James
Pleased To Meet You

THE REVIEW

With this review, I start a personal retrospective on James, a legendary Manchester band in England and a cult favorite even here in Italy. The group was born in the second half of the eighties with New Wave premises and was acclaimed from many quarters, after the release of their first two albums, as the natural heir to the Smiths. As the '90s approached, there was a turning point with Gold Mother and Seven, with which the band became one of the cornerstones of the Manchester scene, or rather Madchester, a scene that also included the legendary Stone Roses. Then came brit pop and the rise of Oasis. And it's precisely when comparing them to the latter that it's unclear why, in some way, global fame went to Noel Gallagher's group and not to Tim Booth & co. Perhaps a greater boldness and a better ability to market their proposal. Undeniably, the 6 lads we are talking about are not people who cancel concerts repeatedly, do not binge on coke only to trash hotel rooms, do not announce breakups every six months. Although, in truth, there was a breakup—or rather, a pause for reflection—in 2001, and it is here that the retrospective begins: from the album Pleased To Meet You with which they parted from us at that time.

There is an ancient maxim that the best time to leave is when one has reached the peak, at the height of their glory. And James seem to have taken this maxim to heart, given that Pleased To Meet You is one of their best works, perhaps the best together with Seven. An album full of inspiration and verve (not those of Richard Ashcroft, eh), the likes of which James haven't given us in a long time.

Thirteen tracks, each better than the last, difficult to single out the peaks.

The introverted "Space" is supported by a sumptuous keyboard riff, an excellent ballad that gives way to the excellent "Falling Down", with plenty of groove and Tim Booth's irresistible falsetto. We return to electroacoustic and melancholic moods with "English Beefcake" and the subsequent tracks "Junkie" and "Pleased To Meet You", with a (very) vague hint of trip-hop. An indispensable mention goes to "Senorita", a truly irresistible song in its simplicity, as well as the immediately captivating pathos of "Gaudi", arguably the most intense track on the album. Finally, it's impossible not to mention "Getting Away With It All", which develops on an extraordinary climax, starting off quietly and gradually becoming more dramatic. Furthermore, it's the first James track I ever listened to, the song that ignited the spark for this great band.

 In short, Pleased To Meet You beautifully closes a journey of 15 plus years and 9 official albums. Unmissable.

9.0

1. "Space"
2. "Falling Down"
3. "English Beefcake"
4. "Junkie"
5. "Pleased To Meet You"
6. "Shining"
7. "Senorita"
8. "Gaudi"
9. "What Is God For"
10. "Give It Away"
11. "Fine"
12. "Getting Away With It"
13. "Alaskan Pipeline"