Suede

Nearly fifteen years after its release, Suede's eponymous first album remains as lushly gorgeous as ever, perhaps because even at the time of its release it seemed to be looking back to the glam rock of the seventies and the best of the Smiths in the eighties. Today the music seems hardly to have aged at all. Although Suede made several albums, they were at their best only in their first two albums, during which singer/lyricist Brett Anderson teamed with guitarist/writer Bernard Butler teamed to write some of the most spectacularly theatrical songs to emerge from the decade. After SUEDE and the almost equally superb second album DOG STAR MAN (named after a series of avant-garde short films by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage) Butler left the band.

It is tragic that Anderson and Butler couldn't have remained collegial longer. As a team they perfectly complimented one another. Anderson sold the songs with such passion and sensuality that could perhaps be matched only by Jarvis Cocker during the same period. Though they recorded in the wake of punk, Anderson sounded as if he could have fronted any of the great glam bands of the seventies. As for Butler, did Great Britain produce a greater guitarist in the entire decade? Or even in the decade that followed? Stylistically he always reminded me of someone who listened to a lot of Dave Gilmour before discovering Johnny Marr. The heart of his playing owes a lot to Marr, but the edges are softer and darker, like Gilmour. Though SUEDE and DOG STAR MAN are not often thought of as great guitar albums, they in fact contain some of the most brilliant playing of the last twenty years.

Though the Anderson-Butler version of Suede stayed together only a while, they left us with a string of utterly stunning singles. "So Young," "Animal Nitrate," "The Drowners" (which was a massive hit), "Sleeping Pills," and "Metal Mickey" are all songs that are simply perfect. Though not the most celebrated cut on the album, my favorite Suede song might be "Pantomime Horse," which combines some of Anderson's most passionate singing with some of Butler's most astonishing playing to produce an epic masterpiece.

Anyone who loves music needs this album. I recently was talking to a huge Radiohead fan who incredibly had never heard this album. It is hard to realize if you have been following music for more than a couple of decades how quickly albums move from being "contemporary" to being "classics." But regardless of the label, this is an album anyone not knowing it really needs to own. It is one of the essentials.

it's all in the interest of personal development; yours truly is currently going through a 'face your demons' phase. this is where you beg steal or borrow (but never, EVER buy) albums by people you count musically as villians, be it the type of 'artist' who inspires the type of po-faced reverance that makes an iconoclast like me's fists itch (dylan et al) or bands that were launched in a blaze of hype, championed by the music press to the detriment of other more worthy bands, a la suede.
assuming that most people reading this are american, you can count yourselves lucky that unless you pored over the nme and the now defunct (yay!) melody maker that you missed said wave of hype. said that, i'm sure you see it happening with other bands even now.
so what of it now. well, like so many others in this demon slaying, it turns out thati was right and suede...weren't very good at all. to whit, a lead singer who sounds like he's got a raw onion shoved up his rectum and a sub-glam sound. and that is that. oh there are one or two interesting moments - 'drowners' starts off with a drum riff similar to simple minds 'boys from brazil' (i'll wait for the suede fans here to check their history, i'll be here a while - it's kinda like a tortoise and hare/ evolutionary curve thing) before descending into a morass of mediocrity. 'moving' is perhaps the only track worth saving - so that's one out of eleven? well done!
if people had seen this album on its release for what it was maybe they'd bugger off and leave us alone. instead the music press (bless their rotten little hearts) conspired to fool the general public into believing something special was going on. meanwhile, yours truly sat here saying "...erm, actually people...these guys suck". oh well.
once more: nothing to see here folks, don't believe the hype.

No,the gun is not for my brother.I'll need it personally, to shoot all the impeccably bred critics and alleged melomans,all the swine who never bothered to really listen to Suede.Yes,Bowie and the Smiths were the idols that Brett and Bernard worshipped,their perverse glamour had obviously poisoned those working class kids at a tender age and provided the impulse to revive guitar rock.However,I dont think that even Brett and Bernard have realised what they have actually done, because they remain blinded by the halos of their own teenage heroes.Apart from the homage and the obvious similarities, the early Suede stuff is way better than anything David and Moz have ever released.It'd be a hypocritical sacrilege to compare a shallow and trendy rock'n'roll record like Ziggy Stardust with the creativity and the energy of the Suede debut, not to mention the whiny and quite theatrical world of Morrissey's discreet homosexuality.Come on!The power,sincerity,the sensuality,the androgynous angst and the vulnerability of Anderson are much deeper and far more convincing,they haunt the triviality of daily life and create a new enchanting dimension out of it,a dimension in which the drugs,the sex,and even a thing like paracetamol have an almost esoteric meaning.
Next time you pop Suede in your cd player,just try to distance yourself of all the background, all the casual crap that you've been fed to by the press and the media.Try to feel it and forget those retarded pop dinosaurs.This is the delight of the chemical smile...

