Bandwagonesque

Product Information

In 1991, the year that saw the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind, widely regarded as one of the most iconic and influential albums of that year, that decade and probably the last fifty years, Spin opted to anoint Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub (TFC) as their album of the year, leaving Nevermind to trail behind in a disappointing third place. Love, Gerard (21 August 2018). "I thought I should say a few words about the Teenage Fanclub situation" . Retrieved 22 August 2018– via Facebook. Blake’s “I’m not the sort of person she admits she knows” ( Metal Baby) and “There are things I want to do, but I don’t know if they will be with you” ( Alcoholiday) are classic bittersweet pop lyrics. The latter houses a winding Neil Young-esque solo that pushes The Concept close for the most scintillating guitar moment on the record.

Pitchfork said, "By the fist-pumping coda—a marvel of searing guitars, bombastic drums, and wistful three-part harmonies—it's clear that frontman Norman Blake isn't in love with the girl so much as he relishes the idea of being in the band onstage, basking in the glow of raised lighters." [8] Charts [ edit ] Chart (1991/1992) For lots of bands this presented a bounty of bandwagons upon which to jump. Turgid acts like U2 could strap on a few dance beats and become relevant again, and an up and coming band like Blur could hedge their bets and place a foot in more than one camp. In a career defined by consistency, Teenage Fanclub’s eleventh album, Endless Arcade, is their first preceded by a sense of rupture. In summer 2018, after much of their catalog was reissued on vinyl, Gerard Love, one of three primary songwriters and vocalists, announced his departure from the band. It was slightly troubling news: Love penned fan favorites like “Star Sign” and “Sparky’s Dream,” as well as many highlights from more recent albums. During the 21st century, his reedy voice and soaring choruses have inspired Teenage Fanclub’s most energetic moments, reminders that this band once caused a frenzy at their shows. Their final release on a Sony label, Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six Seconds – A Short Cut to Teenage Fanclub, collected the Fanclub's best songs along with three new songs (one from each member). Jonze, Tim (12 August 2019). "Teenage Fanclub: how we made Bandwagonesque". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 September 2022.

Boys done good

Although TFC have continued to release good albums since, they’ve never really been able to recapture the attention that this gave them, which says more about the record buying public than it does about the band themselves.

But whether you think the album blurred the boundaries of homage or not, what is unquestionable (something recognised by most critics at the time) is how impressive it is. Teenage Fanclub – Timeline". Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 . Retrieved 9 September 2016– via Facebook.

A vintage year

They gave us money and let us do what we wanted. Nobody gave us a hard time about anything. they bet their lives on the madness and whims of musicians” Originally a noisy and chaotic band, their first album A Catholic Education, released in 1990 on Paperhouse, is largely atypical of their later sound, with the possible exception of Everything Flows. Mostly written by Blake and McGinley, the record included several songs originally intended for The Boy Hairdressers. [4] After recording his drum parts, Macdonald left the band to resume his university studies. They re-recorded several songs with Macdonald's replacement, Teenage Fanclub emerged from the Glasgow C86 scene. They formed following the break-up of The Boy Hairdressers, a band featuring Raymond McGinley, Norman Blake and Francis Macdonald. [4] Following a brief period in which Blake was a member of BMX Bandits, the three former bandmates joined with Gerard Love to form Teenage Fanclub. [4] Salmon, Ben (10 August 2018). "The 20 Best Teenage Fanclub Songs". Paste . Retrieved 3 February 2020.

An unpolished, imperfect treasure, Bandwagonesque was launched into a music world that had awoken from the bloated double denim excesses of the 80s and embraced the nascent grunge, shoegaze and baggy scenes, yet here were Teenage Fanclub plotting their own course regardless. Emerging from Scotland’s C86 scene, the Fannies had concocted a brand of timeless guitar pop with its roots in the 60s, diving off the breaking wave of American grunge. Brilliantly, they presented their new sound to Nirvana’s adoring fans all over Europe and Scandinavia, invited by Kurt Cobain as support on the Nevermind tour. Creation’s big three were joined by Nirvana’s Nevermind and Out Of Time by R.E.M. in what proved a golden year for alternative guitar music, but Bandwagonesque got the praise it deserved. Spin magazine, in an era when such print media plaudits still meant something, named it their album of the year. Kurt Cobain called Teenage Fanclub “the best band in the world”, Liam Gallagher later less modestly ranked them second only to Oasis. Beaumont, Mark (6 January 2017). "Shoegaze albums - 10 of the best". NME . Retrieved 14 November 2022.Grand Prix, Teenage Fanclub's fifth album, was both a critical and commercial success in the UK, becoming their first top ten album. In the United States however the band failed to regain the ground that Thirteen had lost them. Around this time Liam Gallagher of labelmates Oasis called the band "the second best band in the world" – second only to Oasis. [8] Two years later, in 1997, they returned with Songs From Northern Britain, a wise and ornate record about domestic life. By now, Blake had gotten married and become a father, and he could write brilliantly unguarded love songs like “I Don’t Want Control of You” and “Start Again,” with lyrics as poignant as his melodies. McGinley’s ballad “Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From” paints a similar portrait, as still and persistent as the fireplace in your living room. In both its thematic concerns and its gentle, pastoral tone, Songs From Northern Britain is an embrace of native terrain. Their contentment sounds radiant.

If there’s one line I’d love to keep from my initial review it would be, ”I’m sitting here listening in my heavy terry cloth bathrobe and I feel cool as Kim Deal, feeling that I want to do something dangerous.” a b Teenage Fanclub (16 January 2019). "It's 2019..." Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 . Retrieved 16 January 2019– via Facebook. a b Monroe, Jazz (20 August 2018). "Teenage Fanclub Part Ways With Gerard Love". Pitchfork . Retrieved 20 August 2018. Mysterious magic pebble 1991 has always been one of the coolest years for me. Maybe because my dad had been there and never lost that feeling. 'Bandwagonesque' is very 1991, but remains 'now' because those songs are like sugar. Catchy, real and sweet, they are the sound of young guys who feel the music inside their souls, and play with earnest execution to express it.

Contributions

Brown, James (2 November 1991). "O Stupor-Men!". NME. p.32. Archived from the original on 8 May 1999 . Retrieved 16 November 2015. Davies, Ashley (20 September 2023). "Norman Blake: I climbed into my friend's parents' bed at a party". The Times. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rded.). Virgin Books. p.147. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.