Del Amitri
– most underappreciated rock band ever?
The
exposure and chart success of this Scottish band in the U.S. was modest – they had
one big hit (“Roll To Me” in 1995), preceded by a couple of other tracks that
edged into the top 40 (“Kiss This Thing Goodbye” and “Always The Last To Know”)
and accompanied by a couple other songs (“Move Away Jimmy Blue” and “Nothing
Ever Happens”) that got some airplay on more adventurous radio stations. They
did have considerably more success in the UK, with 4 albums that hit the top 10
and 17 songs that cracked the top 50.
At some
point in the late 90s or early 00s I came across a 17-track “Best Of” compilation
(Hatful of Rain: Best of Del Amitri) and
decided to buy it, although I’d only heard 5 or 6 of the songs. Happily, unlike
other experiences I’ve had where the unfamiliar material turns out to basically
be filler, the songs I hadn’t heard were easily as good as the ones with which
I was familiar. The tongue-in-cheek nature of the band’s summary of the
contents didn’t hurt either.
These seventeen tracks happen to be
the album tracks released on British A-Sides between 1989 and 1998 and when asked
to attend a greatest hits party turned up in this order and in the present
form. We hope that they enjoy each other’s company and if not that they become
rapidly inebriated, commence bickering and finally expire in a massive punch
up.
With liner
notes like that, you know that Justin Currie can come up with great song lyrics
as well. Musically, despite the “alt-rock” label they’re pretty traditional
(guitar, bass, drums, keyboard), although they do bring a variety of stringed
instruments in for variety now and again. Although “Stone Cold Sober” and “Just
Like A Man” are a little more aggressive musically, most of their stuff is
mid-tempo to up-tempo, rock with a pop sense and sensibility. The user reviews on Amazon are well worth reading – best single description I could find was “quality,
well-written, intelligent pop/rock music” (written by a self-described “24 year
old black dude from brooklyn”).
It’s
really tough to pick one favorite from their body of work. “Driving With The
Brakes On” is probably the slowest, moodiest piece they’ve ever done, certainly
not typical for them but perfect for late-night listening.
Speaking
of the band’s quirkiness, how many people name a compilation album after one of
their songs that doesn’t actually appear on the record? Fortunately, the song “Hatful
of Rain” does appear on an equally great 2007 compilation (Collection), which only duplicates 4 songs from the earlier greatest
hits album.
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