| Supergrass — Supergrass Is 10: Best Of 94-04 (2010) |
Supergrass — Supergrass Is 10: Best Of 94-04
Formed: 1993 in Oxford, England
Disbanded: April 12, 2010
Origin: Oxford, England
Genres: Alternative rock, Britpop
Years active: 1993–2010
Labels: Parlophone, Capitol, Supergrass, Cooking Vinyl
Album release: June 7, 2004
Record label: Parlophone (#570 8602)/EMI
Duration: 71:42
Tracks:
01. Caught By The Fuzz (2:18)
02. Pumping On Your Stereo (3:20)
03. Alright (3:03)
04. Moving (4:28)
05. Richard III (3:21)
06. Grace (2:32)
07. Late In The Day (4:47)
08. Seen The Light (2:28)
09. Mansize Rooster (2:40)
10. Sun Hits The Sky (4:54)
11. Kiss Of Life (4:03)
12. Mary (4:02)
13. Going Out (4:16)
14. Lenny (2:42)
15. Bullet (2:32)
16. It's Not Me (2:58)
17. Rush Hour Soul (2:56)
18. Strange Ones (4:00)
19. Lose It (2:40)
20. Time (3:14)
21. Wait For The Sun (4:09)
Members:
Gaz Coombes
Birth name: Gareth Michael Coombes
Born: 8 March 1976, Oxford, England
Notable instruments: Burns Custom Legend/Fender Telecaster Deluxe/Fender Telecaster/Gibson ES-335
Danny Goffey
Birth name: Daniel Robert Goffey
Born: 7 February 1974, Eton, Buckinghamshire, England
Instruments: Drums, vocals, piano, keyboards, percussion, guitar
Mick Quinn
Birth name: Michael Milton Quinn
Also known as: Biff Hymenn, Barry McQueen
Born: 17 December 1969, Cambridge, England
Instruments: Vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, harmonica
Notable instruments: Fender Telecaster/Ibanez Roadstar Bass/Ludwig Drums
Website: http://www.dbband.com/
Rob Coombes
Birth name: Robert Joseph Coombes
Born: 27 April 1972, Oxford, England
Instruments: Keyboards, Theremin
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/robcomputes
Blog: http://robsbig.blogspot.com/
≡ The group disbanded after four farewell gigs, the final one at La Cigale, Paris on 11 June 2010.
Website: http://www.supergrass.com/
Description:
≡ "One of the most charming British bands of the last decade, Supergrass managed to fit in everywhere but not be part of any scene. Supergrass Is 10 - The Best of 94-04 reminds us just how many catchy hits they had from their breakthrough Brit-Pop anthem 'Alright' to new single 'Kiss of Life'. In no particular order, the 21 songs here (including two new ones and an old B-side) cover catchy pop ('Alright', 'Grace', 'Sun Hits the Sky'), slick retro-rock ('Pumping on Your Stereo', 'Seen the Light', 'Going Out'), spikey punk-rock ('Caught by the Fuzz', 'Richard III', 'Lenny') and gentle acoustic numbers ('Moving', 'Late in the Day'). EMI. 2004."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
≡ Un groupe qui n'a jamais eu le succes qu'il méritait pourtant. A redécouvrir.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Discography:
≡ I Should Coco (1995)
≡ In It for the Money (1997)
≡ Supergrass (1999)
≡ Life on Other Planets (2002)
≡ Road to Rouen (2005)
≡ Diamond Hoo Ha (2008)
Notes:
≡ "Alright" is a song by British alternative rock band Supergrass. It was released with "Time" as a double A-side single from their debut album I Should Coco on 3 July 1995. The song is featured in the films Clueless, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Astro Boy, High Lane (2009), The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! as well as in Intel's Pentium TV advertisements.
Music and lyrics:
≡ "Alright" received a great deal of airplay in the UK. The "bona fide teen anthem", with its upbeat lyrics and cheerful piano tune, seemed to epitomise British youth culture at the time, when Britpop was at its height. The band's youthful appearance (lead singer Gaz Coombes had only just turned 19 when it was released) added weight to the lyrics. However, Coombes himself argued around the time of its release that, "it wasn't written as an anthem. It isn't supposed to be a rally cry for our generation. The stuff about 'We are young/We run green...' isn't about being 19 but really 13 or 14 and just discovering girls and drinking. It's meant to be light-hearted and a bit of a laugh, not at all a rebellious call to arms." with Danny Goffey also saying: "It certainly wasn't written in a very summery vibe. It was written in a cottage where the heating had packed up and we were trying to build fires to keep warm."
