5 GREAT ALBUM TRACKS FOR FRIDAY (Part 21b)

The first two LPs had firmly established Tindersticks, both critically and commercially.  OK, none of their records stormed to the top of the charts, but Tindersticks (II) from 1995 was a real slow-burner all over Europe and before long, it was easy enough for the band to undertake sell-out tours across venues that held thousands rather than hundreds.  Sometimes the shows would be just the band themselves, while other times they would play with an orchestra, as captured magnificently on their live album, Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre, recorded in March 1995.

But it was almost as if, having got this success based on a sound that was deep, intense and hugely atmospheric, they wanted to ditch it all and start again.

The reaction to the third album Curtains, released in 1997, might have had a lot to do with it.  Most folk said it wasn't a patch on the previous two LPs.  But given the quality of those particular releases, it was always going to be a difficult one to get an honest and fair critical reaction.  I'm actually a huge fan of Curtains - I reckon it has some of the best tracks that the band ever recorded.  There was even a tremendous single - Bathtime - which sneaked into the charts almost unnoticed one week at #38.  However, a bit of a backlash emerged with too many critics saying it was just more of the same deep depressing stuff that quite frankly didn't fit-in with the times  - it was all about raving to The Chemical Brothers, singing along to the Spice Girls and of course fawning over Oasis and the hype around their 1997 LP Be Here Now.

Tindersticks themselves anticipated it all - there's a track on Curtains called Ballad Of Tindersticks which chronicled just how fed up they were of the world they were now occupying and what they were becoming.  Essential listening for anyone who things a rock'n'roll lifestyle is worth giving everything up for.....

The first time we flew in


It was cheap and cramped
The vodka running out half-way across the Atlantic
Even the steward screamed and joined in it
We didn't think we were going to make it


Now we're stretched out in wide, furry seats
Flicking through menus
A walk to the bar and there's as much screw-top champagne as we can drink
We're so easy


Taking turns having our photos taken
Sitting in front of small windows
Decanters of cheap whiskey in our hands
Drive into Manhattan on a date with a starlet who's just talent
That's what people pay the money to see
Who are we to argue?


Five hours now it's been going on
And still we're watching all of it
Can you really believe all this?
Can he really lie in bed at night and marvel at his own genius?
When do you lose the ability to step back
And get a sense of your own ridiculousness?
They're only songs


Midnight, and it's all over
Now it can really make us laugh
We're standing on our heads drinking sours of Crystal Schnapps
Now we're unable to step back or forward
Swallowing a swallow
Tasting it again, it's not so unpleasant
Perhaps it's an acquired taste
The first time, it makes you sick
Then, little by little, it becomes delicious


Showbiz people
Always there to be interested in what you say
We are artists; we are sensitive and important
We nod our heads earnestly
Already half-way down the champagne
On our way to leaving the place dry


A $2,000 bar bill
Showbiz picks up the tab
And we're on our way laughing
Laughing at what?


Los Angeles, eight days in
And our sense of irony's running pretty thin
All the friends we've made
It's 2 am, it's closing time at the Dresden
Marty and Layton play one last sleepy "Strangers in the Night"
And the last of the martinis dribble down our chins
We're sitting, chasing the conservation around the table


Jesus, how long have I been in this state?


The limousine's still waiting outside
Anything you want to do?
Anywhere you want to go?
We're on our way to the airport and a plane to Vegas
So many nights lying in bed shaking
Dreaming of pushing my daughter around the supermarket
The joy of seeing all those colours and shapes reflected in her wide eyes


My head leaning on the window
And we're driving through the empty L.A. streets
And everything seems silent and beautiful
A guy's face hits the floor
Police revolvers glistening in the streetlight
Onto Melrose and lurching through a sea of Halloween transvestites
The flight's cancelled, but it doesn't matter
We turn this corner to a way that takes us wherever


Up to Sunset
We creep up the drive to the Shattuck
The suite Belushi died in
Or the one Morrison hung out of the window
Oh, I'll go for Jim's
I would fancy a little window-hanging myself, tonight, man


