•
Rating: The Libertines aspire to legend. This can be inferred from the great clamor that this band has been stirring in England for at least two years and from the endless series of controversies, personal dramas, temporary splits, and metropolitan gossip that have framed the troubled history of this group that is reviving that "cursed" aura of the rock 'n' roll of yesteryear. Then what's been constructed in this long and captivating soap opera is another matter, but the fact remains that in this sad moment for the music scene, the Libertines of Carl Barat and Pete Doherty are the only name keeping the flag of the glorious past of British music flying high. This second album, self-titled, is released in a climate of absolute disorder within the band: Doherty is, as is known, temporarily out of the quartet as he is engaged in (trying to) detoxify (he was also in Thailand but fled after a few days, defeated by his notorious addiction to crack, cocaine, and heroin) and after having quite serious legal problems (he is awaiting trial for being stopped with a knife deemed illegal and is in a dispute with a famous London groupie for the recognition of a child).
The band gives the impression, as often happened in the last 15-16 months, of being adrift, but the "last-minute" concerts organized in England are regularly sold out, the sales of this new album are going great, and the "myth" of this formation, which has decisively supplanted the so-called "rivals" in what is stupidly considered the "new rock" scene (Strokes, Vines, Hives etc.), continues to grow. After all the scandals, the gossip, the crises, and the reconciliations (a real déjà vu that has lasted in the U.K. for at least 40 years, from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, passing through the Who, Bowie, the Sex Pistols, the Smiths, and Oasis), the time has come for music: to be true legends, the Libertines need songs destined to enter the collective memory, evergreens that would definitively differentiate them from all the other bands increasingly "one-hit wonders" that rage in the charts.
The material is abundant: in the Libertines, one can truly feel all the influences that great English groups have exercised in the history of pop, and the compositional quality of Barat and Doherty is undeniable. In them, there is the sixties playfulness of the early Beatles, the wild decadence of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, the punk mockery of the Sex Pistols, the anger of the Clash, the melancholy of the Smiths, and the proletarian strength of the early Oasis. Doherty, in particular, seems almost a cross between Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, and Syd Barrett, and in a way, he has already penned some "little classics" in the band's repertoire, like "Time For Heroes" and "Up The Bracket". Even though probably the true cult single of the Libertines remains the fantastic "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" (produced by that sly fox Bernard Butler), in this new album there are certainly no lack of battle horses. However, something is still missing to enter history, and this album perhaps finds its flaw precisely in this, considering also that the group's future is, despite everything, still hanging by a thread. The production by Mick Jones seems to signify a hypothetical passing of the baton between the Clash and the Libertines, but the former exploded in a particular moment that England was going through, and I have many doubts that it's possible to recreate the same explosive effect that the legendary band of "London Calling" had: certainly, the sound owes a lot to that glorious era.
"Can't Stand Me Now", the first track and first single released, is just one of the pieces in which Doherty and Barat duet on their own torments and destiny (a bit like Jones' coded message in "Should I Stay Or Should I Go"), and it retraces a little what made the aforementioned "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" memorable. "Last Post On The Bugle" is another driven, dirty, and rough piece where Doherty's voice seems to fight with the instruments, as if wanting to express the singer's turbulent personality: mistakes in execution and a schizophrenic pace instead manage to give a sense of perfection, something the Libertines achieve superbly despite the forced carelessness that pervades almost every track. In general, though, the songs are more thought-out than their debut, no longer just "good the first time", but they seem much more labored. "Don't Be Shy" seems like a typical number from "Rubber Soul" era Beatles, while "The Man Who Would Be King" delivers smoky nightclub vibes, and Doherty avoids indulging in his typical exasperated screams. "Music When The Lights Go Out" is the highest moment of the album: a melancholic acoustic ballad in the manner of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" that undergoes a sudden acceleration after the chorus. "Narcissist" is 2 minutes and 10 seconds of the band paying homage to the garage of the Stooges and MC5; "The Ha Ha Wall" starts like a sort of soundcheck and evolves into a pop rock that, in some respects, recalls the lighter Buzzcocks (it resolves into a sort of improvised session); "Arbeit Macht Frei" is a madness recorded live; "Campaign Of Hate" seems to echo Wire’s "I Am The Fly" but without necessarily thinking of plagiarism (indeed, it is probably one of the best songs in their entire repertoire); as for "What Katie Did," what can I say? They really seem like Lennon and McCartney at 20!!! The album continues with the Clash-like "Tomblands" which draws strength from those classic vocal harmonies of the band of Strummer and Jones for a track with very epic and fatalistic tones. The songs last very little, "The Saga" even 1 and 53!! Here instead Smiths' "London" and the Hives come to mind. "Road To Ruin" is another intense moment in which Doherty takes center stage, overshadowing his companion Barat, who remains rather in the background in this album; the closing is with "What Became Of The Likely Lads," destined to be a great classic of the band and subtly autobiographical, with an intriguing intertwining that simultaneously makes you think of a mix between Pulp, the Smiths, the Clash, and the unruly style of Jon Spencer.
