It would appear reading other people's reviews that 'Room on Fire' does not meet up with people's expectations as to what the follow up to 'Is This It?' should sound like... why? I don't tend to review albums i don't like and this is no exception. I think this album is as good, probably better than 'Is This It?'. The rhythms and vocals fit together to produce something that just works. I didn't feel that their previous album had the consistent genious that this album represents in my eyes. Easily one of my favourite albums. I think i may have this opinion because i was a bit of a late comer to the Strokes scene and actually heard most of 'Room on Fire' before 'Is This It?'. Stand-out tracks for me are: Reptilia, Automatic Stop, 12:51, Between Love & Hate, Under Control, The End has no End and The Way it is.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By D. Shaw
Format:Audio CD
A lot of people have said that this album is too similar to the first. To repeat the standard of the debut would be one hell of an achievement. But there are significant changes to their sound on the new album anyway. Valensi's guitaring has reached new heights of excellence. Some riffs (tracks 3 or 10 say) achieve a sort of'fairground', 'circus' sound (also reminiscent of 1980s computer game music)- which gives the music a new, weird edge. And once more the riffs never work against the vocals. Like all great albums, it is lean, no musical fat. You couldn't take one bar off without a detrimental effect. Something else I notice: if you listen to the lyrics, most of them seem to be about shaking off groupies. Is this Casablancas' pillow talk? ("I never needed anybody,it won't change", "you talk way too much", "meet me in the bathroom", "You are young darling but not for long".)Golden rule: write about what you know.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Hillary
Format:Audio CD
This is a short one. Just 33 minutes of music in an age where we have now forgotten that albums used to be half an hour long - if you were lucky. Fortunately, they have made the best use of that half-hour. From start to end this is just a magnificent sweep of guitar-oriented sound. The Strokes guitar sound is so distinctive it makes you want to pick up a guitar and amp yourself, just to try copying it. I often listen to this album when I am on flights as it is an album you can easily tune into and switch off from the rest of the world.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Gideon D. Brody
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
"Reptilia" has to be one of the finest songs ever. Right, now I've got that off my chest I can continue with the review. 'Room on Fire' is one of those albums that, unlike 'Is This It', takes time. Almost guaranteed on your first listen you will comment on the similar idiosyncratic nods it has to The Strokes fine debut. You've got the catchy riffage, the lovesick lyrics, the lo-fi production and the same mic effect on every song, and then you'll probably say something like, "hmmmm, but it isn't as good!"
Well you'd be wrong. With 'Room On Fire' the New Yorkers, who look like one half of the cast of West Side Story, have delivered a fantastically rich and mature collection of songs that, if not wholly indicative of the band's future longevity just yet, does convince you that they are growing and advancing. They certainly do have the potential to become a classic rock band capable of evolving and moving away from the sugar coated simplicity of "Last Night" and "Soma".
"12:51", in itself a clever first single release, as it is the closest this album offers to 'Is This It' but the rest is a wholly more annoyed exercise. Casablancas delivers his sardonic tales of break-up and frustration with typical cockiness yet the emotion in his voice is clearer and certainly less palatable than the last album aside from the wonderful and overlooked "Trying Your Luck".
'Room On Fire' has more surprises musically as well as lyrically. The usual, 'made up in two minutes riffs', are ever present but there are more elements to catch you out on this occasion and sharp changes in tone lie around every bend.
"Automatic Stop" is a tortured tale of denial that you expect to cheer up but doesn't. "Between Love & Hate" is more of the same and exposes a rather uncomfortable side to Casablancas and his abject loneliness.
... Read more ›3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
A lot has been made of this album not living up to the standard the Strokes set with Is This It, but I can't understand it. The only criticism I could make of Room On Fire is its similarity to their debut. Still, I find it a better album than its predecessor and tracks like Reptilia, 12:51 and Between Love And Hate make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck when I really listen to them.
If you liked ITI, this is a great extension of the kind of brilliantly original rock they were playing on that, but they raise the standards on some tracks. For instance, the riff in Reptilia is a simple infectious tune, but not in any way irritating or cheesy, as with so many of their imitations.
If you liked ITI, this is a great extension of the kind of brilliantly original rock they were playing on that, but they raise the standards on some tracks. For instance, the riff in Reptilia is a simple infectious tune, but not in any way irritating or cheesy, as with so many of their imitations.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
I discovered The Strokes a bit later than most people but I am now a huge fan. I loved 10 out of 11 tracks on the first album (how often does that happen?) and I think 'Room on Fire' is as good. To me it would be worth buying for either 'Reptilia' or 'Under Control' alone. I think most of their tracks sound deceptively simple at first but get better and better the more you listen to them. '12.51' initially seemed a bit dull but now I completely love it. I have been around long enough to have been into loads of different rock bands, but have found few in recent years that put across the same compelling combination of youthful energy and brilliance - the sort of feeling created by Free or The Who in the 70s - but The Strokes have more great songs. I think anyone who like the first album and slates this just hasn't listened to it enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
fairly dirty case and scrached
second hand good quality, quite dirty but it's second hand. what you'd expect for a second hand item, nothing special.
Published 2 months ago by Haven
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good quality second hand album
In the process of replacing albums that have either walked out of my house on their own or not returned when lent out, or when they were returned they weren't in the best of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Roadrunner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only 5 stars !
It deserves five stars !! I love the strokes , i love room of fire and if you love their music this is the cd that you have to have !
Published 3 months ago by Matteo Michelni
4.0 out of 5 stars
the son loves it
bought it for Christmas present, read other reviews as well, the son loves it and that's all that matters, it's down to the individual. Price etc...was brilliant, thanks
Published 5 months ago by tinky
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mind the Gaps
The amount of hype that The Strokes generated with their skinny, raw and refreshing debut album pretty much doomed them to a future of unrealistic expectations. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. D. Glover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't you love The Strokes yet?! - Part II
A couple of years after "Is This It?", here is another excellent album by The Strokes. Again, it's brilliant and amazing. A MUST for all The Strokes lovers. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Marco
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Strokes' weakest
I find that The Strokes couldn't really match the monster hype with their second, 'Room on Fire'. Despite an equally as 'big statement'-sounding title as 'Is This It', it's not as... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Jack Richard William McCarthy
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre but still decent
Unlike their first album, this one hasn't hit the sweet spot. When one is reviewing things it's usually mandatory not to compare and contrast previous works as it will be labelled... Read more
Published on 23 April 2011 by Mr. P. F. Faulkner
5.0 out of 5 stars
THIS IS BETTER THAN IS THIS IT
This album is better than Is This It. Quite a bold statement I must admit, and I realise that many would disagree with me, including some of my friends who think I'm crazy. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2010 by Chadders
5.0 out of 5 stars
33 minutes of outstanding garage rock
In 2003 The Strokes faced a very difficult challenge - making an album anywhere near as good as Is This It (for me, one of the best albums ever). Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2007 by S. M. Paine
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