≡ The second A-side "Time" is a slower, more blues-driven track, with the song even incorporating a harmonica solo. The B-side, "Condition", is a cover of "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Mickey Newbury and originally a hit for Kenny Rogers. "Je Suis Votre Papa Sucre" (I Am Your Sugar Daddy) is a short instrumental.
Reception:
≡ "Alright" was the fifth single to be released from I Should Coco. While "Caught by the Fuzz", "Mansize Rooster", "Lose It", and "Lenny" all charted (with "Lenny" even scraping the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart) and were warmly received by the critics, it was "Alright/Time" – the final release from the album – which proved to be their breakthrough single, largely due to the popularity of the song "Alright", which still receives airplay in the UK. "Alright/Time" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart, making it Supergrass' highest charting single to date, along with "Richard III". It remained in the top 3 for a month. In a 1999 interview, Coombes joked "We don't play 'Alright' anymore. We should play it in a minor key, and in the past tense."
A-side: "Time"
B-side: "Condition"
Released: 3 July 1995 (UK)/30 August 1995 (JPN)
Format: CD, 7" vinyl
Recorded: Sawmills Studio, 1994
Genre Power: pop/Britpop
Length: 3:00
Label: Parlophone
Writer(s): Supergrass
Producer: Sam Williams
Certification: Silver
© "Gaz, Danny and Mick of British rock band 'Supergrass' taken at Roundhouse, Camden, 2008."/Date: "2008-03-14"/Author: "Keira Vallejo"
Lyrics:
We are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright
We wake up, we go out, smoke a fag, put it out
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright
Are we like you, I can't be sure?
Of the scene as she turns
We are strange in our worlds
But we are young, we get by, can't go mad, ain't got time
Sleep around, if we like but we're alright
Got some cash, bought some wheels, took it out, 'cross the fields
Lost control, hit a wall but we're alright
Are we like you, I can't be sure?
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our worlds
But we are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright
Are we like you, I can't be sure?
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our world
But we are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine (Editor rating: *****)
≡ Tearing by at a breakneck speed, I Should Coco is a spectacularly eclectic debut by Supergrass, a trio barely out of their teens. Sure, the unbridled energy of the album illustrates that the band is young, yet what really illustrates how young the bandmembers are is how they borrow from their predecessors. Supergrass treat the Buzzcocks, the Beatles, Elton John, David Bowie, Blur, and Madness as if they were all the same thing -- they don't make any distinction between what is cool and what isn't, they just throw everything together. Consequently, the jittery "Caught by the Fuzz" slams next to the music hall rave-up "Mansize Rooster" and the trippy psychedelia of "Sofa of My Lethargy," or the heavy stomp of "Lenny" or the bona fide teen anthem "Alright." I Should Coco is the sound of adolescence, but performed with a surprising musical versatility that makes the record's exuberant energy all the more infectious.
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
≡ Like many other British bands of the '90s, Supergrass' musical roots lie in the infectiously catchy punk-pop of the Buzzcocks and the Jam, as well as the post-punk pop of Madness and the traditional Brit-pop of the Kinks and Small Faces. Perhaps because of its age -- two of the trio were still in their teens when they recorded their debut single -- the band also brings in elements of decidedly unhip groups like Elton John, as well as classic rockers like David Bowie, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. With an exuberant, youthful enthusiasm, Supergrass tied all of their influences together in surprising new ways, where a Buzzcocks riff could slam into three-part harmonies out of "Crocodile Rock," or have a galloping music hall rhythm stutter like the best moments of the Who.
≡ Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Gaz Coombes, bassist Mickey Quinn, and drummer Danny Goffey, Supergrass released their first single, the semi-autobiographical "Caught by the Fuzz," in the summer of 1994 on the indie label Backbeat; Parlophone signed the band and reissued the single in the fall of the year. "Caught by the Fuzz" generated a significant amount of buzz, including praise from Blur and Elastica. "Mansize Rooster," the group's second single, was released in the spring of 1995; it made it into the pop charts, as did "Lenny," which was released right before their debut album, I Should Coco.
≡ Released in May 1995, I Should Coco received glowing reviews in the U.K. press and debuted in the Top Ten. The band's popularity continued to grow, leading to the number two double A-sided single, Alright/Time. Staying in the Top Three for nearly a month, the effervescent "Alright" pushed the album to number one. I Should Coco was released in the U.S. three months later and a buzz began to build there as "Caught by the Fuzz" began receiving MTV and radio play. Supergrass earned fans in some quarters -- allegedly, Steven Spielberg was interested in developing a Monkees-styled sitcom around the trio -- but I Should Coco never quite caught on in the U.S. the way it did in the rest of the world. Following a year of touring, Supergrass capped off 1996 with the single "Going Out," the first taste from their second album, the psychedelic In It for the Money. Appearing in the spring of 1997, In It for the Money had greater ambitions than I Should Coco, a shift critics responded to enthusiastically, but it was also a success in the U.K., going platinum and spawning the hit singles "Richard III," "Sun Hits the Sky," and "Late in the Day." Despite support from Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam, a further attempt to crack the American market didn't take, and the group never again prioritized the U.S.
≡ Two years after In It for the Money, Supergrass returned with an eponymous third album whose stomping lead single "Pumping On Your Stereo" suggested a poppier record than they delivered. "Pumping on Your Stereo" and its sequel, the Top Ten hit "Moving," helped propel the album to platinum status in the U.K. Supergrass then went on an extended break, adding Gaz's brother Rob Coombes as a full-time keyboardist during the hiatus and coming back in 2002 with Life on Other Planets. Despite reaching the British Top 10, Life on Other Planets was the beginning of Supergrass' commercial downslide -- of the four singles, only "Grace" made it into the Top 20, with "Seen the Light" topping out at 22. An anniversary compilation called Supergrass Is 10 arrived in 2004 and the following year the group released the reflective, moody Road to Rouen, a record that had a pair of modest hits in "Kiss of Life" and "St Petersburg" and wound up garnering respectable reviews.
≡ As the band prepared the release of their louder, glammy follow-up Diamond Hoo Ha, Mickey Quinn broke his heel bone in September of 2007, leading Gaz and Danny to do a quick club tour under the name the Diamond Hoo Ha Men. The album itself came out in the spring of 2008. It was their last for Parlophone and it performed modestly well on the charts, generating no hit singles. Sometime in 2009, Supergrass attempted a seventh album, provisionally entitled Release the Drones, but during the recording the group fractured. They abandoned the record and split up after a brief farewell tour in the summer of 2010, just after Gaz and Danny released a self-titled album by their covers side project the Hotrats. Quinn went on to assemble the DB Band and Gaz Coombes launched his solo career with Here Come the Bombs in the spring of 2012.
© Rob Coombes performs with Supergrass at the Astoria, London
Date: 23 April 2008/Author: Keira Vallejo
| Supergrass — Supergrass Is 10: Best Of 94-04 (2010) |
Supergrass — Supergrass Is 10: Best Of 94-04
© "Gaz, Danny and Mick of British rock band 'Supergrass' taken at Roundhouse, Camden, 2008."/Date: "2008-03-14"/Author: "Keira Vallejo"
Formed: 1993 in Oxford, England
Disbanded: April 12, 2010
Origin: Oxford, England
Genres: Alternative rock, Britpop
Years active: 1993–2010
Labels: Parlophone, Capitol, Supergrass, Cooking Vinyl
Album release: June 7, 2004
Record label: Parlophone (#570 8602)/EMI
Duration: 71:42
Tracks:
01. Caught By The Fuzz (2:18)
02. Pumping On Your Stereo (3:20)
03. Alright (3:03)
04. Moving (4:28)
05. Richard III (3:21)
06. Grace (2:32)
07. Late In The Day (4:47)
08. Seen The Light (2:28)
09. Mansize Rooster (2:40)
10. Sun Hits The Sky (4:54)
11. Kiss Of Life (4:03)
12. Mary (4:02)
13. Going Out (4:16)
14. Lenny (2:42)
15. Bullet (2:32)
16. It's Not Me (2:58)
17. Rush Hour Soul (2:56)
18. Strange Ones (4:00)
19. Lose It (2:40)
20. Time (3:14)
21. Wait For The Sun (4:09)
Members:
Gaz Coombes
Birth name: Gareth Michael Coombes
Born: 8 March 1976, Oxford, England
Notable instruments: Burns Custom Legend/Fender Telecaster Deluxe/Fender Telecaster/Gibson ES-335
Danny Goffey
Birth name: Daniel Robert Goffey
Born: 7 February 1974, Eton, Buckinghamshire, England
Instruments: Drums, vocals, piano, keyboards, percussion, guitar
Mick Quinn
Birth name: Michael Milton Quinn
Also known as: Biff Hymenn, Barry McQueen
Born: 17 December 1969, Cambridge, England
Instruments: Vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, harmonica
Notable instruments: Fender Telecaster/Ibanez Roadstar Bass/Ludwig Drums
Website: http://www.dbband.com/
Rob Coombes
Birth name: Robert Joseph Coombes
Born: 27 April 1972, Oxford, England
Instruments: Keyboards, Theremin
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/robcomputes
Blog: http://robsbig.blogspot.com/
≡ The group disbanded after four farewell gigs, the final one at La Cigale, Paris on 11 June 2010.
Website: http://www.supergrass.com/
Description:
≡ "One of the most charming British bands of the last decade, Supergrass managed to fit in everywhere but not be part of any scene. Supergrass Is 10 - The Best of 94-04 reminds us just how many catchy hits they had from their breakthrough Brit-Pop anthem 'Alright' to new single 'Kiss of Life'. In no particular order, the 21 songs here (including two new ones and an old B-side) cover catchy pop ('Alright', 'Grace', 'Sun Hits the Sky'), slick retro-rock ('Pumping on Your Stereo', 'Seen the Light', 'Going Out'), spikey punk-rock ('Caught by the Fuzz', 'Richard III', 'Lenny') and gentle acoustic numbers ('Moving', 'Late in the Day'). EMI. 2004."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
≡ Un groupe qui n'a jamais eu le succes qu'il méritait pourtant. A redécouvrir.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Discography:
≡ I Should Coco (1995)
≡ In It for the Money (1997)
≡ Supergrass (1999)
≡ Life on Other Planets (2002)
≡ Road to Rouen (2005)
≡ Diamond Hoo Ha (2008)
Notes:
≡ "Alright" is a song by British alternative rock band Supergrass. It was released with "Time" as a double A-side single from their debut album I Should Coco on 3 July 1995. The song is featured in the films Clueless, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Astro Boy, High Lane (2009), The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! as well as in Intel's Pentium TV advertisements.
Music and lyrics:
≡ "Alright" received a great deal of airplay in the UK. The "bona fide teen anthem", with its upbeat lyrics and cheerful piano tune, seemed to epitomise British youth culture at the time, when Britpop was at its height. The band's youthful appearance (lead singer Gaz Coombes had only just turned 19 when it was released) added weight to the lyrics. However, Coombes himself argued around the time of its release that, "it wasn't written as an anthem. It isn't supposed to be a rally cry for our generation. The stuff about 'We are young/We run green...' isn't about being 19 but really 13 or 14 and just discovering girls and drinking. It's meant to be light-hearted and a bit of a laugh, not at all a rebellious call to arms." with Danny Goffey also saying: "It certainly wasn't written in a very summery vibe. It was written in a cottage where the heating had packed up and we were trying to build fires to keep warm."
≡ The second A-side "Time" is a slower, more blues-driven track, with the song even incorporating a harmonica solo. The B-side, "Condition", is a cover of "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Mickey Newbury and originally a hit for Kenny Rogers. "Je Suis Votre Papa Sucre" (I Am Your Sugar Daddy) is a short instrumental.
Reception:
≡ "Alright" was the fifth single to be released from I Should Coco. While "Caught by the Fuzz", "Mansize Rooster", "Lose It", and "Lenny" all charted (with "Lenny" even scraping the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart) and were warmly received by the critics, it was "Alright/Time" – the final release from the album – which proved to be their breakthrough single, largely due to the popularity of the song "Alright", which still receives airplay in the UK. "Alright/Time" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart, making it Supergrass' highest charting single to date, along with "Richard III". It remained in the top 3 for a month. In a 1999 interview, Coombes joked "We don't play 'Alright' anymore. We should play it in a minor key, and in the past tense."
A-side: "Time"
B-side: "Condition"
Released: 3 July 1995 (UK)/30 August 1995 (JPN)
Format: CD, 7" vinyl
Recorded: Sawmills Studio, 1994
Genre Power: pop/Britpop
Length: 3:00
Label: Parlophone
Writer(s): Supergrass
Producer: Sam Williams
Certification: Silver
Lyrics:
We are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright
We wake up, we go out, smoke a fag, put it out
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright
Are we like you, I can't be sure?
Of the scene as she turns
We are strange in our worlds
But we are young, we get by, can't go mad, ain't got time
Sleep around, if we like but we're alright
Got some cash, bought some wheels, took it out, 'cross the fields
Lost control, hit a wall but we're alright
Are we like you, I can't be sure?
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our worlds
But we are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright
Are we like you, I can't be sure?
© Rob Coombes performs with Supergrass at the Astoria, London
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our world
But we are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine (Editor rating: *****)
≡ Tearing by at a breakneck speed, I Should Coco is a spectacularly eclectic debut by Supergrass, a trio barely out of their teens. Sure, the unbridled energy of the album illustrates that the band is young, yet what really illustrates how young the bandmembers are is how they borrow from their predecessors. Supergrass treat the Buzzcocks, the Beatles, Elton John, David Bowie, Blur, and Madness as if they were all the same thing -- they don't make any distinction between what is cool and what isn't, they just throw everything together. Consequently, the jittery "Caught by the Fuzz" slams next to the music hall rave-up "Mansize Rooster" and the trippy psychedelia of "Sofa of My Lethargy," or the heavy stomp of "Lenny" or the bona fide teen anthem "Alright." I Should Coco is the sound of adolescence, but performed with a surprising musical versatility that makes the record's exuberant energy all the more infectious.
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
≡ Like many other British bands of the '90s, Supergrass' musical roots lie in the infectiously catchy punk-pop of the Buzzcocks and the Jam, as well as the post-punk pop of Madness and the traditional Brit-pop of the Kinks and Small Faces. Perhaps because of its age -- two of the trio were still in their teens when they recorded their debut single -- the band also brings in elements of decidedly unhip groups like Elton John, as well as classic rockers like David Bowie, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. With an exuberant, youthful enthusiasm, Supergrass tied all of their influences together in surprising new ways, where a Buzzcocks riff could slam into three-part harmonies out of "Crocodile Rock," or have a galloping music hall rhythm stutter like the best moments of the Who.
≡ Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Gaz Coombes, bassist Mickey Quinn, and drummer Danny Goffey, Supergrass released their first single, the semi-autobiographical "Caught by the Fuzz," in the summer of 1994 on the indie label Backbeat; Parlophone signed the band and reissued the single in the fall of the year. "Caught by the Fuzz" generated a significant amount of buzz, including praise from Blur and Elastica. "Mansize Rooster," the group's second single, was released in the spring of 1995; it made it into the pop charts, as did "Lenny," which was released right before their debut album, I Should Coco.
≡ Released in May 1995, I Should Coco received glowing reviews in the U.K. press and debuted in the Top Ten. The band's popularity continued to grow, leading to the number two double A-sided single, Alright/Time. Staying in the Top Three for nearly a month, the effervescent "Alright" pushed the album to number one. I Should Coco was released in the U.S. three months later and a buzz began to build there as "Caught by the Fuzz" began receiving MTV and radio play. Supergrass earned fans in some quarters -- allegedly, Steven Spielberg was interested in developing a Monkees-styled sitcom around the trio -- but I Should Coco never quite caught on in the U.S. the way it did in the rest of the world. Following a year of touring, Supergrass capped off 1996 with the single "Going Out," the first taste from their second album, the psychedelic In It for the Money. Appearing in the spring of 1997, In It for the Money had greater ambitions than I Should Coco, a shift critics responded to enthusiastically, but it was also a success in the U.K., going platinum and spawning the hit singles "Richard III," "Sun Hits the Sky," and "Late in the Day." Despite support from Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam, a further attempt to crack the American market didn't take, and the group never again prioritized the U.S.
≡ Two years after In It for the Money, Supergrass returned with an eponymous third album whose stomping lead single "Pumping On Your Stereo" suggested a poppier record than they delivered. "Pumping on Your Stereo" and its sequel, the Top Ten hit "Moving," helped propel the album to platinum status in the U.K. Supergrass then went on an extended break, adding Gaz's brother Rob Coombes as a full-time keyboardist during the hiatus and coming back in 2002 with Life on Other Planets. Despite reaching the British Top 10, Life on Other Planets was the beginning of Supergrass' commercial downslide -- of the four singles, only "Grace" made it into the Top 20, with "Seen the Light" topping out at 22. An anniversary compilation called Supergrass Is 10 arrived in 2004 and the following year the group released the reflective, moody Road to Rouen, a record that had a pair of modest hits in "Kiss of Life" and "St Petersburg" and wound up garnering respectable reviews.
≡ As the band prepared the release of their louder, glammy follow-up Diamond Hoo Ha, Mickey Quinn broke his heel bone in September of 2007, leading Gaz and Danny to do a quick club tour under the name the Diamond Hoo Ha Men. The album itself came out in the spring of 2008. It was their last for Parlophone and it performed modestly well on the charts, generating no hit singles. Sometime in 2009, Supergrass attempted a seventh album, provisionally entitled Release the Drones, but during the recording the group fractured. They abandoned the record and split up after a brief farewell tour in the summer of 2010, just after Gaz and Danny released a self-titled album by their covers side project the Hotrats. Quinn went on to assemble the DB Band and Gaz Coombes launched his solo career with Here Come the Bombs in the spring of 2012.
Date: 23 April 2008/Author: Keira Vallejo