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Free the Bees
 
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Free the Bees

~ Band of Bees
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
Price: £10.88 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
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Free the Bees + Octopus + Sunshine Hit Me
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  • This item: Free the Bees ~ Band of Bees

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  • Octopus ~ Band of Bees

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Product details

  • Audio CD (28 Jun 2004)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Virgin
  • ASIN: B00022M46E
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,555 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. These Are The Ghosts 3:08£0.69
Listen  2. Wash In The Rain 3:38£0.69
Listen  3. No Atmosphere 3:49£0.69
Listen  4. Horsemen 3:29£0.69
Listen  5. Chicken Payback 3:13£0.79
Listen  6. The Russian 5:36£0.69
Listen  7. I Love You 4:35£0.69
Listen  8. The Start 2:19£0.69
Listen  9. Hourglass 4:45£0.69
Listen10. Go Karts 3:44£0.69
Listen11. One Glass Of Water 2:41£0.69
Listen12. This Is The Land 3:01£0.69

Product Description

Album Description

Having achieved success with their first album Sunshine Hit Me, the Bees return with Free the Bees, an album that beats its predecessor hands down. Free The Bees is a perfect album of indie-pop, tinged with 60s catchy hooks and 70s psychedelic rock. These Isle of Wight exiles lead the vanguard of shroomadelic Brit rock--prepare to be stung.


CD Description

'Free The Bees' is the second album from Isle Of Wight residents The Bees. Recorded at the legendary 'Studio 2' in Abbey Road, the album features an eclectic mix of sixties style R'n'B, Captain Beefheart like psychedelia, and perfect pop songwriting. The single 'Horseman' is also included.

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Laugh A Minute., 3 Oct 2004
The Isle of Wight probably isn't the first place you'd think of if you were asked to name a hotbed of musical invention. But if there are many more bands like The Bees knocking around there, it might soon be.
I've heard of a few artists being cited as likely influences on this album, from The Monkees (fair enough) to Ocean Colour Scene (never in a million years) to Sonny and Cher (erm....). But whatever The Bees have been listening to (and I'd guess it's Rubber Soul, Pet Sounds and Ogden's Nut Gone Flake as well as all kinds of other classic '60s pop and psychedelia), they must have pretty good taste.
This is a fine record, veering from the sublime poppiness of 'These Are The Ghosts' or the harder edge of 'Horsemen', to the totally barmy 'Chicken Payback' and the organ driven, pseudo-reggae grooves of 'The Russian'. And that's just the first half of the album.
Free The Bees is one of those albums that sounds like lots of things you've heard before, but simultaneously not quite like anything else. There are lush, harmony drenched tunes like 'This Is The Land' where there is an unexpected discordant guitar and piano thrown in. Then there's the clipped, strutting pop of 'Hourglass', with its lazy, laid-back guitar solo and woodwind accompaniment, followed by the fairground psychedelia of 'Go Karts'. Every song seems to have some new delight waiting for you.
This is an album made in the finest traditions of British Pop and Rock dating back to the whimsy of Syd Barrett and The Kinks and through to more recent acts like The Bluetones and The Beta Band. A riot.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Free them!, 22 Jul 2005
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Uh-oh, a follow-up to a much-loved Britpop album. That can only spell "high expectations." And that's the major problem with "Free the Bees," an otherwise lovely sophomore album by the British pop band. They shift their sound a bit, but retain the lush 60s influences and bright melodies.

Their first album was pieced together in much rougher circumstances -- in fact, it was stuck together in a garden shed. So the Bees get to make their sound a bit more polished this time around. It's perhaps not coincidental that they recorded "Free the Bees" at Abbey Road, since they seem to have soaked in the summery psychedelic vibe of the sixties.

That's most evident in songs like "Wash In The Rain," a summery pop tune that is washed in Hammond organ, or "One Glass of Water," a charmingly retro sound that is completely catchy and sweet. And they stray a bit from the sound with "Horseman," which is more influenced by harder rock from a decade later on. And "Chicken Payback" is nothing but hilarious.

The Bees (formerly "Band of Bees") are not known for their originality or wild experimentation. They're known for making good pop music, and they don't disappoint here. Their music absolutely reeks of the summer of love, and they obviously are influenced by plenty of older bands, wandering happily from sixties psychedelica to seventies rock. But with that in mind, their music is warm and refreshing.

The best word to describe the music is bouncy -- the Bees call on snappy drums and cheery basslines and guitar riffs for their energetic sound, as well as some deeply moving Hammond organ. To finish off the sound, they inject some exquisite little harmonies that would make the Zombies wipe away a tear of pride.

Those looking for a bit of sun in the middle of winter might need this. The Bees sound very retro in their second album, but seem to be having plenty of fun as they travel back in time.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pah!, 17 Mar 2006
The Bees second album is chock full of melody. Some other reviewers preferred the first album, which was a completely different sounding record, and therefore doesn't bear comparison to their second. True, Free The Bees does wear it's late 60s influences quite openly, but when it sounds this good who could care? Marvo from beginning to end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A different level
This is by far the dtrongest Bees album. Octopus is good but it veers worryingly away from the melodies and breadth of sound of this album. Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2007 by The Bondsman

2.0 out of 5 stars Erm....?
Hmmm, not really sure if I've been listening to the same album as everyone else who's reviewed. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2006 by Don't Make Me Break You

5.0 out of 5 stars Free them!
Uh-oh, a follow-up to a much-loved Britpop album. That can only spell "high expectations." And that's the major problem with "Free the Bees," an otherwise lovely sophomore... Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2006 by E. A Solinas

4.0 out of 5 stars Bees take a more user-friendly approach
Although I loved Sunshine Hit Me and its chilled vibes, I must say that Free The Bees is a bit of a victim of "dodgy-second album syndrome. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2005 by William Warren

5.0 out of 5 stars You Need This Album!!
If I said that this album is good I would actually be making an understatement. I bought this album after only hearing one of their songs and now I can barely go a day without... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2004 by Freed Bee

5.0 out of 5 stars So, so good
This album is really something special. Its so different. So retro! It really annoys me all the negative reviews of this album. Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2004 by C. M. Hollis

4.0 out of 5 stars Free The Bees - On Bail though perhaps.
This album perfectly deflects the blow of returning to London after a heavy weekend in Brighton. Anyone who doesn't like Chicken Payback should take a long hard look at themselves... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Rock Island of Wight
The Bees look like a badly dressed bunch of Badly Drawn Boy imititators, their music is all sixties bluster and seventies cod-funk cheese but amazingly they have created one of... Read more
Published on 16 Jul 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Kaleidoscopic
"Free The Bees" wears its musical influences on its sleeve, so much so, that it's tempting to review it as simply a roll call of the great (and the not so great). Read more
Published on 15 Jul 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Shamelessly retrogressive but still the bees knees
If chiming scuzzed up guitars, huge reticulating slabs of Hammond organ and a sixties vibe so vivid that it would give Oliver Stone palpitations are you're thing then you are... Read more
Published on 12 Jul 2004 by russell clarke

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