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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 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.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
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.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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 4 months ago by Marco
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 10 months ago by Jack Richard William McCarthy
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 13 months ago by Mr. P. F. Faulkner
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 Mr. Jw Chadwick
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
Thin talents ruthlessly exposed
If it were possible to combine the values of a cynical manufactured boy band with an "indie" identity,then the Strokes could be the living proof. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2007 by N. Mcnab
Great comeback
Room on Fire is known not to be as good as Is This It and I agree but that does not mean it is bad. Not a dull song as with Is This It. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2006 by Joe Hill
Better than Is This It
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. Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2006
Let Down
Here it is! The second release from the most hyped band in the history of civilized society and, naturally, it doesn't deliver. Read more
Published on 12 April 2005 by Alan Ranta
Good follow up, Louder vocals perhaps?
Well Room on Fire didn't exactly set the world alight but it is a decent enough follow up from The Strokes' first album "Is This It?". Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2005 by G. BROOKS
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