It may not be a masterpiece destined to endure through the years, but it comes very close: this album is a gem that I highly recommend. As mentioned, the song of a lifetime is missing, but it will come. Life is long, and I hope it is for that little big genius of Pete Doherty as well.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Can't Stand Me Now (03:23)
"An ending fitting for the start
You twist and tore our love apart
Your light fingers through the dark
Shattered the lamp, into darkness it cast us..."
"No, you've got it the wrong way round
You shut me up, and blamed it on the brown."
Cornered, the boy kicked out at the world
The world kicked back, a lot fucking harder
If you wanna try, if you wanna try
There's no worse you could do, uh oh oh
I know you lie, I know you lie
I'm still in love with you, uh oh oh
Can't take me anywhere
I'll take you anywhere
You can't take me anywhere
I can't take you anywhere
I'll take you anywhere you wanna go, oh
You can't stand me now
Have we enough to keep it together?
Or do we just keep on pretending
And hope our luck is never ending?
You tried to pull the wool
I wasn't feeling too clever
And you take all that they're lending
Until you needed mending
If you wanna try, if you wanna try
There's no worse you could do, uh oh oh
I know you lie, all you do is make me cry
And all those words, they ain't true
I can't take me anywhere
I can't take you anywhere
You can't take me anywhere
Well, I won't take you anywhere
I take you anywhere you want to go, oh
You can't stand me now
02 Last Post on the Bugle (02:32)
If I have to go
I will be thinking of your love
Oh, somehow you'll know
You'll know
Thinking of your love
Slyly they whispered away
As I played the last post on the bugle
I heard them say
"Oh, that boy's no different today
Except in every single way."
If I have to go
I will be thinking of your love
Oh, somehow you'll know
You'll just know
Thinking of your love
Oh, I was carried away
Caught up in an affray
And as they led him away, he sang,
"We'll meet again some day;
Oh my boy, there's a price to pay."
If I have to go
I will be thinking of your love
Oh, somehow you'll know
I don't know how, but you'll know
Thinking of your love
La la-la, la-la la-la...
Inside I felt so, so alone
Locked in a room
Waiting 'til kingdom come
Although I felt elated
I felt like I was scum
I was carried away
Caught up in an affray
As they led him away, he sang,
"We'll meet again some day;
Oh my boy, there's a price to pay."
Feel like I have never been away
Though it's been longer than I could possibly say
I've been wandering the market
Carrying a sign, saying the end of
The world is nigh
I'm glad to see we're still tight
The bonds that tie a man are tight
Yet we do what we do
With ritual habituality
All through the night
03 Don't Be Shy (03:03)
Don't be shy
Don't be shy
For if you are shy for tomorrow
You'll be shy for one thousand days
Hey
Don't be shy
Don't be shy
Don't let the tide of your soul
Drown your nights and flood your days
But still its better to be shy than screaming drunken old queen
who's always got to have his way
But don't be coy with me
I am to clever to follow you down
To the dark and stormy weather, babe
The bracket's wider now
So whats your pleasure?
Swallow your pride
But please...
Don't be shy
Don't be shy
For if you are shy for tomorrow
You'll be shy for one thousand days
Now is your time to shine
Dance and hear your song
or you may wake up one day in the last chance saloon
to find your last chance has been and gone
Don't be shy
Don't be shy
For if you are shy for tomorrow
You'll be shy for one thousand days
hey hey hey.
05 Music When the Lights Go Out (03:02)
Is it cruel or kind not to speak my mind
And to lie to you, rather than hurt you?
Well I'll confess all of my sins
After several large gins
But still I'll hide from you
And hide what's inside from you.
And alarm bells ring
When you say your heart still sings
When your with me
Oh darling please forgive me
But I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
And all the memories of the pubs
And the clubs and the drugs and the tubs
We shared together
They'll stay with me forever
But all the highs and the lows
And the tos and the fros
They left me dizzy
Oh darling please forgive me
But I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
Well I no longer hear the
Music when the lights go out
Love goes cold in the shades of doubt
The strange face in my mind is all too clear
Music when the lights come on
The girl I thought I knew has gone
And with her my heart it disappeared
Well I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
And all the memories of the fights and nights
Under blue lights and all the kites
We flew together
Love thought they'll fly forever
But all the highs and the lows
And the tos and the fros
They left me dizzy
Oh won't you please forgive me
But I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
Music when the lights go out
Love goes cold in the shades of doubt
The strange face in my mind is all too clear
Music when the lights come on
The girl I thought I knew has gone
And with her my heart it disappeared
But I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
And I no longer hear the music
06 Narcissist (02:10)
Professionally trendy in the glow of Clapham sun
There's life after work and it can be such fun
You see all the models in magazines and on the walls
You wanna be just like them
Cause they're so cool
They're just narcissists
Well wouldn't it be nice to be Dorian Gray?
Just for a day
They're just narcissists
Oh, what's so great to be Dorian Gray?
Every day
We're living in a looking glass
As the beauty of life goes by
You're going to be so old
You're going to grow so old
Your skin so cold
Well they're just narcissists
Well wouldn't it be nice to be Dorian Gray?
