Ocean Colour Scene
Song From The Front Row

THE REVIEW

How many things did the new British invasion of the nineties give us?

MANY. What fascinates me most about the musical generation of the nineties is that, first and foremost, the overly flashy artistic policy of the eighties had already become a nuisance; and among those young people, there was a renewed passion for what was considered "old" rock and the exaltation of the icons of the '60s and '70s.

These factors brought America back to unleash its raw rock once again through grunge and the dusty movement of nu metal (which, nonetheless, had excellent bands).

England, on the other hand, rediscovered its musical patriots and produced a series of bands like Oasis, Pulp, Blur, Suede, Radiohead, KulaShaker, Chemical Brothers, Verve, etc., etc. There were expressions for all genres, and there was a return of a desire to "try to write something great." However, the artistic vein of these bands eventually faded, and Brit Pop died, paving the way for a truly forgettable Teen Pop era. There would be room again in 2005 for the return of the British invasion, but that is another story.

Anyway, Brit Pop '90 was fast, too fast, and focused only on the biggest and best-selling names. It's true that the melodic power of Oasis or Blur was too strong not to be the center of attention, but there were indeed some very interesting bands with similar compositional skills that remained "hidden."

One of them is Ocean Colour Scene, and I've decided to review this collection because I believe it is illustrative of what they were capable of and the great injustice towards them. There are truly beautiful pieces here, many indeed; there are pop rock gems that should be listened to and recognized more widely. The collection starts with "Riverboat Song" and introduces us to the musical concept of the OCS. They were a band that set themselves apart from others with their taste for "playing," not just chords and melodies, but also for the care of riffs and the musical background (Suede comes to mind) unlike other bands that, in good English Beat style, focus exclusively on the accompaniment of the voice. That being said, we're talking about a band that plays, and plays well (we're not talking about monsters here). It continues with "The Day We Caught The Train," unveiling a beautiful stadium anthem (in my opinion, the group's masterpiece). We also have wonderful ballads like "One Of The Road," "Better Day," "Huckleberry Grove," and "Robin Hood." As we proceed through the tracks, arranged in almost chronological order, we notice some emulation of the Rolling Stones in the early days, eventually progressing to a more "sunny" rock in later years. I should mention the psychedelic track "July" and the dramatic "Profit In Peace," another stadium rock anthem. But this is not a band that stops at a collection; their albums like "Moseley Shoals" or "Marchin' Already" from their early Brit period and those of maturity like "Mechanical Wonder" are also beautiful.

Unfortunately, many have forgotten them, but surely it's not the fame of a band that determines its greatness. Even if not extremely famous, this group was an excellent example of the compositional fervor of the early nineties. The downside of this whole movement is that it might not withstand the test of time, and we may only remember the more famous bands. In any case, here are beautiful songs to listen to at least once to understand that when the British set out to make rock, they are always truly exceptional.