Babyshambles
Delivery

Once again Uncle Pete. 

Here we are: after "Down in Albion" and the "Blinding EP", "Delivery", the first single from the upcoming second album of the 'Shambles, "Shotter's Nation," has been released. In reality, as all fans of the Tall Man will know, the video of "Delivery" was already present on YouTube, first in live version and then as a single, long before its release in stores. A demo version (which was also very beautiful) of the song was already downloadable from the band's official MySpace page... in short, thanks, Pete, and then they say that you're full of yourself, that you only think about models and drugs, and that you're also ugly, pale, and bug-eyed.

But let's talk about the music. From a man who makes his cat smoke crack, anything could be expected, so I immediately break the hesitation of those who haven't yet listened to this song to say that IT'S BEAUTIFUL, very well recorded and well sung by our man. Yes, the riff is Kinks-style, practically at a level of plagiarism. Yes, it's his usual romantic melodies (especially in the chorus) from a 21st-century bohemian, but honestly, they are precisely what made me love his music, particularly from the time of "Up The Brackets" and "The Libertines", when a certain dried-up model had not yet gotten in the way to write lyrics and sing choruses and Mick Jones still knew how to produce very well.

"Delivery" is a perfect single, representing the more Brit-pop and less punk side of the Babyshambles, and for this, it has received some criticism. Matter of taste. Personally, I liked the track from the start, listening to the live version at Glastonbury 2007 (watch it on YouTube, it's hilarious), where Pete messes up a chord in the central break, stumbling. Fantastic. After all, the "cleaner" side of the Babyshambles' sound (in the studio) had already emerged with the "Blinding EP". The reasons are now known even to the walls: Mick Jones, who honestly had done a somewhat inconsistent job on D.I.A in production, has left space for others. Pat Walden, the most hysterical and dull guitarist in the world, has finally left, which resulted in several positive effects, including: A) I no longer have to endure frantic rhythms with fried sounds and live performances skirting the ridiculous, where often the guitar— the only one, by the way, because when Pat was there, Pete (Pat...Pete...bah) didn't play —the guitar, as I said, disappeared producing a dullness and a devastating lack of punch. B) The songwriting is finally, and rightly, back in significantly higher percentages in Doherty's hands. The songs written with Walden...meh. There's "Fuck Forever", sure, "8 Dead Boys" is good, but, go ahead and shoot me, the rest of the co-production of D.I.A, in my opinion, was rather mediocre, and the very beautiful songs written solely by Doherty (one of all, Back from the Dead) were rendered at their worst, unfortunately, except for "Albion".

As tradition dictates, "Delivery" is rich in B-sides... "Stone Me" and "Torn" are the best tracks. Listening to the live versions on the usual YouTube got me excited, I must say that the recorded versions are a bit more lacking, a pity. "Stone Me" is a ska-reggae track (which by now Pete has accustomed us to, after all, now he plays with Mick Whitnall, a character of English ska), nice as a B-side. "Torn" (present on the vinyl edition of the single) was recorded in the studio in an almost acoustic version. With the band, live, it was better in my opinion, but even so, I ended up liking it, a piece in pure Doherty style. The other two tracks that ended up as B-sides are decidedly ugly, or rather, they are practically not even songs. The version of "I wish" sung by Whitnall is 1) ugly 2) inconsistent (stop pretending that the Babyshambles are not just Pete Doherty, it's an unsustainable thesis even from a deaf/blind person). "A day out in New Brighton", which closes the series, is little more than Pete talking to himself, and honestly, with all the good I wish him, that's not enough to make a song.

Summing up this verbose review, and expecting the usual waves of crap from Pete's usual detractors, I conclude: Delivery is a great track, Pete is always Pete, and I await "Shotter's Nation" with impatience. Amen.