Straight over to the mini-bar
Open the champagne -- one sip and it's left to wake up to
Anyone hungry?
A team of uniformed waiters lay out an elaborate table for all us to ignore
Oh, the irony
How we're used to living


Back in London on a cold Friday night
Do you want another drink?
Well, I could try
Perhaps we could make it to the Atlantic
600 yards, twenty minutes later
We're pushing through the waiting crowd, all fish eyes
An exclusive door policy
Exclusively for arseholes
And tonight? Well, a nod of our heads, and we're inside


Falling down the red, velvety stairs
Limbs flaying, hands searching for something to steady
Pick ourselves up, nothing broken
Just aches in the morning
No one seems to notice


I find a table, champagne arrives
I've been so drunk, I sit and look at you
We try and talk for the first time in a long time
Drunken confessions
You shiver, it made you feel sick
We use the rent money to pay the bill
Bumping shoulders, we stumble out into Soho
Slipping over the sleeping bags
Shouting for taxis

It was hardly a surprise therefore that come 1999 the release of Simple Pleasures was a sea-change in the sound of Tindersticks.  The strings were still in evidence on many of the songs as was a horn section.  But there was now some female backing vocalists.  And where the previous LPs had been epics that were over an hour in length, the new record had just 9 tracks and lasted a little over 40 minutes.  Oh and it was a totally different sound - very light on the ear, with hints of soul throughout, including a near lounge-bar version of the Odyssey hit single If You're Looking For A Way Out.  That it was an album fraught with difficulties is admitted by the band themselves as the sleeve notes inform that the songs were recorded over a six-day period in October 1998 but that as many as 25 takes were required before all were satisfied....

The songs on Simple Pleasures did throw the critics.  Where two years ago the band had been slated for not moving on with times, now they got brickbats for changing the sound that had made them so special and unique.  They really couldn't win......

Since then, we've had Can Our Love....in 2001 which was a continuation of Simple Pleasures, and then Waiting For The Moon in 2003 which harked back in some ways to the earlier material in it being a downbeat and melancholy sounding record.

And that appeared to be that as the band concentrated on solo projects and stopped touring.  Then out of the blue in 2008, there was a reformation of sorts with three out of the six members getting back together along with a number of guest musicians to release The Hungry Saw and then more musicians were added to the band on a more permanent basis to record and tour Falling Down A Mountain in 2010.

You can probably surmise from my lack of enthusiastic words above that I'm less fond of the the later albums.  They all have their merits but the depth of quality isn't there.  I'm also not so keen on the soulful stuff that dominated the 199-2001 era, but I never stopped going along to watch them live as they were always gave stunning performances.  Even the duller tracks on the albums sparked into life in the live setting, thanks to the ability of the musicians and of course the amazing voice that belongs to Stuart Staples.

The loss of Dickon Hinchcliffe (strings, keys and vocals), Al McCauley (drums and percussion) and Mark Colwill (bass) ripped the heart out of the band as a performing unit and it just hasn't been the same since.

I'm no longer first in line to get my ticket to a show.....indeed the last time they played Edinburgh I didn't go along (I had bought a ticket but the weather was lousy and I had a bad day at work and couldn't be arsed making the effort).  But I'll still maintain that Tindersticks have been one of the most impressive bands to emerge over the past 20 years - they've entertained me so many times in the live setting and I've loved so many of their songs that as this mini-series has demonstrated, it was impossible to select just five great non-singles from the LPs.  And here's my favourite five from the 1997-2010 era:-

mp3 : Tindersticks - Buried Bones
mp3 : Tindersticks - Let's Pretend
mp3 : Tindersticks - (Tonight) Are You Trying To Fall I Love Again?
mp3 : Tindersticks - CF GF
mp3 : Tindersticks - Until The Morning Comes

The first three are lifted from Curtains, while the others are from Simple Pleasures and Waiting For The Moon respectively (and Until The Morning Comes features a rare lead vocal from Dickon Hinchcliffe rather than Stuart Staples.....)

And that brings an end this mini series.  But there will be more Tindersticks stuff coming up in times ahead.....a wee look at the singles methinks!!

Happy Listening