Just for a day
Such narcissists
What's so great to be Dorian Gray?
Every day
They're just narcissists
Wouldn't it be great to be Dorian Gray?
Just for a day
Just for a day
07 The Ha Ha Wall (02:29)
If you get tired of hanging around
pick up a guitar and spin a web of sound
Then you could be strung out all day
with your lovers and clowns
(but now I find myself still hanging around..)
It's been a long war and now I'm tired and dirty
Still not dirty enough for you my love
We've been thieving, we stole the light from the dawn
But when I come round on your floor I wish I'd never been born
Can you see me? Can you see through it all?
I'm empty lost and alone oh won't you heed my call?
It's been a long war, now we're tired and dirty
Still not dirty enough for you my love....
08 Arbeit macht frei (01:13)
Roll a gasper
The guard said he could stay alive
But he shoveled and burned his friends to die
People to die, oh the gate read:
Arbeit macht frei
In her rollers
And a gasper
She's cleaning the steps in a mean street
Where no policemen walk the beat
Her old man, he don't like blacks or queers
Yet he's proud we beat the Nazis
How queer
Arbeit macht frei
09 Campaign of Hate (02:10)
There's a campaign of hate
It's waiting at the school gates
Not for what I am aware
It must be what she wrote, what she writes
And you swore that you'd swear
To you remember why you came
Not to play follow the leader, no no
Poor kids dressing like they're rich (mods)
Rich kids dressing like they're poor (oh my God)
White kids talking like they're black
I tried it with Charlene and I spent three days on my back
Cuz she said, "Baby, I like the cut of your J.I.B.
Oh, don't believe them when they say
That you don't get nothing for free."
It's all for free, follow me now
There's a campaign of hate
It's waiting at the school gates
There's a campaign of hate
It's waiting at the school gates
There's a campaign of hate
It's waiting at the school gates
There's a campaign of hate
It's waiting at the school gates
Faster!
There's a campaign of hate
Waiting at the school gates
There's a campaign of hate
Waiting at the school gates
There's a campaign of hate
10 What Katie Did (03:49)
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Oh what you gonna do, Katie?
You're a sweet sweet girl
But it's a cruel, cruel world
a cruel, cruel world.
My pins are none too strong, Katie
Hurry up, Mrs Brown
I can feel it coming down
& it won't take none too long
But since you said goodbye
Polka dots fill my eyes
And I don't know why
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
Shoop shoop, shoop de-lang-a-lang
What you gonna do Katie?
You're a sweet, sweet girl
But it's a cruel, cruel world
a cruel, cruel world
Safety pins are none too strong Katie
they hold my life together
And I never say never
And I never say never again
But since you said goodbye
The polka dots fill my eyes
And I don't know why
Since you said goodbye
the polka dots fill my eyes
And I don't know why
Say you want
Say you will
Say you won't but don't leave me standing
Say you will, it's up to anyone
That's what they all like to know
And since you said goodbye
the polka dots fill the sky
And I don't know why
11 Tomblands (02:06)
In the land of the gouching skiving sun
There's bodies in the room, lad
Never an honest day's work is done
They call it the Tomblands
No, they're never gonna get me no
Never gonna get me no
Never gonna get me no
Fifteen holes in the dealer's chest
Yo ho ho he was a mini martial man
Social unrest
Pieces of eight in the jukebox
Oh, you know
Didn't wanna be the one to tell you
She was only 14
Sussed out your dirty sorded little scene
12 The Saga (01:53)
A problem
Here comes a problem
You let down your friends
And you let down the people
And you let down yourself Oh oh oh oh
And only fools, vultures and undertakers
Will have any time for you
A Problem, here comes a problem
When you lie to your friends
And you lie to your people
And you lie to yourself
And the truth's too harsh to comprehend
You just pretend there isn't a problem
I am a pimp and they say
And in my bed you dig my bed
I dig my grave
The truth's too hard to comprehend
You just pretend there isn't a problem
No I ain't got a problem
It's you with the problem
13 Road to Ruin (04:21)
How can we make you understand
All you can be is right given in your hand
You won't need money
Trust in me, take me by the hand
Give us a chip
Dreams are strewn across the sand
You won't need money
And all the pimps, punks, pederasts, jugglers and fools
They drive me crazy, are climbing the walls
show me the way, the way to the store
Cause I'm so sick, so sick of it all
But when the penny drops
Trust in me, take me by the hand
Cashing your chips strewn across the sand
You won't need money
And all the pimps, punks, pederasts, jugglers and fools
They drive me crazy, it's no good at all
show me the way, the way to the store
Cause I'm so sick of it all
But when the penny drops...
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By northernsky
"'The Libertines' is a powerful affair, qualitatively very good, very consistent, with very few minor episodes and some unforgettable gems."
"Without Pete Doherty, the Libertines have no future. With him, they could truly be the band that will save rock 'n' roll in the 21st century."
By The Punisher
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, to the Festival of the Already Heard, the Copycat Fair, the Sore Ears Celebration...
All already heard, all already said, a little Clash, a little Green Day or early Pogues... what a brilliant idea from our guys!!
