Birtpop brilliance (All Change - Cast)

Member Name: bailey_kipper_uk

Product:	All Change - Cast
Date:	24/08/08 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of good songs, no rubbish songs

Disadvantages: Can sound quite samey, especially if you aren't into it

I first heard this album whilst at Uni in the late part of the nineties. My housemate owned it but I 'borrowed' it regularly. As a quick idea of how much I like this album I have rated 7 out of 12 songs on this album at 4/5 stars on my Itunes account, that's a very good amount.

I'm guessing a lot of people don't really know who Cast are, I say this as I saw an episode of 'Stars in their eyes' where one of the guys performed a song by Cast. He was brilliant but finished up 4th or something similar, can't remember who won but it was a singer that most people over the age of 50 knew and liked but anyone under that probably hadn't heard of.

Cast were a band of the 90's britpop movement, this was their debut album and they managed 3 more albums before dying out with much of the britpop scene at the end of the 90's. John Power (formerly of The La's) was the lead singer, with Peter Wilkinson and Liam Tyson as guitarists, and Keith O'Neill as the drummer. John Power has a distinctive Scouse accent and this combined with their style of music helped them stand out from the many other britpop acts of the day.

The first song on this great album is 'Alright' which was their 2nd single and it reached a relatively successful number 13 in the UK singles chart. This was a great song and is certainly one of their most well known. It's a good upbeat song to start the album off, some good lyrics and some strong guitar playing to set the scene for the album. 9/10

'Promised Land' is the next track and you'd be forgiven for thinking initially it was going to break into 'Weather with you' by Crowded House. However it quickly becomes a Cast song with more great lyrics, some great guitar riffs that keep the upbeat feel going through the song. There's quite a few bits in the song where the guitars work well together and just as well on their own, very well written. 8/10

'Sandstorm' is the next track and it's another great song. This was their 3rd single, and it made it up to number 8, it was the first of 6 consecutive singles to make it into the top 10. Like most of their songs there's a strong chorus and the guitars get used to varying extents throughout the song rather than always hammering away. It's quite short and leaves you wanting more. 8/10

'Mankind' is a slighty weaker song but a good song none the less. It bounces along nicely with a good mix of vocals and guitars. It's quite a drummy song this and the drums play more of a part than previously, though this can be a bit montonus at points and the song does feel a bit samey by the end. 7/10

The next track is 'Tell it like it is' and for me it's one of the weaker tracks on the album. It starts off quite slow and quiet, but after the first verse builds up quickly to a more rocky chorus. It well written though and as with other songs the lyrics flow well either linking as in a story or rhyming or both. 6.5/10

'Four Walls' seems to be about being in jail, not sure if any of them have. It's quite upbeat though and a good one to sing along to as there's nothing too difficult in terms of pitch. It never really goes anywhere but is a good song with lyrics that mean something, and are relevant to the song. 7/10

The debut single 'Finetime' is of course a good song and it definitely fits with the style of many of their songs, with short catchy lines. There's the usual good guitar solos and great band play. You can't help but rock along to the songs, even whilst trying to type. 8/10

'Back of my mind' offers us another chance to sample the more upbeat guitar playing that makes the song sound more uptempo. Its causing my rocking to speed up, which I'm going to have to stop as it's giving me a headache. Having heard this again I'm going to have to up my rating on Itunes to 4/5 and thus give this 8/10.

'Walkaway' was the 4th single and possibly my favourite. It's a slow song, great for festivals to get people swinging along. Another great one to sing to, accompanied by some nice guitar playing that leads the song along. Very good song. 10/10

'Reflections' is the next song and it speeds things up again, back to some of the good stuff from earlier with more upbeat drumming and good guitar solos. Not quite as good as the earlier stuff though in lyrical content so it gets 6.5/10

'History' is the penultimate song on the album and is good again, but sounding a bit outdated now with some of the guitar effects. 6/10

Last song on the album is 'Two of a Kind', finally a good song to end an album (something I've not had much luck with recently). Some good rhyming lyrics for both the verses and chorus, though he sounds like he struggled a bit making it rhymne, not quite as bad as Chris de Burgh though. It's a long song with lots of guitar at the end to finish off.

There's then about 15 minutes of quiet and then the bonus track which.... wait..... isn't really worth waiting for. Just a bit of strings, that's it, though it does finish it off. Maybe it was just added to make the album hit exactly one hour.

Summary
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This is a great album, with lots of good songs. If you're into Blur, Oasis that sort of thing then check this out and hopefully add it to your collection. You can pick it up for just under a fiver from Play.com and cheaper on E-bay and Amazon, both pre-owned though.

Summary: Great album for Britpop fans.