Possibly the most hyped and expected album of 2004, The Libertines, the self titled album from one of the few bands currently attempting to save British music, after the classic that was their debut, the band were under quite a bit of pressure to try and match it, but were under even more pressure to keep it together, under the storm of arguments and fall outs between singer/guitarists Carl Barat and Pete Doherty. Indeed, one of the last things the Libertines did was release this record, before Doherty was thrown out of the band to try and get over his many drug addictions. The band had to recruit another singer/guitarist to complete the arranged tour dates, and have now decided to stop doing anything until Pete comes back.

The album was released in normal form in the summer, and in a rare case of a deserving record selling, somehow topped the British album charts, and lead single Can't Stand me Now hit number 2 of the singles chart. Then, this November, a special edition of the record was released, featuring a bonus DVD titled 'The Boys in the Band'. This would actually be the third version of this record I've bought in only a few months, because I picked up the the regular version on release,hocked it off to buy the Australian import which boasted 3 more songs, and then picked this edition up on release.

The funny thing is, if I am being honest, after the first few listens of this album, I thought I had made a mistake. It really didn't seem to be my thing at all. But for some reason, I felt compelled to keep trying it, and now I can honestly say this is my favourite album from the last few years, maybe not overshadowing the band's debut, but definitely hitting par with it. Once again, Clash and B.A.D legend Mick Jones was enlisted with production duty.

Kicking off the record is Can't Stand me Now, it's a simple, slightly upbeat track that is a nice rock song that you can't help but feel has tones of indie music, but it's much, well, better. It's the band's great point, their songs all have a certain 'sound' to them, despite fitting under several genres like punk or indie, with the most predominant sound being kind of similar to these 'garage revival' bands like the Strokes. Anyway, the song is a simple tale of a love gone wrong and the two parties unable to get along, despite the fact the love is still there. Like many a song on the record, you could say it's about Doherty's relationship with the band, Im sure his constant 'turns' do their heads in, but the Libertines aren't the Libertines without him. The song isn't too fast, but it has a nice upbeat sound to it,finishes with a harmonica and boasts a sing-along chorus that doesn't leave any doubt in your mind how it scaled the charts so high.

Come to think of it, the album is actually almost a concept album. The majority of songs seem to be about relationships gone awry, something that usually puts me off, but they never focus on it being a boy/girl in love kissing etc relationship. Indeed, while love is talked about, it is fairly easy to link the majority of songs to the Barat/Doherty feuds and friendship. While an album where the main focus is on troubled relationships would usually be opening the floodgates for my wrath, The Libertines have managed to do it without angering me, how?
Well, I think it could be down to the fact that none of the songs are whiny, there is no whining about a girlfriend being rubbish, no stories of cheating and being sorry about it, no, the fall outs here have been either down to mutual faults, or the fault of the singer for something minor, in other words, they add a slash of realism to this tired and jaded subject. Something most Emo bands should have considered doing a while ago.

The follow up, Last Post on the Bugle, ups the pace drastically, and has a rocky guitar sound that isn't all that dissimilar to old punk guitar, with more lyrics of a love under troubles. It's another favourite of mine, and possibly why I didn't initially enjoy the album was because it had such good songs to begin with, and couldn't really top them later on, although the latter songs have now grown on me, this and the first track are still probably up their as contenders as my favourites.

Next is the only weak link of the record, Don't Be Shy. This track is far to slow in tempo, and lacks the lyrical wit that usually gets the band past songs becoming slow and tiresome. This is the only song on the record I ever skip now.

Initially, I would have said the same of The Man Who Would be King, because it doesn't do much in the way of keeping the pace either, however it is a song that grows on you if you actually listen to it's rather enchanting guitar rythm and interesting lyrics. It also features some piano, and while it took time to grow on me, I would now say I regard it as a very good song. Nowhere near the best on the record, but certainly a good song.

Next up is Music When the Lights Go Out,another song where the focus is that of a relationship gone wrong. This one is fairly downbeat in terms of tone, and starts out as simply Pete and an accoustic guitar, but a while in it kicks into full force with the rest of the band joining in. Despite the rather downbeat nature, I really do love this song, and it's another contender for my favourites list.

The tempo then increases tenfold with the almost bouncy pop-punk track Narcissist where Carl gives us this enjoyable sing- and whistle along put down of the 'proffessionally trendy'. Maybe Im reading into it a bit much, but possibly a little dig at the Strokes?

We then have The Ha Ha Wall, a song which uses Pete's distinct voice very well, but is slightly overshadowed by the next song, Arbeit Macht Frei a short slice of punk madness, where Pete's rapid fire vocals are almost undecipherable, but when they are you discover that they are deceptively nice and in true style quite witty and real, "her old man/he don't like blacks or queers/yet he's proud we beat the nazis...how queer..."

Next is Campaign of Hate, which isn't really a highlight, but is still a good track, if only due to the band's description of mods (poor kids dressing like they're rich) and the fact they have a pop at "white kids talking like they're black".

