Bad B-Sides Could Be The Death of Me
Written: Mar 21 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The lead song is good
Cons: The rest is pretty grim
The Bottom Line: Woeful B-Side covers and a poor video do not a worthy single-purchase make.
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| flash-hammer's Full Review: Life Will Be the Death of Me Pt.2 [Single] by Ordi... |
CD2 of The Ordinary Boys 2nd and final single release from their sophomore album Brassbound would see the 70s obsessed Indie-kids pull out another 2 covers to back up lead song Life Will Be The Death of Me as well as including the video clip for the song, yet selling the CD at the same price as it’s CD1 companion…despite including around double the content on this version…I wonder which version sold more copies?
As I’ve mentioned before, while I thoroughly enjoy Life Will Be The Death of Me, bouncy basslines, traditional jaggy indie guitar riffage, random harmonies, sarcastic delivery and all, it’s not really obvious single-material, especially given some of the alternatives on Brassbound. Fans of Indie music who would like a little slab of upbeat, no frills genre fun will lap the track up, however that’s not who is your predominant single buyer, it’s the pop crowd, a crowd The Ordinary Boys would turn to a little later in their career.
As I mentioned, the song is backed by 2 cover versions, a reworking of Phil Spector and Harry Nilsson’s This Could Be The Night, and most interesting for me, the band’s take on The Kinks’ Set Me Free. Sadly, neither is of a particularly high quality, with the former sounding like the same kind of Butlin’s performance reworking I referenced CD1’s cover taking, except there is no hint of irony in Preston’s voice this time as he tries to croon over the sedate paced pop track in a most cringe worthy fashion (note, this wouldn’t be the last time in his career he’s pulled this, but that’s a tale for another time) and the latter, the most disappointing for me seeing as I love the original, sounding really quite dull and lifeless, both musically and in Preston’s lyrical performance. It’s devoid of any of the atmosphere and brilliance that made the original such a classic and replaced it with generic horns. Not impressed at all.
As a last ditch attempt to salvage something from this release, we have the video for Life Will Be The Death Of Me. To be blunt, the video is pretty awful. Instead of trying to craft a video that played up the song’s lyrical strength, they instead opted to have the band walk around some form of Mediterranean holiday resort full of old people, with footage of them playing on top of a hotel spliced in. Incredibly disposable stuff.
So, despite the fact the quantity of material on this release actually dwarves it’s sister-releases, the simple fact is, the lead song is the only piece of material on it that actually deserves a listen, and it can be found more easily, and for only a couple of quid more, on Brassbound, where it’s surrounded by some other good tunes. Needless to say this isn’t getting recommended for anything, well except for as an example when you’re trying to prove the point of the old saying ‘Quality over Quantity’.
Track Listing
1. Life Will Be The Death Of Me
2. This Could Be The Night
3. Set Me Free
4. Life Will Be The Death Of Me (Video)
Recommended:
No
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flash-hammer
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