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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Underdog |
| 2. Where Did All The Love Go? |
| 3. Swarfiga |
| 4. Fast Fuse |
| 5. Take Aim |
| 6. Thick As Thieves |
| 7. West Ryder Silver Bullet |
| 8. Vlad The Impaler |
| 9. Ladies & Gentlemen (Roll The Dice) |
| 10. Secret Alphabets |
| 11. Fire |
| 12. Happiness |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Kasabian arrived with a bang and a half early this century, brandishing a slew of ever more dynamite singles and a rigorously assembled debut album that straddled dancefloors and festival fields with monumental ease and a glint in its bloodshot eyes. It was all very post-Xtrmntr, whilst avoiding much of the seriousness that could have entailed. Whether anyone expected them to chase Oasis’ coat-tails with such keenness is by the by now; they have since been ordained as an anthemic rock colossus of the UK rock scene. That has almost certainly gone to their heads and as years and albums pass they move further away from their original chemical reaction and into attempting to elbow their way onto the table of some of the greats--early Pink Floyd (the well meaning, but slightly aimless "Swarfiga"), The Kinks (the blatant "Thick As Thieves", though it doesn’t take much to imagine Noel Gallgher bashing it out either) and The Rolling Stones ("Happiness", see also Primal Scream). West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum finds them in an exploratory mood even if it struggles to lift off like either their own early material or the greats they aspire to emulate. Still, "Fast Fuse" is a rabid burst of tinny psychedelic punk and "Vlad The Impaler" intriguingly dark and electric. Not as weird or as wired as they purport to be, but given the kind of brain-numbing predictability normally peddled by bands at their level, we should be grateful for the ambition of this album. --James Berry
Review
Kasabian are back with a third album and surprise surprise, they're not coming quietly. In fact, after favouring brevity on 2004's Kasabian and 2006's Empire, they've gone all-out word crazy with a genius concept album: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.
The concept is the soundtrack to an imaginary movie undoubtedly taking place at the 19th century West Yorkshire facility that gave the album its name. If first single Fire is anything to go by, it's going to be a slow-burning grower of an album.
After the departure of co-writer Chris Karloff during the making of Empire, Serge Pizzorno went solo with writing responsibilities and also co-produced with Gorillaz production supreme Dan The Automator between their very juxtaposed bases of Leicester and San Francisco.
The partnership works like a charm, as you may well have heard already - whether through the album leak, the 2007 EP, the website limited debut, the Bravia TV ad or the soundtrack to FIFA 2009. Kasabian haven't exactly been creeping around ahead of launch.
These songs are epic, they could open films or welcome boxing titans into the ring. Opener Underdog has an instantly loveable classic, defiant riff. Vlad The Impaler is utter bonkers from the lyrics to the video starring The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding as a vampire. There's genuinely touching old-school nostalgia on Where Did All The Love Go and the opening 20 seconds of Fast Fuse could go down in history as one of the finest intros ever created.
Some of the tracks take a while to reveal their charms (Fire, Happiness where Serge's vocals don't quite stand up to Tom's, Take Aim and West Ryder Silver Bullet - a duet with Sin City star Rosario Dawson). But every single one has at least a flash of utter brilliance - and most a darn sight more.
Kasabian may be a bunch of rogues, but they're very, very loveable ones making music that's brilliant, uplifting, showy and epic - but above all fun. Only they could make an instrumental track named after the mechanic's hand cleaner Swarfiga cool.
The swagger is definitely back. But then, if you've got it, why not flaunt it? --Sophie Bruce
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is HOPE for modern MUSIC,
By
This review is from: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (Audio CD)
As a 41 year old I would like to think i'm quite open to what I listen to, whether it be; Reggae, Pop, Rock, Soul, Dance, Dubstep the list of genre's is endless..... lol. But over the last ten years or so, i've been quite disappointed in the decline of much of today's modern music. Why? well! most of today's music has lost something, can't exactly put my finger on it, it could be because it's lost it's soul, it's irony, it's power to provoke whatever it is I find myself drifting to the classics, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix etc, etc... The last group that really spoke to me was Radiohead which had passion, intrigue, soul and most of all it was music that you couldn't ignore. GOOD MUSIC to me, whatever genre it is, is suppose to move you, either emotionally, physically, or intellectually.
This ALBUM is one of those albums, I can happily say. If you are after an album which makes your feet tap, brain think, heartpound and most of all put a smile on your face, BUY THIS MAJESTIC ROCK ALBUM. THANKS BOYS.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clint Eastwood meets Rock Hippy...Brilliant!,
By
This review is from: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (Audio CD)
After the disappointment of their last album "Empire" I'm pleased to say Kasabian are back on form with West Ryder....
Opening with 4 killer tracks - 1. Underdog 2.Where did all the love go? 3.Swarfiga 4.Fast Fuse - you're thrown into distorted guitar riffs, thumping drums & fat base lines punctuated by some inspired earthy vocals overlaid with what can only be described as swathes of Spaghetti Western-esque backing vocals. Sounds bizarre but its brilliant! Unfortunately from track 5.Take Aim (great Chorus but accompanied by whining trumpets and strumming guitar)they manage to take this nod to Sergio Leone a little too far. And by 6.Thick as Thieves and 7.West Ryder Silver Bullet.... you could be fooled into thinking you've inadvertently tuned yourself into Mexico's favourite Radio station. All fairly inoffensive but not what we came for! Fortunately the album returns to the vain of the opening with a bang in the form of 8.Vlad the Impaler and following this are arguably the best 2 tracks on the album. 10.Secret Alphabets is psychedelic pop/rock brilliance and 11.Fire which I'm sure will be the song of the year and will therefore duely die a sad slow death at the hands of Radio Stations and TV Ads across the land. This is a Marmite album that will take a few listenings to really appreciate and would have got the 5 Star Vote if Kasabian didn't, again, add 3 or 4 tracks that quite frankly feel like they shouldn't be there.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Kasabian,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (MP3 Download)
Im nearly 70 years old but love the music of this century (as well as the last). I had heard various tracks from West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum on the radio and recently downloaded the whole thing. I cant tell you how I was entranced by the power and beauty of the music especially "Underdog" , "Where did all the love go" and "West Ryder Silver Bullet"...........Oh hell I love it all.
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