We first met through a shared view, she loved me and I did too (Original Pirate Material - Streets)

Member Name: huggy2009

Product:	Original Pirate Material - Streets
Date:	26/08/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absolutely brilliant lyrics, rhymes and beats

Disadvantages: Not a Thing I can think of

For me this is one of the greatest albums of the garage genre, created by a youthful Mike Skinner at the age of 21, it is ground breaking for a number of reasons, firstly the lyrics were so far above anything else heard in this genre, the beats and tunes were excellent but the lyrics really pushed this out of an area where it could be pigeonholed and simply made it a great album, secondly, Skinner sounds so unlike a pop star that his cockney/brummy hybrid accent actually adds to the tunes.

This is lo-fi, produced on a very small budget and sounds fantastic for it, it blends rap, reggae, two step, garage and rave, it is gritty, honest, humorous and at times heart-breaking, but it is also original, imaginative and utterly brilliant. Whilst some of the tunes do sound a bit dated overall it stands the test of time really well, because the lyrics have an air of truth allied to slang and rhyme which identifies it to a particular era.
Skinner doesn't paint himself as a hero, he writes and sings the songs as himself a young man learning about life, through drugs, drink, women and violence, all relevant on the streets of Britain today. His song 'Same Old Thing' is brilliant portraying a conversation between a dope smoker and a binge drinker, both justifying themselves, its hilarious, the characters are caricatures and the binge drinker really comes off badly with swipes at the cost of NHS managing drunks at weekends and getting increasingly unhinged through booze. Its a great play on modern Britain and pulls apart the British predilection for going out drinking too much and falling over.

The album has some brilliant tunes from the ecstasy fuelled 'Weak Become Hero's' with a throbbing beat and the world meaning only love, friendship and banging music to Skinner in that moment. Sharp Darts with its banging beats and cool rhymes, 'Lets Push Things Forward' with its positive vibe and wicked funky tune and 'Don't mug yourself' which is a hilariously funny song about two mates talking about women, the tune is brilliant, lively and really well structured.

My favourite song is 'Too Late'. This is Skinner waiting for his girlfriend and realising he has lost her, it is a story of complacency and naivety in a young man and the realisation that he has lost somebody very special to him. This is so much more thoughtful and interesting than most music of the genre and is still a beautiful tune. This is a ground breaking and utterly brilliant debut album which shows Skinner to be one of the premier writers and producers of his generation.
He creates gritty urban British rap that lacks the threats and posture of American rap and really brings out the realities of being a young man of his generation, at times amusing, others paranoid and other times heartbreaking, this album is relevant to people of all ages as a work of a great British musician and will stand the test of time well.



Track List:

The track listing is a pretty comprehensive one, it follows Skinner and runs as a narrative, almost story like ensuring that the songs follow on from each other, so where he splits with a girl in one song, another is his mate telling him not to mug himself and act foolishly with girls. I like this as the more you invest by listening to each line, the more the album fits together to become something totally out of the ordinary. Sublime.
Turn The Page
Who Dares Wins
Weak Becomes Heroes
The Irony Of It All
Who Got The Funk?
Don't Mug Yourself
Too Much Brandy
It's Too Late
Geezers Need Excitement
Same Old Thing
Sharp Darts
Let's Push Things Forward
Has It Come To This?
Stay Positive

The album is available for £6.98 on Amazon and can also be downloaded on I-Tunes.

Summary: We first met through a shared view, she loved me and I did too