James - Laid

 

James - Laid

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

When we hear about great artists, we often hear stories of instant success. Bands come crashing out of the gates with a hit record – or they follow up a tentative debut with an amazing second album. But what happens when success doesn’t come easily?

James are an English rock band from Manchester. They came up through the ranks in the mid-80s when trends like acid house and Madchester were taking off in their home city. The played at Peter Hook’s club The Hacienda and were hometown favorites. But commercial success elsewhere still illuded them.

Then 1992 came along, and they were asked to open for Neil Young on an acoustic tour. Young had much success at picking up and coming bands to support him on tour. He’d previously tapped Social Distortion and Sonic Youth to open for him.

Playing acoustically opened up a whole new world for James. They wrote a bunch of new songs in a subtler style and got Roxy Music’s Brian Eno to produce them. The resulting album, Laid was released in 1993. But how did it stack up? Could James finally get that hit they were trying for?

The dreamy slide and acoustic guitars of “Out To Get You” introduce the album in soothing fashion. Singer Tim Booth’s voice enters in a warm, sonorous tone. It’s a sound not unlike what Moose were mining at the time – hip, urbane, and sophisticated. Much different than the Britpop of the era. But things would only get better on track two.

“Sometimes” boasts a larger-than-life sound with group vocals reminiscent of gospel music. The rhythm section resembles that of “High” by The Cure. Booth’s lyrics deal with thunderstorm, and he beckons the lightning to strike him. Eno’s production only enhances the transcendence of the track.

His mix is shimmering, bringing the acoustic guitars and the bass to the forefront. This makes the song sound both bright and murky at the same time.

Beginning with reverbed drums and dobro, “One Of The Three” has a bluesy feel resembling “Water Of Love” by Dire Straits. But once Booth enters and the atmospheric keyboards color his vocals in the chorus, it sounds more like a stadium rousing anthem, albeit one at a ballad’s pace.

“P.S.” displays the influence of touring alongside Neil Young. The guitars have a Americana, country rock flavor to them. Slide guitars with heavy delay slowly burn over a mournful three-chord dirge. Booth again uses his lowest voice to start the track, but suddenly raises it in an emotive contrast.

It’s an effective tool and he uses it well. Booth is clearly a gifted vocalist, but it’s not just that he hits every note with skill. He knows when to pull back and when to give a line extra color.

But of course, we can’t end the review without talking about “Laid.” The college radio hit that broke the band in America, “Laid” was also a somewhat risky choice as a single. (Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to read about why.)

With lyrics like “She only comes when she’s on top” – changed to “sings” in the single version – and its title, it was an obvious love song to the act of lovemaking. When Booth screeches “You think you’re so pretttyyyyyyyy” in a falsetto voice in the chorus, it’s both hilarious and celebratory.

For a band that was getting a reputation as one who took itself too seriously, James proved they could cut loose when writing about primal urges. Musically, it’s a bouncy jangle pop song which also recalls David Bowie and The Kinks. The vocals sound like Bowie in his glam phase while the character sketch of the woman the song is addressed to is pure Ray Davies.

Some bands have instant success. Others toil away for years without a hit. James are the latter kind. As the ultimate underdog band, their album Laid is both a feelgood story and an exercise in soaring perfection.

Mercury1993