By the time you hit song five "Pantomime Horse" you will be starting to wonder how this band did not go on to be a major international act. With the impossible styling of the lead singer and the wailing lead breaks of the guitar broken by sudden fragile piano runs it is not possible to listen unemotionally to this album.

That is until song six. Just as you are settling down for a good listen - no, a great listen - the band ease off the unpredictable breaks and you get a murky, sodden wall of noise with few highlights.

Buy it for the opening set of five. They've got more punch than most albums collectively. But forget the rest.

two or three months after i got home from a two-year stint a friend of mine played me 'the drowners.' i remember sitting in the car absolutely dumbfounded and befuddled by what i was hearing. the only other time i'd had such an experience was the first time i heard 'the queen is dead.'

much is made of brett anderson's voice. before a decade of cigs and booze reduced it to a shell of its former self, brett's voice was a marvel--undeniably sexy, grand, lush, grandiose, operatic, cinematic and yeah, a pinch nasally. add that to his undeniable good looks and he was the first hero of an about-to-be-revitalized britpop invasion (no, it didn't start with blur or oasis or radiohead--suede were the harbingers). he was, perhaps, the first vocalist in a long while to get the girls AND boys whipped up in a frenzy. brett tackled tough themes and exposed the dark side of the pysche.

bernard was, too, either brett's perfect foil or ideal accomplice. always underappreciated when it comes to the decades great axemen, bernard butler is a virtuoso. contrary to many of his comtemporaries and 99% of today's guitarists, bernard never simply strummed. his riffs were melodic and functioned much as a backing vocalist would. it gave the music an unprecedented depth and uniqueness, something that graham coxon would later employ in blur, at least to some extent (i met his once at virgin megastore--his hands are HUGE).

the album does have a 'slapped-together' feeling to it. this, no doubt, comes from the fact that in the beginning suede was very much a singles band, just as franz ferdinand is now. that looseness, however, gives the album its danger and excitement. concept albums be damned--'suede' was about the three-minute, fist-in-the air anthem--a three-minute high that echoed one of the album's dirty druggie undertones.

the album's singles, 'the drowners,' 'metal mickey,' 'animal nitrate,' and 'so young,' are benchmarks of the britpop era. add to the album another dozen or so b-sides (most notably 'to the birds' and 'my insatiable one) that were better than most other bands 'A' material, and you had a band that was everything a great band should be. mat osman and simon gilbert don't often receive their proper credit, but they are both fantastic musicians. any great band needs a great rhythm section to let the more flamboyant guitarists and vocalists do their thing and mat and simon, in this regard, though in the background, were vital ingredients in the suede army.

'suede' was a lift-altering experience for this listener and even when i listen to the album these days (and as i'm doing now), it reminds me of a different time and a different place--a time when a band was truly unpredictable and never failed to surprise me.

For those wanting to understand what does "britpop" means, this would be their instructions manual - a great place to start. The best career portrait of a band that departed too soon.

For the commited Suede fans, you won't find here anything you already have on your collections, except from a couple tweaks on the sounds (mainly vocals) of a few songs.

Worthy for new ones and old ones anyway!!!

If you don't own a single Suede disc, this can be a great place to start. If you're like me, and own them all, you might think you don't need this disc, but you would be wrong! I notice that the version of "Trash" from this disc has a very different vocal of Brett from "Coming Up". I can't put my finger on it, but it almost sounds like a copy cat of Brett, or maybe Brett had been out at the pub and had one too many. Otherwise, it sounds the same.

If you have the albums already, this collection sort of bounces the hits around from album to album. In other words, they didn't go from beginning to end. It might work for the disc, and you, but to me, it would have been a little better programmed at the time the single was released in chronilogical order. (Much less sloppy this way). But no matter. The hits are here.

