Already here (Marchin' Already - Ocean Colour Scene)

Member Name: davidbuttery

Product:	Marchin' Already - Ocean Colour Scene
Date:	29/10/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: OCS's ability to craft a superbly listenable song

Disadvantages: That last track...

Marchin' Already, released in 1997, was the third album from Ocean Colour Scene, although their first - 1992's self-titled effort - was unsuccessful and is now rather obscure, and frankly not entirely unfairly either. Marchin' Already, which features a somewhat unmemorable cover photo of the band standing in some undergrowth for no apparent reason, can be seen as OCS's second "proper" album; it's the follow-up to 1996's Moseley Shoals, and in truth could easily have been called "Moseley Shoals, volume 2" without too many people objecting. That's no bad thing, however, as the earlier album was not at all a bad effort in itself.

OCS are not a particularly fashionable group nowadays - even though they had a period of great success in the charts, with this album reaching the very top - but that seems to suit them and their fans just fine; it certainly suits me. Their sound is strongly influenced by the mod bands of the Sixties - there are strong echoes of the Kinks and Small Faces in their music, and even their logo recalls the iconic mod roundel - and tends to be defined as "trad rock". Again, this is not a label likely to excite the self-conscious set, but you get the feeling that OCS would be somewhat upset were that ever to change. They've certainly come across in interviews as remarkably unpretentious by the standards of their industry, despite having supported the somewhat less self-effacing Oasis at *that* Knebworth gig.

This was the first OCS album I ever bought, and after listening to the first track, "Hundred Mile City", I wasn't quite certain that I'd made the right choice. The song is familiar to many from its use in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and many of OCS's fans seem to love this song with a passion, but it's never done a great deal for me, and would probably not even make my top ten of the band's songs throughout their career. Following this, however, is the wonderful "Better Day", a song full of wistful but at times quite raw emotion, and one which seems to hint at a bigger, darker story half-hidden behind the lyrics. We were off.

Of the other 11 tracks on the album, most are at least worthwhile and several are truly excellent. Highlights include the fragile, yearning ballad "Big Star", the infectiously toe-tapping "Debris Road" and - my personal favourite - "Get Blown Away", which was unaccountably not released as a single. I often dislike songs which repeat a large portion of themselves for no apparent reason, but this time it seems to fit. I'm also quite fond of "Spark and Cindy", which is perhaps not the most original track ever recorded but has a life and energy all its own, and the dreamy, reflective, "Besides Yourself". Even the instrumental "All Up", though heavily reminiscent of the opening song, has since pulled me in with its driving bass and piano.

Few albums are flawless, and Marchin' Already does not break that mould. There are really only a couple of true clunkers on the disc, but their presence does very slightly taint what is otherwise a tremendously listenable collection. Sadly, perhaps the worst song on the album is the last, and thus the one people will keep in their head if listening to the tracks in order. There's nothing wrong with the early part of "It's a Beautiful Thing", and PP Arnold has a fine voice for the backing vocals - but it goes on and on and *on*, for six and a half minutes. By the time it finally ends, you feel as though you've been sitting through the end credits to a mediocre TV movie about the redemptive power of love. I'm also not particularly fond of "Travellers' Tune", which - coincidentally or not - also features Arnold.

Still, the album's hit rate remains pretty good, and I can forgive a lot for a band which employs the immensely talented Steve Cradock, who has to be commended for his highly distinctive and wonderfully retro-sounding guitar style. Not that there's anything wrong with any of the other members of the group - lead vocalist Simon Fowler in particular - but if you had to pick one man whose absence would make OCS a different band altogether then Cradock would be that man. He's good enough to have played for Paul Weller for years, after all, and you don't get that job by being a mediocre musician.

Marchin' Already is certainly an album you should own if you like good, old-fashioned rock or Britpop, and like songs to have a catchy melody and a solid rhythm above all else. It's not perfect, but it's a long way above average. In any case, the songs are available for free listening on both Spotify and last.fm, so you'll lose nothing except a little time by giving this a chance!

Summary: My introduction to OCS. It could be yours as well.