Mosley Shoals Rides Again (One From The Modern - Ocean Colour Scene)

Member Name: The Solid Grey

Product:	One From The Modern - Ocean Colour Scene
Date:	19/01/03 (676 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: What Can I say its Fantastic

Disadvantages: none

Its surprising how you forget how good music is, I mean you?ll hear a song on the radio, you?ll have not heard for a long time, and then remember just how much you loved it and wonder why you never listen to it these days.

Then again there are some bands/artists you follow that you really like, for me, The Beatles, Queen, Pink Floyd, Terrorvision, The Manic Street Preachers are all bands that I love and aspire to own all their albums. Every so often I?ll be in the mood for say, some Queen music, and when I start the music playing I find that I fall in love with the music all over again. It?ll make me feel good, a little happier and I?ll wonder why I forgot how good it is.

Ocean Colour Scene are one of these bands - I?ve now discovered. Though I have been buying their albums, it was only the other day when I put on this album, when I realised just how much I like the music and this album.

Ocean Colour Scene, are -

Simon Fowler - vocals
Steve Cradock - guitar
Damon Mincchella - bass
Oscar Harrison - drums

~~One From the Modern~~

This is Ocean Colour Scene?s fourth album (not including the B-Side collection), it was released sometime in 1999, preceded by the single Profit In Peace (off the album). Produced by Brendan Lynch, Martyn Heyes and Ocean Colour Scene. It was recorded at Moseley Shoals and all songs are written and performed by Ocean Colour Scene.

I bought the cardboard sleeve version, I don?t think there is any difference, except that mine will get a little tatty, The cover is of the band sitting on grass with some hedges behind them. The booklet has all the lyric and photos.

~~Track List~~
Profit In Peace
So Low
I Am The News
No One At All
Families
Step By Step
July
Jane She Got Excavated
Emily Chambers
Soul Driver
The Waves
I Won?t Get Crazed

~~Notable songs~~

Profit In Peace
I bought the single, having b
een a fan, and not having heard it, so when I did hear it I was more than impressed and delighted. Its a fantastic track using more acoustic guitars, it has a great message talking of the people who suffer, mostly from war, but as the lyrics go,
?There?s no profit in peace, so we?ve got to fight some more?.

So Low
Another single, not bad either, the mouth organ/harp/harmonica reminds me of Bob Dylan, another artist I like. Its a sad-ish song, but nice.
?And we laugh, and we drink
And we teach ourselves not to think...?

I Am The News
Quite an up beat song, well as much as you can expect form Ocean Colour Scene. A good song. Its about exactly what it says: the news, an outsiders interpretation of what its like from the media?s point of view, kind of,
?I am the news, and I?ll say no more,
I am the stranger at the door...?

No One At All
Its a nice track this, fairly simple, what does it mean?, well that, whatever you are, your just another person.
?Your a southern man,
Your a northern soul,
Your a westender,
You?ve got an eastern soul,
But your no one at all?

Step By Step
Another simple piece, slowish, but it gets going and you find your swinging in with the beat.
?You and I should sail out on the water,
You and I should do just what we oughta...?

July
Much more upbeat, I believe it was used as the theme tune to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels the tv series. So maybe you remember it.

Emily Chambers
Its a great tune, its much like the rest of the album a nice, fairly simple and enjoyable song.
?You?re Emily Chamber in the universe...?

Soul Driver
A pretty easy going piece, which for a while I thought actually said ?so driver?, another nice piece.
?Soul driver don?t hurry,
Its my timing,
Its not your worry,
I?m taking my time...?

~~My Opinion~~
I?ve only talked about a few songs because, well I was
planning to do a song by song guide to the album but I don't think I really need to. I love it, all the music is nice, nothing over the top, nothing really heavy, its mostly fairly simple stuff, but it sounds great. I really do love it. Its not really the kind of stuff everyone will like but more the kind that the poeple who like the music will love.

In listening to it, you will come a way with a few songs going around your head, the odd line or two. I?ve said the music is fairly simple and nice, its hard to describe, I've seen Ocean Colour Scene come under various headings pop, rock, alternative, indie, but what does it really mean?, I can?t say, at the end of the day good music is good music, so what can I liken it to, well Bob Dylan and REM spring to mind, but its a bit more lively, so perhaps throw Eric Clapton into the mix, and you may get the general idea.

Well put it this way if you remember The Riverboat Song - the walk on music on TFI, July - the theme to the to tv series Lock and Two Smoking Barrels, and you?ve probably heard The Day We Caught The Train, then you?ve got a good idea of what the music sounds like.

Its not really music to jump around to, not up beat in a rockin way so much, but the music and words are light-hearted despite some dark overtones, though it can sound sad at times, its easy to listen to, more acoustic sounding and much less heavy than the previous two albums.

I find their music more unique than their contemporaries, though they have performed quite well in the charts, not fantastic, but reasonably well, the music doesn?t quite have mass appeal, that is, its not like most of the mindless rubbish that gets released these days, it is good music, and this album is great.

Its been commented that a lot of their music sounds the same, well yeah, in much the same way as REM, Oasis or The Manic Street Preachers do, for me when you find a particular music/sound you really love you just
want more, this is a fantastic album and I want more.

I?ve called this opinion Moseley Shoals Rides Again, because everything I loved about that album, is present here - to be honest this is one of these opinions where what you?re writing about is so good you want to write an opinion that really does it justice, and sadly I think I?ve failed, like most of the time I just can?t get across how much I adore it.

I suppose the best way to describe this album is melancholy, but its really enjoyable. It?ll be one of my favourites for a long time to come.

The Solid Grey.

Because it intrests me :-

~~A little history~~
They began life sometime in 1989, the four members had released music in previous ventures, but none had made much of an impact, they randomly chose some words from a dictionary which sounded good and got a/the name for their band.

They released their first single ?sway? on a small local label, and recorded their first album in 1991, but after the record company was sold, the album had to be recorded twice more and eventually released in 1992. More trouble with the recorded label combined with poor sales meant Ocean Colour Scene sued to get out of their contract and ended up owing thousands, and were now out of work.

Steve?s father Chris Cradock mortgaged the family house to support the band and became their manager. They converted their rehearsal room into a recording studio and later name it Moseley Shoals (also the name of their second album). Band members also worked with Paul Weller, on tour and on his albums.

In 1994 Noel Gallager heard a tape of theirs, he was so impressed that he asked them to support Oasis on their next tour. The outcome of this was that a bidding war took place which saw them signed to MCA records. Further success came by way of Chris Evans who used their track ?The Riverboat Song? on his TFI Friday show, taken from their second album Moseley Shoals - a huge
hit album, and since then they?ve never look back.

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