If you love this disc, you then must hunt down the self titled, DMStar, Coming Up, SFLullabyes, Head Music, and then decide if you'll take the plunge into New Morning. I own them all, and I thought Blur couldn't be beat. Suede proved me wrong once I got over the fact that they were britpop's underdogs and deserved a listen. They transcended britpop into their own sound that the copycats will hopefully copy for decades. I don't see why Suede can't reform tommorrow, but that's up to Brett. But Singles is a good final goodbye and hello to those new to them.

In the 70s it was Bowie. In the 80s it was The Smiths. In the 90s it was Suede. For anyone who believes the most compelling and enjoyable rock music comes from Britian than this disk is a must. Of the 21 tracks 13 are great. Yes there are 3 or 4 embarassingly bad songs on the disk but how often do you find 2 great songs, much less 13 on a single disk?

Suede IS Britpop. Merging melody, metrosexuality, and and nifty guitar work Suede is a band with infectious music. "Singles" will give a newbie a good intro to the band. Hopefully it will motivate you to explore the individual disks. There are so many wonderful songs here that to pick out 2 or 3 favorites is impossible. Suede has been compared to a Morrissey-Bowie hybrid. I'm not sure that is correct. Suede's lyrics are too superficial to compare to Morrissey and Brett Anderson's vocals are not as Cockney as early Bowie. But Suede is the British torch bearer of the 90s. If you had to choose only one Britpop disc "Singles' would be it.

Suede's sound is quite diverse. There are instances of power pop, metal, soft ballads, and just plain camp. Suede was the response and antidote to the boring and languid Grunge. Blur, Oasis, Catatonia, etc... followed but never quite measured up. "Singles" shows why.

I love Suede (The London Suede) for there hooky, pop style that is still edgy and REAL.

If you have not heard Suede and like Britpop get ready for your new favorite album.

FYI. I did notice that the vocals for the song 'Trash' have been changed from the original. It's cool cause it's a bit different though.

Wow!!! My only introduction to Suede came from a few listens of their first album, which in its own respect was outstanding, but I was unaware of how well they matured as a band. Most debut bands follow up with mediocre, disappointing albums and songs. However, Suede's songs seem to get better and better with time.

Suede's music is gritty and hard without abandoning the hooks that make their songs catchy. Brett Anderson's voice is snarly and snide but not devoid of melody or mellifluence. "The Wild Ones" is a great example of this. I bought this album and have listened to it non-stop. Suede meets and even surpasses the fine albums and songs of other great British bands like Oasis, Pulp, and Blur. If you like any one of those, you will most definitely like Suede. Pick this album up if you are unfamiliar with them.

I had the privalege of seeing Suede in person several years ago and have been a fan ever since. She is a fabulous musician and entertainer if you have the fortune of seeing her in person. The best concert yet was her CD release party in DC this year for this fabulous CD, accompied by the Dangerous Band. I play this CD on a regular basis and never get tired of it!

Imagine a cross between Ella Fitzgerald and Bette
Midler, throw in a little Rosie Clooney, add a dash of
Louis Armstrong, and you might get some idea of
Suede's unique musical talents and abilities.

Bold statements, I know...
My Dad was a jazz piano player in the 50's and 60's
and I grew up around some of the great jazz giants.
Hearing this CD definitely brings me back to the great talent from years ago!

Suede's crystal clear voice and amazing range blend
perfectly with the Big Band and panio arrangements written for her by Janice Friedman. If you get a chance to catch a live show grab it,
as they are truly phenomenal!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is hard to believe, but these are the b-sides. 27 shining, melodious masterpieces spanning the greatest incarnations of Suede flavour their blazing accomplishment. From dysphoria and madness of Northern townsfolk to urbane transvestites and exotic undergrounders, Suede forfeits any caution, creating a maddening mixture of pop and rock, modern and classic.

"Sci-Fi Lullabies" reads almost more like a disjointed opera than any old pop band's record. Brett Anderson's heartbreaking melodies and lyrics scream falsettoed angst; the voice of an era.

Passed over by radio and MTV, the miracles on this record have rarely fallen on the inexperienced ear. There is a more sensible, subtler and sophisticated Suede than many have given credit based on previously released material. Though it's not to say Suede falls short on their studio albums- they are brilliant- but free from pressures and in-band fighting the freeform menagerie sensually emanating from the speakers is innocent and raw.

Suede does on "Sci-Fi Lullabies" what Suede does best- dramatics, sexual perversion, heroin dirges, and flashboy murders. And every track is a winner to every loser.

Sci-Fi Lullabies is Suede's b-sides compilation, encompassing 1992-1997. However, it is also one of Suede's best albums, including songs that, beyond being worthy enough to be A-sides in their own right, could have enhanced any of the albums they might have appeared on. Disc 1 focuses mainly on Bernard Butler-era material while Disc 2 takes in the Richard Oakes era. Superlative cuts include My Insatiable One, To the Birds, He's Dead, The Living Dead, Modern Boys, Together, Young Men, WSD, and Sadie.

Dollar-for-dollar, this compilation is a better deal than any of Suede's albums. In some cases, these b-sides are quite a bit stronger than the a-sides they were originally packaged with.

The first side is the stronger of the two, with 'To The Birds,' 'High Rising,' 'My Dark Star,' 'Killing of a Flash Boy,' 'Together' and especially 'Europe is our Playground' brushing the sublime. 'But that's almost all the songs on the side,' you might say. Well, yeah.

The second side is Suede in their later phase, their grittier, less artistic phase, and while I don't think it led to a decline in the quality of their albums, I do think the b-sides suffered. Still, 'Every Monday Morning,' 'Money' and 'Sadie' are excellent.

This is just Suede's best music, simply. A must-have for any collection, and especially for the fan.

Now that Suede have called it a day it's time to look back at their work, I start here because this is where they made their last brilliant piece of work. To call Sci-Fi Lullabies a compilation is insane but that's exactly what it is, a b-side album. These songs are by no means "throwaways". How these songs didn't make the final cut is a mystery to all of us Suedeheads. The instrumentation and lyrics are a match, very complex, well thought out and perfectly executed.

The songs which feature the guitar works of both Bernard Butler and Richard Oakes are absolutely brilliant and they suit them in different ways, Bernard's style being classical, complex, textured and the lengthy solos while Richard's style is more straightforward, upbeat, dynamic, modern and rockier. Both are greatly talented and define the Suede "sound". My favorite songs with Butler are; Where The Pigs Don't Fly and Killing Of A Flashboy, while with Oakes they are; Together and Young Men.

Mat Osman is an underrated bass player, he's overshadowed by the brilliance of Butler and Oakes but, if you listen closely you'll hear very well constructed basslines throughout songs like Whipsnade, Sadie and Europe Is Our Playground. After this album their creativity took a slight dip in Head Music and A New Morning is not on a par with their best work and I'm being kind. If you're a novice and want a quick review of Suede's career, then buy "Singles" but, if you have some money to spend on a few albums then I would recommend starting with Sci-Fi Lullabies and go back from there with Coming Up, Dog Man Star and Suede. I look at Suede's period of excellence from 1992 to 1997. In retrospect, this was their last work of genius and what a career it was indeed. Thanks for making great music and to quote them, "see you in the next life".

Fluid and dreamy but not without a pop beat sensibility, England's 'Suede' sails a romantic ferry across the Mersy with inspirations of Smiths, Bowie and Ray Davies along as passengers in this 27 track double CD compilation. Brett Anderson has a personable, emotional singing style and although the lyrics lack much depth his tidy and refined songs are heart-felt and often striking in a folk-goth-rock minstrel way. Guitarist Richard Oakes lays down some flashy superb rock tracks without causing much corrosion to the pretty tapestry.

I was awed, as everyone was, by Suede's self-titled CD in the early 90's. It sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. Dog Man Star follows up on Suede's freshman effort and nothing could prepare you for what awaits! This CD is soaring, moody, dark and strange all in good measure. The first track, "Introducing the Band," sets the tone for the trippy, drug fueled, songs that follow. Each song infects following the first listen--and the songs stay with you for a long time. The highlight track for me is "The Asphalt World"--listening to this song convinced me that--in 1994--the greatest band in the world was named Suede. You won't be disappointed.

So many blues are so mechanical. This record is just lovely. They are all there every second.