Next up is a real favourite of mine.What Katie Did, a song that seems to have been around as long as the band, makes it's appearance here. It's most famous due to the fact that whenever Pete comes into close proximity of an accoustic guitar, this song he plays. This is made slightly odd, due to the fact it's here played electric and the first half is sung by Carl. It's a real classic of a tune, with it's slightly weird 'shoop-shoop-shoop-de-lang-a-lang" chorus, and lyrics about a girl whose life isn't going too well. I read it's about a friend of the band's who was trying to kick drugs, which could be seen to make sense. It's the memorable guitar riff and chorus that stay with you though.
What follows is another favourite of mine Tomblands, basically just another upbeat in sound rock-punk song, it's done with the typical panache of the band to elevate it further than the usual in terms of listening enjoyment.

The Saga is another song that grew on me over time, more down to it's lyrics, about problems arising when you let people down, and about dieing. It's quite unusual, but at the same time a compulsive listen.

Road to Ruin is probably the second weakest track. It isn't all that bad, it just isn't reallly of the standard of all the songs around it. It goes on in a:

Carl:How Can we
Rest of the band:How can we
Carl:Make you understand
Rest:Make you understand

And so on until the chorus, which isn't really enough to make up for it.

The final song, the only song the band admit is autobiographal of the lead duo, What Became of the Likely Lads. This is dueted by the pair, and is generally about their up and downs. It's one of the best, and was the second single taken from the record, and Carl has said it will be the last unless Pete returns, because it's the best place to leave it. It's also the perfect end to the record, with it's upbeat nature and catchy chorus.
After this, we have a secret song, a separate track on the Australian version, called France, this is an accoustic track sung by Carl about a girl who got away, and while not up to the quality of the rest of the record, as far as secret songs, usually garbage things, its awesome.

On the whole, The Libertines is one of the most solid, and enjoyable to listen to records I have heard. Not just in recent years, but possibly ever. It may not have as many outstanding tracks as the group's debut, but it had more weak songs.
Possibly the thing that will throw a lot of fans off balance is that this sounds so much different in terms of song style to the group's first record. In it, they were bad-boy punk garage rockers, out to raise hell and smash stuff and all that, while writing fast and furious songs. Here, the more indie side of them is played on more, and you could say a lot more focus is put on lyrics. While as a Clash-fanboy I could put this down to Jones influence, given that he pushed every album from that band towards a different sound, that would be taking a lot away from the band themselves, which isn't something they deserve.

I initially planned to simply review the regular album at one point, and I felt it deserved full marks, and to be honest, my views haven't changed. I probably like it even more now. Without a doubt the best record Iof the year so far.

The DVD included in the package ensured that the score was going to remain at full as well. On this, we have about 4 Live songs from 'The Factory', and some footage of Barat and Doherty playing a host of songs on accoustic guitars at the infamous Filthy McNasty's bar. One cheat is the performance of 'The Boy Looked at Johnny', which is billed as being live, but sounds far too much like the CD version to me. I can't help but think this was made as a video, and here the company have tried to fob it off as a live performance.
It also has footage of the band recieving an award at the 2003 NME awards, and also that show's performance of the band's superb Don't Look Back into the sun,the video for Can't Stand me Now and some footage of the band playing live, and some backstage stuff from their December 03 gigs at 'The Forum'.
Also on their is a little bit of film of the band in their minibus in Madrid, where they play some songs on accoustic, including a cover of the Coral's Dreaming of You, and most interesting of all, interviews with all of the band, where they talk about each other,their influences,working with Mick Jones,Chas and Dave and other topics.

The DVD is great, considering it comes with the album at a regular price. Naturally the best part is the live stuff, especially from 'the Factory', because it also shows you some onstage banter from the band.

On the whole, this special edition package is a must have for fans of the band, probably even if you already own the regular album, because the DVD is great, and for those who don't have any version of it, this is definitely the one to opt for. While you may see the Aussie version with the 3 extra songs, it really isn't worth it. One isn't even an extra song, it's just France as a separate track. Out of the other two, the best one, Never Ever can be found as a B-Side to Can't Stand Me Now and the other, I Got Sweets is generally quite disapointing. The fact that they are just bungled on at the end also spoils the record, because What Became of the Likely Lads was made to be the last listed track.

So yes, 'an ending fitting for the start', the first line sung on this CD is very fitting. They came into the world with a 5 star record, and if it is to be the end of the band, as will they go out. The Libertines definitely beat the 'difficult second album' jinx, and I really do hope they get to test their wits on a third record, but even if they don't, the band can still hold their heads high, they may have only given fans 2 albums, but when compared to that put out by their rivals, the quality really does go over quantity. If it's any indication just how highly I rate the band, they are the only band who have actually inspired me enough to buy singles since I hit puberty(I was once a foolish child who bought Oasis singles), and by buying them I mean at full price, or even tracking them down. That's a higher accolade than any review of them I could write.

Related Reviews
The Libertines - I Get Along
The Libertines - Up the Bracket
The Libertines - Up the Bracket(Singles)

Thanks to the Category Leads for adding this,and all the other stuff they have added for me lately

Recommended: Yes