The Best 44 4th Albums of All Time #14

The Charlatans – The Charlatans  (1995, Beggars Banquet Records)

“You’re too young to stay quiet”

Points 86

Highest Rank 3^rd 

Just Lookin’ (1995, Beggars Banquet Records)

As promised on Friday, this week is kicked off by a piece that the Robster wrote a few years back.  It was intended to published on his fine blog as part of a series he was writing.  He then abandoned the idea so we have it as an exclusive…..

Rob’s blog is on a bit of a hiatus at the moment which is a shame because Rob is a fine writer.  You are welcome over here anytime you like Rob.

A Guest Posting by the Robster

The lack of commercial success since their debut four years earlier must have been something of a disappointment to the Charlatans. The critics hadn’t been overly kind either. Keith Cameron aptly wrote in the NME:

“The Charlatans are perennial mid-table survivors, dogged keepers of the flame, honest yeomen, true believers, always giving top value for yer good vibes dollar on the live front … yup, here’s a band damned with faint praise so often their shoulders must be weak from shrugging.”

Yet while they seemed to be weighed down by their early successes, they nonetheless continued to reference the past, steering themselves towards a classic 70s rock sound reminiscent of the Rolling Stones, The Faces and Neil Young. And that’s where they were when they returned to Monnow Valley in 1994 to begin their fourth album.

Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over – The Charlatans (1995, Beggars Banquet Records)

Over the ensuing months, those 70s vibes permeated the band’s strongest set of songs to date. The Faces could have made ‘Tell Everyone’, ‘Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over’ sounds like a great lost track from ‘Exile On Main Street’, and ‘Here Comes A Soul Saver’ unashamedly borrows a riff from Pink Floyd – and that’s not to mention the early Stones-y homage of the album cover. Yet, for some reason, it all seemed to fit right into the here-and-now of 1995. Britpop had taken off, and while Blur and Oasis spearheaded that scene, the Charlatans were swept up in the hype, and that clearly helped make this record such a success. It became their first #1 since their debut, and produced their biggest hit song since ‘Then’.

Crashin’ In – The Charlatans (1995, Beggars Banquet Records)

In some ways though, that’s a bit of a shame because ‘The Charlatans’ is now thought of as a Britpop album, like ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘Parklife’. Yet this is the album the band had been working towards, often stealthily, for five years. Mention Britpop now, and cynical sneers appear in many quarters, with memories of lad-culture, obscene excess and stadium anthems becoming de riguer. ‘The Charlatans’ is so much more than that.

Tell Everyone – The Charlatans (1995, Beggars Banquet Records)

Standout tracks are difficult to pinpoint as at least 10 of the album’s 12 tracks are worthy of a special mention. Yes, it does fall away slightly on side 4, but it’s otherwise a very consistent-sounding record, a ‘proper album’ as opposed to a collection of singles and some filler. It was the first real sign that the Charlatans were aiming to be a ‘serious’ band, an albums band, with longevity more of an aim than short-term chart success. Ironic really, considering what was to come.

Here Comes A Soul Saver – The Charlatans (1995, Beggars Banquet Records)

Sadly, once again, the critics were somewhat ambivalent – Cameron gave the album 6/10 in the NME – but retrospectively, ‘The Charlatans’ has become one of the band’s most loved and highly-regarded records. It also proved to be the marker of the most commercially successful period of the band’s existence.   At last.

Thanks Rob.  Marvellous stuff.  Which reminds me to start compiling my list of Best Eponymously Named Album for a forthcoming Musical Jury Vote.  If you like Rob’s writing there is more from him to come in the next week or so.

Talking of guest postings , rather like the old 132 bus from Hempstead Valley to Chatham, you wait roughly forever for one to come in and two come in at once.   Tomorrow sees the return of Swiss Adam, with his third contribution of this series, and here as ever is a lyrical clue to which fourth album he is talking about.

“It’s no problem of mine, but it’s a problem I find”