Buy this with Is This It ~ Strokes today!

Buy Together Today: £18.46

Is This It ~ Strokes  (149)  £7.48

First Impressions Of Earth ~ The Strokes  (64)  £10.48

The Libertines ~ Libertines  (68)  £10.48

Aha Shake Heartbreak ~ Kings Of Leon  (36)  £3.97

Youth and Young Manhood ~ Kings Of Leon  (44)  £2.98

› Explore similar items : Music (50)

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 End Has No End

10. The Way it is

11. I Can't Win

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

Description
After the huge success of their debut 'Is This It' The Strokes return with their second album 'Room On Fire'. Reunitingwith producer Gordon Raphael the band stick with the New York new wave punk sound that dominated their debut but add a slight eighties feel to their sound. The single '12.51' is also included.

91 Reviews 5 star:  (51) 4 star:  (19) 3 star:  (11) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:  (4)           Average Customer Review (91 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: pretty damn good guitars, 26 Nov 2003 By A Customer This album is, on first listen pretty rocking. Unlike Is This It (and hey i may as well draw comparisons here, everyone else has), the sound is slightly less like gritty concrete, the most notable instance of this being the superb 'The End has No End'. Track 9 (cant remember the name right now) is one that you will want to stick on repeat until you remember just how good the rest of the album is, and have to play right through again. Other highlights include 'Reptillia'(initial favorite track), 'Automatic Stop', 'The way it is' and 'I can't Win'. The guitars throughout are utterly fantastic, the lyrics are understated, the sound is pure cool.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: grandkids, they will understand, 7 Dec 2003 By  D. Shaw (London) - See all my reviews 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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: brilliant album, 28 Jul 2004 By A Customer 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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 91 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 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 14 months ago 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 14 months ago by N. Mcnab A change I'm not sure as to whether this is actually better than Is this It, certainly as a guitar album it is more packed with great pieces from Valensi and Hammond than their debut was,... Read more Published 14 months ago by L. Wright 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 7 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 8 Jan 2006 Stand-out album 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. Read more Published on 2 Oct 2005 by Mark Kobayashi-Hillary Is this it? yes.... Room on Fire is it! 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... Read more Published on 14 Jun 2005 by steveflaherty2