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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiral Carpets - substance over style wins by a mile..., 9 May 2003
As the Amazon reviewer so astutely points out, the Inspirals are generally regarded as also-rans of the Madchester era. That's not to put them alongside the likes of Northside or Top, but it's the Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and even The Charlatans (West-Midlanders thru and thru!) who are always held up as the cream of Manchester's early 90's explosion.Well bollocks to that, quite frankly. The cool people know who the cool people are, and the fact that The Inspirals always had too much taste to chase musical trends is both what kept them from crashing and burning on the rocks of super-stardom, and what will keep their back-catalogue evergreen for years to come. The group's early stuff owes more to the raw garage-pop psyche-outs that you'll find on the Nuggets compilations than any passing fad, and lest we forget that when Madchester was in full-on baggy bloom they were releasing hit singles with miltary style drum beats (This Is How It Feels, She Comes In The Fall) and waltzing tempos (Biggest Mountain) Life (1989) was a big hit through the sheer force of the band's own momentum, and rather than hire a "name" dance producer to rave up their next album for maximum chart potential, on The Beast Inside (1990) they turned into the flippin' Doors for an album of dark, brooding pop genius. As the Roses disappeared up their bums (and John Squire's nose) in the studio and the Monday's trip turned sour and nasty, The Inspirals revved up their guitars and sharpened their melody sticks for perhaps the most accessible and instant record of their career, Revenge of The Goldfish (1992) Generations, Dragging Me Down, Two Worlds Collide, Bitches Brew -that's possibly more classic singles on one record than the Monday's had in their whole career! Even with Britpop about to explode in 1994, thanks to ex-Inspirals roadie Noel Gallagher's beat combo Oasis, the Oldham lads prefered to plough their own back-to-basics furrow, revisiting the garage-pop of their past for the Top 10 album, Devilhopping. The genius of Saturn 5, I Want You and Uniform provide all you need to know about the quality of this album, which to these here ears contained at least another 2 potential hit singles (Party In The Sky and The Way The Light Falls) And then they were gone. After putting Mark Smith on Top Of The Pops for a legendary performance of I Want You, they took an extended vacation while still on top of their game. 2003's reunion concerts proved that the band can still stand tall above any of the current crop of indie plodders that pass for talent these days (and I'm only 25, so don't call me old and cynical - yet!) and if you still need convincing that the Inspirals were the hidden gems of Madchester, just buy Cool As and spend an afternoon in their company. Essential stuff.
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~ Inspiral Carpets
~ Inspiral Carpets
![Inspiral Carpets - Live At The Brixton Academy [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512PKTXR52L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Inspiral Carpets
~ The Charlatans
~ The Stone Roses
See all 20 tracks on this disc
![Cool As [2 CD + DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ANN0JKHXL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
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