You Get What You Give - New Radicals

“One, Two, One, Two, Three!” From this yelled countdown Gregg Alexander and an assortment of hired hands exploded onto the world stage in early 1999 with the massive single ‘You Only Get What You Give’, which secured blanket radio play and a healthy chart position on both sides of the Atlantic. Courting controversy Alexander promoted this album, clad in his trade marked floppy hat and trainers by disparaging label mates such Hole and Beck, best articulated in his threat to “Kick {their} ass in.” on the aforementioned single. In a flurry of publicity this album appeared and shot up the charts, but mediocre live performances and the ...  Read the complete review

My favourite album of the year has to be the New Radicals Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. Its obvious that Gregg Alexander is the driving force behind it - he wrote all of the tracks himself (a couple were co-written)and he also produced and arranged the CD, the complete Renaissance man! The two singles off the album are completely amazing: the passionate You Get What You Give and the wistful Someday We'll Know (I have LIVED this song). But that is just the start, almost any track could have been taken off this album and released as a single. Alexander is a very gifted songwriter and an amazing singer - as well as having the most dreamy brown eyes ...  Read the complete review

This CD is a classic in the same vein as Primal Scream's "Screamadelica". The is the creation of Gregg Alexander, in the same way that the Lightning Seeds or Magnetic Fields are really one-man bands. Alexander seems to have similar influences to Bobby Gillespie, and the arrogance (is it co-incidence that on the cover, the sun-like rays seem to center upon his backside?) to press ahead with his vision, so that in the end it sounds quite original. The Rolling Stones are definitely in evidence - just about every track, rockers and ballads, brings them to mind, and "You get what you give" sounds Electric Light Orchestra at their best. ...  Read the complete review

Gregg Alexander came to the table with some great ideas and a lot of musical talent. What he did NOT have is any kind of coherence or follow through. He takes all kinds of styles, hooks and phrases, tosses them in a bucket and adds a hand grenade. This CD represents what splattered against the wall. In terms of production, it is excellent, but he seems to be buying time throughout most of the songs. Many of the songs seem to be vehicles for catchy chops and maybe a clever line or rhyme. If I was a trusted friend of his, I would tell him to trim the CD by half and work on finishing the songs. ...  Read the complete review

How can I possibly describe the sheer brilliance of this album in mere words? Every track on this album is brilliantly crafted, a work of genius all on it's own. Put together? Possibly the best album of the 90's. Try to imagine a mix of the Rolling Stones, Supergrass and The Verve. I'm not kidding, it's THAT good. I'm sure most of you will have heard You Get What You Give, and all the songs are equally memorable. At the same time, they all have soul, they have a swagger to them that makes damn sure you know it was written by a genius. So would I recommend it? You bet I would! Just one thing.. How DARE they split up. ...  Read the complete review