Not quite bad enough to be considered for the “Nice song, shame about the album!” spot, I was nevertheless sufficiently disappointed with Del Amitri's second album, bought on the strength of what was their most successful single, “Nothing ever happens”, that I feel it deserves a place here. There are a few good tracks on it, yes, but a few good tracks do not a good album make, and so here it is, to be relistened to and dissected, with a distinct feeling of ambivalence.
Waking hours --- Del Amitri --- 1989 (A&M)
Surprisingly, this Scottish band had six albums released before they split up in 2002, and most of those did reasonably well in the UK, less well in the States, where they hardly bothered the charts there. I had expected a lot on the basis of the single, but once the album got going I knew that it was quite likely that particular song was going to be the highlight of a rather disappointing album. It wasn't, not quite, but there's an awful lot of filler on “Waking hours”, and it doesn't encourage you to check out any of their further material. Maybe that's my loss, but after listening to this I knew that I had heard about as much of Del Amitri as I wanted to.
By all accounts, if you ask the band members what the name means, “expect violence”. They have long tired of explaining that it apparently means nothing, was just made up, and though several ideas of what it could mean exist, they say they are all wrong. As for the album, it opens well with “Kiss this thing goodbye”, good jangly guitar and harmonica, the latter from guest Julian Dawson. Del Amitri employed three guitarists, one of whom was the lead singer and founder, Justin Currie. Great sounds of what must be a banjo in there too, though it's not credited. A very happy, uptempo song which starts what is generally a pretty bleak album in terms of lyrical themes.
Del Amitri used some traditional instrumentation like accordion and harmonica, and surely banjo (?) as well as more classical ones like violin and cello to create a different sound that had something of the Hooters in it, but was individual enough to always be seen as their sound. Currie is a good singer, in addition to his other talents, and the songwriting itself is of quite high quality. There's more a sense of soul to “Opposite view”, more rock than fusion; good guitar work from Iain Harvie and Mick Slaven with some warbling organ from Andy Alston on another generally uptempo song, then “Move away Jimmy Blue” is a slower, more restrained song, though not quite a ballad with again Alston's heavy organ work helping to characterise the melody. It's a song of warning, as the lead character is warned
”Move away Jimmy Blue/ Before your small small town/ Turns around and swallows you” and contains a really nice guitar solo, though who is responsible I can't tell you.
Low keyboard intro to “Stone cold sober” with a nice bassline and some solid drumming, a sort of mid-paced song with a nice line in lyrics:
”Stone cold sober/ Looking for bottles of love.” I personally find this song quite reminscent of Australian band Icehouse, whose “Man of colours” we reviewed what seems a long time ago now (and probably is), then “You're gone” is another uptempo rocker with a downbeat theme that hardly needs to be explained. Nice bit of slide guitar from --- well, take your pick of three guitarists! --- and very lively drumming from Paul Tyagi. Great bit of violin work from Robert Cairns, too. “When I want you” is as close to indie pop that Del Amitri come, very boppy and happy with some jangly guitar and a catchy if simple chorus.
Things start to get a lot better as the album approaches its end. “This side of the morning” is definitely one of the standouts, with its simple guitar line joined by cello and accordion to paint the bleak image of a man lying awake and mulling over the decisions in his life, and perhaps regretting them. A great line in the song is
”Trying to decide what you want/ Is like trying to divide ice from snow.” You can really get a sense of celtic fusion on this song, with Currie's vocal almost at once passionate and uncaring, quite a feat to pull off. “Empty” is another bleak song with a harsh message:
”At least a house when it's empty stays clean.”
The album finishes strongly on “Hatful of rain”, a boppy, uptempo song driven on sharp guitar, more indie pop/rock, and then the closer is the very reason I bought this album originally, the highly politically-aware “Nothing ever happens”, riding on an acoustic guitar melody with a lyric that rails against the injustices in society, and the way we all turn our heads:
”They'll burn down the synagogues at six o'clock/ And we'll all go along like before” as well as the huge disparity in wealth and priorities
”While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs/ For the price of a hospital wing.” Great accordion and harmonica adds to the sense of the surreal in this track, with a truly soulful little violin solo halfway through, added to by mandolin for that extra touch.
It's a great song, a great closer and was Del Amitri's most successful single, but it brings to an end an album that, while not bad at all, fails to live up mostly to the promise of this remarkable song. There are a few that are as good as it, perhaps one better, but sadly there are all too many that fail to measure up to the promise of this song, leaving the album lacking in many respects.
TRACKLISTING
1. Kiss this thing goodbye
2. Opposite view
3. Move away Jimmy Blue
4. Stone cold sober
5. You're gone
6. When I need you
7. This side of the morning
8. Empty
9. Hatful of rain
10. Nothing ever happens