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There was an era, not too long ago, when records were still sold and everything seemed possible, optimism reigned, and everyone seemed to have their 15 minutes of fame. It was the mid-'90s in New Labour's England and Cool Britannia, of Oasis and Blur. Britpop was relentless and omnipresent, and classic English pop songwriting regained its luster and glory. Can such an era, where everything happened in broad daylight, have a lost gem?
Yes, it can have it, and this gem is "Expecting To Fly," the debut work of a meteoric band, in the noblest sense of the word, called Bluetones, a guitar-pop quartet from Hounslow, a suburb of London: Mark Morriss (vocals), Adam Devlin (guitar), Scott Morriss (bass), and Eds Chesters (drums).
At the time of its release in February 1996, this album (produced by Hugh Jones) managed to reach the top position of the UK Albums Chart, dethroning after countless weeks none other than the Majesty of britpop "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" by Oasis, thanks to its mix of romanticism and references to the C86 scene, jangly guitars and intelligent lyrics, and two bomb singles like "Bluetonic" and "Slight Return," one of the masterpieces of britpop as a whole.
Just a week later, however, Oasis reclaimed the top spot on the chart, and the group's fame soon faded. Two more albums followed in the Top 10 and then oblivion.
Now, twenty years later, it's time to rediscover this album, which has matured wonderfully, in an indispensable expanded reissue with additional material, b-sides, and live tracks. Enjoy listening!
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
02 Bluetonic (04:08)
when i am sad and weary
when all my hope is gone
and i can't put my finger on the time things first went wrong
i have a little secret i like to tell myself
and until now i haven't told anybody else
you may not see things my way
like my method or my reasons
but you can't tell me that i'm wrong
there's no heart you can't melt
with a certain little smile
and no challenge should be faced
without a little charm and a lot of style
so don't put your faith in time - she heals but doesn't change
and only a fool won't take the chance to stay the same
when i am sad and weary
when all my hope is gone
i walk around my house and think of you with nothing on
i have a list of things i go over in my mind
when i can just sit right back and watch the world unwind
you may not see things my way
i don't care 'cause i'm not asking
but you can't tell me that i'm wrong
there's no heart you can't melt
with a certain little smile
and no challenge should be faced
without a little charm and a lot of style
so don't put your faith in time - she heals but doesn't change
and only a fool won't take the chance to stay the same
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!
03 Cut Some Rug (04:32)
Seems like you’re always a million miles away
As far as I’m concerned that’s where you can stay
But all the time I’m reminded
Used to be a time we had a lot in common
But now as far as I can see, you’ve got something coming
And all the time you’re behind me
And all the time you remind me
Of blitzkrieg and the doodlebug
Salt upon a bubbling slug
You say I can talk to you anytime
But I just wanna cut some rug
Turn yourself away and shrug and say that I can talk anytime
It’s easy living in a bubble
No complication or trouble
But it’s hard to have responsibility
And judging by you a personality
And all the time you remind me
Of blitzkrieg and the doodlebug
Salt upon a bubbling slug
You say I can talk to you anytime
But I just wanna cut some rug
Turn yourself away and shrug and say that I can talk anytime (x3)
07 Slight Return (03:21)
Where did you go
when things went wrong for you,
when the knives came out for you?
Where did you go?
All you needed was a friend.
You just have to ask and then-
You don't have to have the solution,
you've got to understand the problem,
and don't go hoping for a miracle.
All this will fade away
so i'm coming home.....i'm coming home
What did you learn,
locked away all on your own,
chance and your head all blown
What did you learn,
It was unfortunate,
you missed you chance to find out that
You don't have to have the solution,
you've got to understand the problem,
and don't go hoping for a miracle.
All this will fade away
so i'm coming home.....i'm coming home
[Instrumental]
You don't have to have the solution,
you've got to understand the problem,
and don't go hoping for a miracle.
All this will fade away
so i'm coming home.....i'm coming home......i'm coming home
But just for a short while
09 Vampire (04:31)
You left me unguided
You left me divided with room to complain
So I’ll say in this song, the wait is too long
I thought I had seen it, I thought I had learned
There’s something around each corner I turn
Can’t stay still forever, got to get it together
If you’d seen with these eyes and lived with these lies
I thought about father and I thought about here
And I knew that this wasn’t for me
Now the beast can subside, a boy needn’t hide
Oh, if you’d seen with these eyes
Never dares to sow, on and on she goes
Knowing what she knows – nothing
Major’s whipping boy, facing one old toy
Distance through the void – nothing
11 Time & Again (05:09)
Nothing I can do could ever bring those feelings back
I've taken everything - my body is a bloated sack
The days behind me start rolling into months
Is time running out?
My head feels too heavy
My legs feel too weak
All I can do now is sleep
Everything is empty now, the things I knew are gone
Darkness lays dormant now - a colour once shone
Hope reminds my conscience just to get me through the day
Is this my reward?
And I'm going on journeys
I'm exhausting my muse
I'm taking from everything
To see what I can use
If I found a brand new colour
Something no-one had ever seen
I dug it up right there in my garden
That would be the greatest thing
Nothing I can do could ever bring those feelings back
I've taken everything - my body is a bloated sack
The days behind me start rolling into months
Is time running out?
And faced with having to
Have and then lose
I'd choose never to have had, yeah
If I found a brand new colour
Something no-one had ever seen
I dug it up right there in my garden
That would be the greatest thing
I only want to speak to you
I only want to let you know
That time and again my feelings
Never seem to show
If I found a brand new colour
Something no-one had ever seen
I dug it up right there in my garden
That would be the greatest thing
Time and again (repeated)
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