By Stan Cierlitsky
I can hardly believe it's been over 35 years since The Charlatans debut album, Some Friendly dropped. I would still contend that this is their best album, and one of the best UK albums of the Nineties. I would also contend that their single "The Only One I Know" is the definitive track of the Madchester scene. Yeah, I like it that much. And this expanded edition of the record, coming out on Beggars Banquet, is nearly perfect. It includes the "Then" single and those B-Sides, and, more importantly, the Over Rising EP. It also includes a couple extra mixes. I said nearly perfect because I would have liked it to include "The Only One I Know" single and its B-Sides, but I guess I can't have everything.
Like I said, "The Only One I Know" is my favorite song on here, and my favorite song by them, period. Singer Tim Burgess said the song is about teenage feelings and it’s funny that he was 21 or 22 when he wrote it and I was around that same age when I first heard it. Second single "Then" was another favorite. Another perfect dance-y guitar-based song led by a pulsating bass groove.
Another favorite of mine was lead track "You're Not Very Well" which Tim Burgess has said was about leaving home. Again, that was around the same time I left home. It felt like he was singing songs about my life using some of my favorite bands as inspiration and influences. That's a great recipe for making an album that can stick with someone like me for a lifetime. Speaking of the influences, "The Only One I Know" was influenced by The Byrds. That was pretty easy to figure out since compatriots The Stone Roses were also drawing from the Byrds too at the time. The cooler influence was for second track "White Shirt", about which Tim has said "I was listening to 'Ballad of the Band' by Felt; I wanted a song with that kind of feel to it." Are you kidding me?! "Ballad of the Band" is one of my favorite tracks of life!
I could probably write about this album for hours, but I won'’t. If you know Some Friendly you'll see this as a great expanded edition. If you don't know the last five tracks from the Over Rising EP start with those. One of the best EP's ever released as far as I'm concerned. If you've never heard The Charlatans (shame on you), then start here like many of us did decades ago. It's the right place to start.
Some Friendly (Expanded Edition) by The Charlatans will be out on March 27 via Beggars Banquet.
[Photo: Steve Double]