Here's Peter Tork again--instead of tossing off another duet album with James Lee Stanley, here he's got a 4-piece combo playing straightahead blues music. This CD, "Saved By The Blues", was released in 2003--it's partly live performance & partly recorded in the studio, and more than partly, it's an embarassment. I don't deny Tork's genuine love of the blues, but he sounds seriously out of his element on here. Sonically, the CD sounds nice, & drummer John Palmer & bass guitarist Michael Sunday both do a fine job. However, Tork has never exactly been a great singer in the first place, & vocally, he frequently falls flat on his face here, & the one track that he has a writing credit on, "Dress Sexy For Me", is utterly cringe-worthy. Seemingly somewhat aware of his limitations, Tork has guitarist Richard Michaels handle a bunch of the lead vocals, but it doesn't help much. "Kiss and Tell" runs on exhaustingly as if their main goal was to make the song last more than 5 minutes, & it features a guitar solo, presumably by Tork, that is one of the most laughably clumsy and aimless I've ever heard on an official album by a veteran artist, although it does provide the disc with camp value. The album closer "Come On In My Kitchen" is so sluggish, it's eye-roll inducing. Tork largely sounds like he was sleepwalking through his performances on this CD as if it was past his bedtime. They do pull off a nicely-swinging version of "Route 66", but overall, this CD fails to either be gritty & emotional, or to be just plain mindless fun. In other words, it's a major drag.

OK, I admit it, I've been a Monkees fan for 28 years, but I do have other interests including a growing one in the blues. So, I gave this a whirl and loved it--fantastic CD. It's open, honest, fun, and sexy. I especially loved "Treat Her Right" and "Dress Sexy For Me". You'll say yes to anything after listening to those--very hot! It's a great CD to listen to on a night at home with dinner and your date. Great to dance to and flirt to. It'll also get you up and moving if you're looking for something fun to work out to. You won't regret it. Tork always had talent and always said the music came first with him. It clearly does. This is one of the best CDs I've heard in years. He and his band can be proud of this one and you won't regret giving it a try.

I have had this disc for a year and still play it several times a week. Suede's other two discs are excellent. This one surpasses them by a mile. The songs range from playful to heartbreaking, and every one is perfect. Suede also provides trumpet and guitar solos on several cuts. Anyone who has had the good fortune to see her live must own this CD. Anyone who is a stranger to Suede and her music owes to him-or her-self to check out this wonderful performer.

My Dad was a jazz piano player in the 1950's and 1960's
and I grew up around some of the great jazz giants.
Seeing Suede live and hearing her incredible scatting
definitely brings me back to the great talent from years ago!

suedewave

If you love Jazz you have to hear this CD! It is one of the best!

Suede's crystal clear voice
and amazing range blend smoothly with David Pearl on
piano and Max Murray on bass. If you get a chance to
go to a live show grab it, as they are phenomenal!

I recently saw Suede (DIVA!!) in person, and spoke with her after the show. Not only is she an amazing talent, she is a genuine gal who clearly lives her beauty through her music. If you love jazz, this is the CD to buy!!

A dark and beautiful album, it's funny to remember back that despite of all the media hype and glam around the boys, most of their music (the best part of it maybe) was somber and gloomy, a regular theme on this record was claustrophobic angst and drug filled paranoia; probably people that only got Suede's singles have been never involved in the ethos that this band represented. Do yourself a compliment and get this landmark: PERIOD.

Suede's (I'm sticking the name they have in the rest of the world) debut album was a great collection of songs, but their second CD "Dog Man Star" is their best CD.
More detail to songwriting, sounds and better lyrics make this album a classic.

Great 90s alternative-rock from the UK. Scorching guitar and soaring vocls. I used to play this CD when I was an employee at Tower Records in the 90s. 2 years ago, I found a used copy and finally purchaed it. It gets better with age. A shame that they never hit it big in the states. Check out Sci-Fi Lullabies for more vintage Suede.

To dub this album anything less than brilliant is to fall, bone-breakingly, on the rocks of philistine thinking. "Dog Man Star" contains Suede's best work, and it raised the stakes of modern rock. Anderson's voice is an unidentified flying Regency contralto...NO OTHER British vocalist comes close to his power here.

Buy this CD. Love it. Become it.

I loved Suede's debut album, it's a true classic. I even bought their b-sides compilation "Sci-Fi Lullabies" and loved a lot of that as well ("My Insatiable One" might be their best song). But let's be honest, this album is pretty awful. There are maybe 4 or 5 solid tracks on here but even they don't touch the weakest tracks on the debut.

The theatricality has been amped up tenfold (if that's even possible) but the songwriting has taken a huge dip. If you want memorable hooks and melodies, look elsewhere. If you want slow, pseudo-romantic dirges that go absolutely nowhere, then this is the album for you.

Sure, maybe I just don't "get it" but I don't see how anyone could say with a straight face that this is a masterpiece, let alone Suede's best album. This album is just boring. I wanted to like it but in the end it's just not worth your time. Avoid unless you are a completist.