Something Borrowed, Something Blue (Without You Im Nothing - Placebo)

Member Name: Tcraze84

Product:	Without You Im Nothing - Placebo
Date:	20/02/01 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Deep, moody and atmospheric.

Disadvantages: Some weaker songs.

A lot can happen in two years - and in just 24 months, Placebo certainly did a lot of growing up. Fresh from the unchartered success of 1996 debut, the self-titled "Placebo", the multi-national rock trio were seemingly transformed from energetic wannabes to fully-fledged rock superstars.

The band, Brian Molko (Vocals/Guitar), Stefan Olsdal (Guitar) and Steve Hewitt (Drums), first had (major) chart success with the release of "Nancy Boy" from the debut disc. It surprised everybody by going in at number four; and with backing from people like Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq, Placebo's epic rise continued.

As I said, a lot can happen in two years, and Placebo certainly had a new look with the release of this, their second album. The new drummer, Steve Hewitt seemingly provided an extra dimension to the group - whereas the band as a whole distinctly grew up - the frantic raw energy of the debut had been toned down a bit; and therefore Placebo were made more "acceptable" to the mass public; their hard-rock sounds had been smoothed down a little; and although the ambiguous image remained intact, the band were soon appearing more and more in the public eye.

Multiple appearances on Top Of The Pops, the production of some superb videos and of course the defining performance of "20th Century Boy" at the Brit Awards with David Bowie merely underlined the fact that the band had progressed past the mid-sections of NME - and although being on the cover of "Smash Hits" still remains a long way off, they found themselves regularly starring in publications such as "Kerrang!", "Select" as well as valuable airtime on music television channels.

Prior to the release of the album, only the band's second (ever), the single "Pure Morning" was released to champion the new album. It worked to perfection as the single became the band's second no.4 hit single, and the vid
eo even got them nominated for "Best Video" at the Brits.

Hype was building and soon enough, a lot of people were eagerly anticipating the new album. More singles followed - "You Don't Care About Us", "Every You Every Me", "Without You I'm Nothing" and the B-Side inclusion of "20th Century Boy" kept on selling well, earning them several top 20 chart positions.

When finally released, "Without You I'm Nothing" proved to be every little bit as good as anybody could have hoped. A more mature sound was instantly evident and the album varied from slow, angst-filled ballads such as "The Crawl" and "My Sweet Prince" to more anthemic pop-oriented songs such as "Every You Every Me", to the classic title track, "Without You I'm Nothing".

The album provided almost a sanctuary for every possible attainable listener and the reason for this was perhaps down to the sheer excellence of Molko's songwriting, as well as his almost eerie whiney voice over structured guitar riffs. Lyrically, the album ranges from the cliched, to the simple, to the humourous, to the clever;

"There's nothing here/But what's here's mine/Something borrowed/Something blue/Every me and every you" (Every You Every Me)

But - at the same time, with whatever style of lyric, maintaining a dominant feel of depth and emotion within the song itself.

The title "Without You I'm Nothing" captures the essence of the album itself perfectly, and indeed the second release from this great band is already being regarded as a modern masterpiece - and rightly so.

Summary: