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jammin'
No longer in shambles
Supermodel Kate Moss writes on this record, Peter Doherty no
longer mumbles and actually sings. On Shotter's Nation, there is
poetry, punk garage sounds that British music is famous for and
ultimately it is a record that reflects the life and times of Peter
Doherty
By
Maheen Sabeeh
Artist: Babyshambles
Album: Shotter's Nation**** |
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Babyshambles
front man Peter Doherty often makes more noise in tabloids and gossip
columns for his never-ending smack 'n' crack habits, little visits
to jails or rehabilitation centers and the inability to show up at
gigs than for his music. His relationship with supermodel Kate Moss
(which is now over) only amplified his celebrity status.
But despite his shortcomings, Pete Doherty is one talented artist.
And it's this reason why it is easy to stick by him. After all, his
former band The Libertines, through which, Pete went onto release
two fine indie-punk records, (Up The Bracket and The Libertines) and
it was then that he first caught attention of the media, critics and
slowly America.
But since Babyshambles has begun, it seemed for a long time that all
this attention was not worth it. Babyshambles's first record, Down
in Albion, barring tracks like 'F*ck Forever' and 'In Love With A
Feeling' did not even come close to the genius of Pete, the musician
one first fell in love with back in his The Libs days.
Down in Albion was shoddy, in terms of production and it was as if
the entire band had a non-serious approach to the record. It was in
shambles, literally.
At the same time, perhaps this was bound to happen. With two fabulous
albums in his bag, a supermodel girlfriend, in centre of media attention
and a major drug habit, what else would this record be?
Nevertheless, the sophomore effort of Babyshambles comes as a little
surprise. It's production surpasses Down in Albion in every manner
possible, Pete is a lot more composed as an artist and the album is
still spontaneous and loose all the same. Pete sings, he no longer
mumbles.
After this album, it becomes difficult and perhaps even impossible
to separate the myth of Pete and the man himself. There is no such
thing as a perfect rock star, there never was and there never will
be. It is this reason why rock stars are loved so much; they are the
unpredictable wizards of music, even as they are often tortured artists
and in Pete's case, their own worst enemies.
We're talking about the album here and yet it becomes difficult to
not bring Pete's personal shenanigans in the mix because on Shotter's
Nation, you see everything there is to the man. Themes from and for
former lover Kate Moss, check, drug addictions, check, superstar lifestyle,
check, poetry, check, and everything else in between, check.
Unlike Down in Albion, which felt like never ending, Shotter's Nation
is shorter and has minuscule lackluster moments. Mostly it is just
brilliant and poetic.
Shotter's Nation, the title means, 'a drug dealer's nation'. And it
would've been perfect rock clichés had someone else been singing
and writing it. In this album, it applies to the man who writes the
major chunk of this album.
The punk moments begin with 'Carry Up On The Morning', which gives
one a window into yo-yo moments of coping with unprecedented success
and emotional turmoil in relationship, possibly with Kate. "Now
in the morning where does all the pain go? /Same place the fame goes/Straight
to your head /And it's not easy /Getting it out your head/".
You bet it isn't.
And then comes the big gem, reminiscent of early The Clash music ('All
The Young Guns', 'London Calling') and even The Libs that seemed impossible
at one point. And even then there is something unique about 'Delivery'.
Riveting guitars, a melody that hits you sharply and a shift from
outright garage punk to an almost poppy moment, with a sing-a-long
chorus to it.
There is a lot of honesty here as it goes, "Here comes a delivery/Straight
from the heart of my misery/Yeah you, now you, now you/You've finally
left school/Oh what on earth/Do you intend to do?/See if you can/Take
the man, go round town/You get together/Make pretend".
The wall of sound gets a lot more meatier and spontaneous with 'You
Talk'. The singing here is sarcastic and fun, as it goes, "You
talk, yes you talk a good game/Won't you teach me the same/Oh I'd
love to explain, like showing your hand and all about/Oh well I know/I
never said it was clever" and then in the moment of fun comes
with an admission of drug abuse, "I just like getting Leathered/Looking
for the light the light behind your eyes" and there is no apology.
These are the moods that shifts and with them changes the album, playing
a notebook to a figure in music who has been tagged by many as the
saviour of rock 'n' roll, at least, in Britain.
The wonderfully blue poppy punk element continues with 'Baddie's Boggie'
musically even as the words sympathise with the wife of a drunk. "Oh
you've been here before, you fell in love and carried her over the
threshold/Thinking, she's far too good looking to do the cooking/Now,
but that's twenty years ago...twenty years ago/And now she's thinking/It's
a lousy life for the washed up wife of a permanently plastered, pissed
up bastard". At the same time, this is another nod-your-head-along
kind of blue tune.
A stellar sound mixed with Pete's melancholia comes through with 'Deft
Left Hand', easily one of the finer moments on the album. It's a definite
departure from poppy blues and leans towards simply punk, reminiscent
of The Clash yet again.
Written by Pete Doherty and Kate Moss, the former love of his life,
it is a heartbreaker. The riffs shine, and the words play out what
once Moss and Pete meant to each other once.
"Weaker vessel or better half?/That Woman's tears could be the
death of me...oh dear/You know when she's had a few she'll be onto
you there's no letting up/But, I want to lay by your side/Oh, I will
lay down and die if I can't lay by your side".
Kate and Moss had a tremulous relationship and yet the feelings were
really real, more than a stunt. This record proves it. The two continue
to compliment each other as writers further on 'French Dog Blues'
even though musically this is one of the weaker links on the album.
But just for its lovely words, I'd give it a listen.
Together Moss and Pete say, "I model lacklustre panicky in vain
search for the remedy/No words only melody come so I take the day
off/My love,My love she sits with me I love I love her company/Raindrops
on roses and dust filled trinkets".
And then the moods shift again and for the first time there is self-analysis,
and the same beauty that one first found on 'F*ck Forever'.
'Unbilotitled' is inspirational and aching all the same as Pete croons,
"He is stronger than the walls/That you tried to build around
him/To dumb and dumbfound him/For 2000 years they have waited for
his call/Screaming from the windows/Screaming bloody murder/The more
that you follow me/The more I get off/You think that you know me/You're
pissing me off".
And speaking of reminders, a huge reminder of the great raging days
of The Libertines comes through with 'Side of the Road'. It is more
than a song, it is a punk anthem, that takes one to The Doors' 'Break
On Through' and The Clash's 'London Calling' but just for its sheer
rage, yells and power and not cheating of any sort. Pete yells out,
"With the bands and the fans and gangs/and the clan with the
monkey man high with a little girl at his side/Well I'll never, never,
not once when we're together, waiting on the dole/As he's queuing
up inside ... innnnnside ... graveyard".
The last track on this record is 'The Lost Art of Murder' which captures
Pete in his most vulnerable state of mind. It is the most beautiful
song on the album with Peter on acoustics.
As Pete sings, "You call yourself a killer but the only thing
that you're killing is your time/There's nothing absurder/A bird is
just a burden/To your heart your soul your body spirit and mind/Oh
don't look at me like that/She won't take you back/You said too much,
you been too unkind/Get up off your back/Stop smoking that/You could
change your life" - it is here that he admits to a change and
to his own faults.
Part of Shotter's Nation credit must be given to Stephen Street who
plays producer to this record and makes the entire album clean and
crisp even as he lets the band be spontaneous, fun, blue all the same.
Michael Whitnall doesn't fall prey to the traps of riffs. He play
punk riffs but lets the rhythm flow without being too ambitious. Drew
McConall and Andrew Fick do justice to bass and drums respectively.
Kate Moss proves there is more to the woman than being a supermodel.
And ultimately this is Pete's moment, his startling achievement at
a time when no one believed he would even return with a new album.
This is what music is about, it is about experiments, passion and
the person. The person that Peter Doherty is shines through on Shotter's
Nation.
– Shotter's Nation is available on I-Tunes and for free download
on torrents. *YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME
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