Badly Drawn Boy - Born in the UK
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CD Details
Artist: Badly Drawn BoyEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Published: 2006-10-17
CD Release Date: 2006-10-17
Music Label: Astralwerks
Soundtracks:
- Intro/Swimming Pool Part 1
- Born in the U.K.
- Degrees of Separation
- Welcome To The Overground
- Journey From A To B
- Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind
- Promises
- The Way Things Used To Be
- Without a Kiss
- Long Way Round
- Walk You Home
- The Time of Times
- One Last Dance
Music reviews of Born in the UK
Music Review: Badly Drawn Boy's Sincerity
Rating: 4 Stars
"Born In The U.K." sounds like a return to the more basic ballad style that was the structural strengths of "Hour Of Bewilderbeast" and "About A Boy" without sounding at all like a retread of anything he's done before. It's fitting that an album that involves reflecting on the past would bring Badly Drawn Boy back to his strengths.
Although I really liked "Have You Fed The Fish" and "One Plus One Is One", they didn't remind me of the reasons why I got into Badly Drawn Boy in the first place. Damon Gough's strength is in the sincerity of his voice and the honesty of his melody, but those two qualities seemed buried under heavy production and genre-skipping on "Have You Fed The Fish" and One Plus One"- exuding too much effort on the part of the artist to sound fresh. As eclectic as "Hour Of Bewilderbeast" sounded, there was cohesion of melody and approach- all so effortless yet striking; "About A Boy" was even more solid. That, for me, is the allure of those timeless albums.
Born In The U.K., maintains some of the big production values of the latter two albums, but this time he hasn't entirely allowed his ambitions get the best of his strengths. I'd say there are still a couple of over-produced missteps like Welcome To The Overground with it's cloying chorus singing the entire song, or Walk You Home Tonight gluing itself too closely to the 70's Philly Soul blueprint without bringing something new to it (it still a pretty good song though). But outside of those criticisms, this album is a return to form, and a subtle reminder that an artist can return to his roots without taking a step back.
Some of the highlights to this album are:
Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind; simple and epic all at once, the plaintive lyrics swirl gradually into hope and joy as the melody builds effortlessly into a final release. Also, straight from Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run song structure, the title song-Born In The U.K., is full of energy and vibrancy. The nostalgia of past and pride of the present- it shows the power of memory. Some of the other strong songs are Without A Kiss, The Long Way Round, Promises, and Degrees of Separation.
I agree strongly with a previous reviewer who said that this album takes more than one or two listens for it to grab you. It does not have the immediacy of his previous albums- the music is subtler and in that subtlety more power, sincerity and maturity than in previous efforts. So check it out, give it the time and it will be a rewarding listen.
Description of Born in the UK
Special limited edition includes extensive booklet and DVD featuring a documentary, "Born in the UK" video and acoustic performance, and more exclusive behind the scenes footage.With a new record label behind him and his most elaborate and pop-oriented backing music to date, Damon Gough a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy tackles the subject of his youth in the United Kingdom on this quasi-concept record. The album, which was completely recorded twice, is clearly a watershed moment for Gough, whose lyrics about his native land are often enough unapologetically proud. With more than a little nod to Bruce Springsteen, Gough covers the '70s and '80s in his own country: the Silver Jubilee, nuclear fear, the Falklands War, and everything in between--all in a highly personal way. The piano plus backing band effect at times recalls Billy Joel and Ben Folds. "Welcome to the Overground," with its big, sunshine rainbow backing chorus and piano-driven groove, seems like a lead song from a '70s rock opera about one of the disciples, or some lost Up With People! song. Other tunes, such as "Walk You Home," have an almost yacht-rock sheen to them. Overall, when it doesn't allow sentiment to bleed into overt sentimentality, Born in the U.K. is a moving, cinematic effort. --Mike McGonigal
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