Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A muddled triumph, 14 Mar 2006
Having read all the negative reviews about 'Down In Albion' I decided with some trepidation to give the Babyshambles album a go anyway. I had really enjoyed their singles Killamangiro and ---- Forever and thought 'what the hell!'
Well i'm glad to report back that the album is no where near the disaster that other reviewers have suggested, in fact its a little gem and with a little tweaking it could have been a classic. By this I mean a couple of songs could have been shaved off such as Pentonville to give the album a bit more momentum and focus. Whilst the single versions of Killamangiro and ---- Forever should have been retained. That said Pete Doherty's talent is plain to see, the guy can write songs and there's a lot of strong tracks on here; The 32 Of December, Pipedown, Albion and Loyalty Song just some of them.
All in all this album has really grown on me, it is messy and raw but that's a refreshing change from a lot of over produced music thats around. There are lots of moments of inspiration that warrant this being part of your album collection.
One can only hope Doherty cleans himself up and manages to reach his full potentional as a brilliant musician.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heard the promo album - its a blinder, 23 Oct 2005
I am fortunate enough to borrow a promo copy of this album from an associate of mine, and I have to say it is very impressive.Different and Suprising - the only way to describe this album. Being a Libertines fan from the start, I quickly turned to the babyshambles after their split. The babyshambles, although they have had their ups and downs are a band of quality and excellence, and this album prooves their worth. The opening track is an unusual mix of sounds and lyrics, quite different from the rest of the album. A mixture of different beats, fast and slow, a repeating "batman theme" style tune runs through the song. One other suprise on this track is the female voice which kicks in after a couple of minutes - kate moss? Track two f*** Forever - brilliant! a previous release from the babyshambles. Following that A'rebours is ok quite difficult to understand, and my least favourite track on the album. From the least favourite track comes the best track, the 32nd of December. An amazing song in Libertines style, surely will be a future single release. A bright, loud and lyriclly dark track - Stunning. A great blend of catchy riffs and instrumentals. Pipedown and sticks and stones are the next tracks, both very good in their own right. Sticks and stones is totally different from what I have ever heard. In a reggae style tune, only pete dohertys familiar voice links this with the band!. Other superb songs on the album include Killamangiro, completlly revampt to the single version on the album and down in albion, the forthcoming single, the best track to date. Overall, absolutlly fantastic, both lyriclly and musiclly. A sure hit and comes highly reccommended.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a shambles, baby, and i'd be a fool to resist!, 27 Jul 2007
This is not like the Libertines stuff, i think it's far better.If you're more into purely Libertines-style songs then go for Dirty Pretty Things. Down In Albion has such a mix of different styles of songs: hard and fast, acoustic rumbling, love songs, with sloppy guitars, mumbles and screams, muttering, Kate Moss singing, chants, wails,even the sounds of cups of tea being made.
16 songs, most of which are over three mins, a lot are over four mins.
I bought this over a year ago and it stayed in my player for months.
If you like romantic notions of great Albion: streets, railway stations, gutters and bus stops, if you like bands like The Smiths, and if you like libertinesque songs it does have some, plus raw, mean punk riffs, plus jangley guitars and crooning, get it.
This is excellent melodies, lyrics, music, proving these boys in the band have definately got it. A briliant first album from this band.
A perfect shambles.
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