The Charlantans pull a you know what

The Charlatans 10th studio album, You Cross My Path, will be available in its entirety as a FREE download from Xfmâ??s website www.xfm.co.uk and the Charlatans official site from Monday 3rd March 2008. The album will then get a physical CD and vinyl release, in 33 countries, on May 19th through Cooking Vinyl. This will include a deluxe edition and strictly limited vinyl 45â??s box set of the LP. The album is preceded by a free single download, through XFM and The Charlatans site, entitled Oh! Vanity, on February 25th.

http://www.thecharlatans.net/news.php

What? You mean I cant give them money for the download, even if I want to?

I'm sure this will be on Drudge…

Thanks for the info, Kosmo!

Hey, March 3rd is today, and the links are up.The download link for the album is

http://mediaweb.musicradio.com/mp3/The%20Charlatans%20-%20You%20Cross%20My%20Path.zip

You can also download individual tracks at

http://www.xfm.co.uk/news/2008/download-charlatans-new-album-for-free

Album artwork at http://www.thecharlatans.net/img/cd/ycmplp500.jpg

Later,
Ed

Is it worth the bother? Aren't these guys way, way past their prime? Have they changed their sound, or do they just sound like a dated 1990's band?

Get up on the usual-for-you side of the bed today, Rhett?

I think their sound is more rooted in the '80s than the '90s, but maybe I just listened to the wrong bands in the '90s. In any case, good music is timeless. At first listen, I rather like it. Obviously, it's probably not your cup of tea, Rhett.

I'm kind of into what I've heard so far too. The Charlies have put out some crap records, but they have put out some of my favorites as well. Frankly, I'm glad they're still around.

Rhett, if their music offends you so much, why don't you just ignore it?

Well allmusic.com says their debut came out in 1990, and that they put out six albums in the 1990's and zero albums in the 1980's. How does that make them "rooted in the 80's"? Is it because they were a ripoff of the Stone Roses, whose debut came out in 1989?

I actually did listen to a little Britpop circa 1990. I have some Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets on vinyl from back then. That sound didn't wear well for me though, so it sits unplayed.

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
Get up on the usual-for-you side of the bed today, Rhett?

I think their sound is more rooted in the '80s than the '90s, but maybe I just listened to the wrong bands in the '90s. In any case, good music is timeless. At first listen, I rather like it. Obviously, it's probably not your cup of tea, Rhett.

Well, it's not like there a dividing line that splits band influence by decade magically…though I hear a lot of 60's psychedlic in early Charlatans, I can also pick up a lot of elements of New Order, especially in the new record. Well or badly, Manchester had some pretty influential bands in the 80's (the Smiths, New Order, and later on the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays) and though the Charlatans are from Norwich (close enough), I would argue that some of their sound was inspired enough by the bands that immediately preceded them.

how were the charlies a rip-off of the stone roses? hell - they sound NOTHING alike.

and the charlies have always put out decent stuff. some better than others, but as bearman said - its been some of my favorite stuff. and i still think timmy's solo album is quite brilliant!

Well the idea that they sounded like the Stone Roses was mine, though alot of people said the same thing back in 1990. The aforementioned allmusic.com seems to agree. But I'm not going to argue with someone so gayly refers to them as "the Charlies".

Emerging out of semi-nowhere â?? well, Norwich â?? the Charlatans UK were saddled with a name that lent itself to jibes about their quality, perceived bandwagon jumping and the burden of being a one-hit wonder with "The Only One I Know." Then Some Friendly, the group's debut, planted itself at the top of the UK charts; while the rest of the '90s were up-and-down for the band, this album set the band on its way. Drawing on Blunt's background in mod and psych outfits, Collins' outrageously funky keyboards and Burgess' unexpected star quality â?? even if his voice wasn't the strongest â?? Some Friendly is just that, a friendly and fun vibe. Some of the lyrics betray Burgess' sharp-tongued punk background â?? "You're Not Very Well," the opener, expresses anything but sunny sentiments â?? but otherwise Some Friendly delivers everything from '60s beat groove to Madchester bagginess with verve. True, the group was still following in the Roses/Mondays slipstream â?? "Fool's Gold" was the blueprint for much of the album â?? but the individual delights of the slow trance "Opportunity," "Polar Bear"'s upfront rhythms and "Flower"'s slightly ominous funk all show the band's abilities well. "The Only One I Know" remains the best-known cut, Blunt's crisp bass and Collins' Deep Purple-inspired keyboards providing its charge. But Some Friendly's hidden masterpiece comes at the very end â?? "Sproston Green," a monster jam based on Collins' supreme keyboard work, with Burgess' soaring lyric matching the massive surge of the music. It remains the concluding number of the band's sets to this day for good reason.

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
how were the charlies a rip-off of the stone roses? hell - they sound NOTHING alike.

and the charlies have always put out decent stuff. some better than others, but as bearman said - its been some of my favorite stuff. and i still think timmy's solo album is quite brilliant!

NIN's latest release is also a you-know-what… and seems to have worked for them, to the tune of $1.6M