Pros: an awesome example of raw indie Brit rock (i.e.:OASIS),without all the conflict
Cons: No airplay in the US
The Bottom Line: If you want to hear a great "original" band at it's finest, LONGPIGS-The Sun Is Often Out, is worth finding. It definitely delivers everything a true music fanatic wants.
SourGrrrrl's Full Review: The Sun Is Often Out by Longpigs
LONGPIGS, The Sun Is Often Out is an important CD in my vast collection. I have always been into “British” bands i.e.; Radiohead, The Verve, The Beatles and Oasis to name a few. My husband being “British”, only made me into more the fanatic! He introduced me to many, many exciting Britpop bands and more so, to many, many exciting record shops in England, while we were “courting”. I drove him insane, spending many hours and dollars in these shops working to expand my collection. This Longpigs cd I actually found here, at my local Tower Records. In any case, here is my review, of a cd absolutely worth owning!
Like some other bands from Sheffield, England i.e.; Def Leppard and Pulp. (also known for a little film called THE FULL MONTY), the Longpigs reign the court of my music taste. My husband is from a town near Sheffield called Doncaster and I have been to Sheffield on numerous occasions. With the fact that Sheffield is a total University/student town, local radio stations could easily propel a band such as the Longpigs into Britpop frenzy.
Longpigs are:
Crispin Hunt-vocals and guitars…(born in London, influenced by Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, The Beatles, David Bowie, and would you believe, Henry Rollins. After moving to Sheffield, Hunt recruited the rest of this “original” band).
Dee Boyle-drums and vocals (Boyle was the first band mate recruited by Hunt. He was also a member of another Sheffield group, Cabaret Voltaire).
Simon Stafford-bass and piano (this gig was literally his “first” experience playing bass, …ever)!
Richard Hawley-guitars and vocals (Hawley was the last to join the band. A trivia note: his father played guitar with Joe Cocker and Bo Didley in the 1960’s. Another footnote* he has performed with Pulp on tour).
Longpigs have toured with some Britpop giants i.e.; Supergrass, Radiohead, and Pulp to name a few…
.
April 1996 marked the release of the Longpigs debut album, “The Sun Is Often Out”
From the bracing Britpop sound of “She Said” and “FAR “to a flawlessly enduring ballad, “On and On”, the Longpigs debut album struck a chord in my heart as well as my head. This album contains 4 top 40 UK singles. “She Said”, “Lost Myself” and “On and On”, were all in the UK top 20.The album went GOLD in the UK as well and three years later, released their follow-up, “Mobile Home in October 1999. The name Longpigs was something Hunt and company came up with after reading a book about cannibalism… i.e.: Webster’s Definition: Longpig(among the MAORI and Polynesian people) human flesh eaten by cannibals.
Here are some of “my” highlights on this CD:
Track 1-Lost Myself, is a straightforward, gut wrenching ballad type pop song, with Hunt’s vocals lurching out far and above the instrumental. It starts out slow and then winds itself up to a massive chorus, then changes tempo before returning to the chorus again. (I love it when a song breaks the mold, as well as the barriers, of the unwritten laws of songwriting. ) The lyrics here will try to rip through you and in some cases (i.e.; ME), they do…
“She sold herself on the one love,
The one that most of us live without.
And dressed for the occasion, day after day
Forgives herself when it don’t come”
“But I lost myself I cannot speak,
To live by myself Imp far too weak
I have lost myself I cannot sleep
To live by myself Imp far to meek”
Track 2-She Said, is the song that put this album on the UK charts, stomping into the top 20. This song is the antidote for those who love lyrically poetic Brit bands such as Travis, The Verve and Coldplay, but want a bit more OASIS, oomph to them. This song does all that and more, with both stirring lyrics and punchy instrumentals. You cant help but play this song LOUD!
“There’s no one I can talk to
like I talk to myself
She said”
“So I play games to make them
Think I’m someone else
It’s inbred”
“And as a matter of fact
I don’t like to be seen
Cause I’m not satisfied with myself
She said”
“You better hit her
She said, she said, she said, she’s dead…”
Track 3- FAR, is my “pop tart” favourite on this cd. This song has outrageously cute lyrics and a very “Brit-hip-pop” sound to its instrumentals. Hunt again reaches new heights here, with both his vocal and writing talents. You can actually feel some sort of musician “camaraderie” within this single. (It’s a definite “shiny happy people”kind of a song)…
“Far, cause I’m in love again,
Far cause I’m going to wear you out
Far cause I’m in love again
Far cause I know no ones going to show you how, but I found out”
Track 4-On And On, is a “hard-on” of a pop ballad. Hunt gets to stretch his lungs again and the rest of the band accompanies him to another UK top 20. This song didn’t catch me at first listen. In fact this song abnormally changes the tempo of the first 3 tracks, that at first, I kept skipping over it. Getting ready for a trip to visit my then “boyfriend”, I recorded this cd so I could listen to it on my walkman, and truth be told, while walking around Doncaster, England, I found out how awesome this song truly is…
“There’s no one else I want beside you,
Give me your coldest shoulder to cry upon
You’re never anywhere I find you
You’re never anything I rely upon”
“And I wish you would leave me
And I wish you would go
And I wish you didn’t need me
And I wish I didn’t know”
“My love… goes on and on and on and on and on”
Track 8-Jesus Christ, is a "supercool" song. The tasty heavy- handed bass and guitar licks, along with a desperately funky “religious” sounding chorus, gives this song a commanding lead over the second half of the cd. (It rocks large)…
Track 9-Dozen Wicked Words, kind of reminds me of a U2 sounding song(not necessarily the vocals, but the tune and lyrics most definitely). This song is a highlight that needs a bit more attention from the audience. I also read that this is the bands favourite song on this CD…
“A larger part the need to be burnt
Justify this excellent girl
One dozen wicked words to find
I know we’ll start again sometimes”
Track 12- Untitled (sleep), is the lush hidden-secret finish to this extraordinary debut album.
(This soft track, reminds me of a Michael Penn song)…
“Cos one of these days
You’re sure to be gone
And I’ll have to carry on
Without you
Without you”
TRACK LIST
1-LOST MySELf (5.03)
2-SHE SAiD (4.34)
3-FAR (3.44)
4-On ANd ON (4.18)
5-HAPPY AgAIN ( 4.17)
6-ALL HYPe (3.23)
7-SALLY DAnCES (3.45)
8-JESUs CHRiST (3.58)
9-DozEN WICkED WORds (4.58)
10-eLVIS (4.23)
11-OvER OUR BodIEs (7.01)
*Note: if you hit 12, turn up the volume for a hidden bonus track---untitled (sleep)*
Footnote: all the songs are written by Crispin Hunt except “ALL HYPe” written by Hunt/Boyle.
This album was produced by Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby, for MANNA Productions and was recorded at AXIS studios, Sheffield, ENGLAND.
Great Music to Play While: riding the tube from Heathrow to London ...and back of course!
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