The Boo Radleys | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Formed in Liverpool in 1988, the English guitar pop group the Boo Radleys developed a dedicated cult following in the early 90s before crossing over into the mainstream in the middle of the decade. Originally, the Radleys were one of the lesser lights of the loud, noisy My Bloody Valentine-inspired psychedelic trance pop bands labeled "shoegazers" by the British weekly music press. By the mid-90s the Boo Radleys had developed into a more straightforward pop band who didnt use noise and extended guitar workouts as a way of fleshing out their songs, instead using it as the basis of their music. The Boo Radleys originally consisted of guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, vocalist/guitarist Sice, bassist Timothy Brown, and drummer Steve Hewitt. The band released their first album, Ichabod and I, on a local independent record label in 1990; Hewitt was replaced by Rob Cieka after the release of the record. With the support of influential British disc jockey John Peel, the band signed with Rough Trade Records. The group released the EP Every Heaven in 1991; the record made it into the lower regions of the U.K. charts. Rough Trade folded shortly after the release of Every Heaven, and the Boo Radleys moved to Creation Records, releasing Everythings Alright Forever in 1992. Everythings Alright Forever was released in the U.S. through Creations association with Columbia Records, but it didnt gain much attention in America. In England, it received favorable reviews and the group began to build a fan base. Topping several Best-of-the-Year lists, including Melody Makers, 1993s Giant Steps was a critical success in England and sold respectably. In America, the record launched the minor alternative rock hit "Lazarus" and led to second-stage spot on Lollapalooza 94. Released in England in the spring of 1995, the more pop-oriented Wake Up! was the bands commercial breakthrough, debuting at number one. The bright, horn-driven single "Wake Up Boo" entered in the Top Ten and stayed on the charts until the early summer, preventing the follow-up single, "Find the Answer Within," from charting higher than the Top 30. Wake Up! was released in America in the fall of 1995 with no promotional push from Columbia, who dropped the band early the following year. The Boo Radleys returned in the fall of 1996 with CMon Kids, a self-consciously loud and arty album designed to shake off the bands newfound pop fans. It worked -- the album debuted in the Top Ten but it soon fell off the charts, despite overwhelmingly positive reviews. Early in 1997, the band finalized an American contract with Mercury, and CMon Kids was released in March, a half a year after its initial British release. Kingsize followed in late 1998, though the group officially broke up just months later. Carr went on to form Brave Captain. In 2005 the Boo Radleys issued Find the Way Out, an extensive two-disc retrospective complete with exhuastive liner notes and memories from the band. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 14 Title: Ichabod and I Released: 1990-06 Tracks: 8 Duration: 03:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Eleanor Everything (?) 2 Bodenheim Jr. (?) 3 Catweazle (03:22) 4 Sweet Salad Birth (?) 5 Hip Clown Rag (?) 6 Walking 5th Carnival (?) 7 Kaleidoscope (?) 8 Happens to All of Us (?) |
 | Album: 2 of 14 Title: Kaleidoscope Released: 1990-10 Tracks: 4 Duration: 17:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Kaleidoscope (05:41) 2 How I Feel (03:43) 3 Aldous (04:54) 4 Swansong (03:13) |
 | Album: 3 of 14 Title: Every Heaven E.P. Released: 1991-04 Tracks: 4 Duration: 17:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Finest Kiss (05:16) 2 Tortoiseshell (03:13) 3 Bluebird (03:05) 4 Naomi (05:33) |
 | Album: 4 of 14 Title: Boo Up! E.P. Released: 1991-09 Tracks: 4 Duration: 16:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Everybird (04:21) 2 Sometime Soon She Said (02:57) 3 Fosters Van (04:14) 4 Song for Up! (04:40) |
 | Album: 5 of 14 Title: Adrenalin Released: 1992-02-24 Tracks: 4 Duration: 12:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Lazy Day (01:38) 2 Vegas (03:48) 3 Feels Like Tomorrow (02:24) 4 Whiplashed (04:14) |
 | Album: 6 of 14 Title: Everythings Alright Forever Released: 1992-03 Tracks: 14 Duration: 50:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Spaniard (04:02) 2 Towards the Light (01:42) 3 Losing It (Song for Abigail) (04:02) 4 Memory Babe (03:19) 5 Skyscraper (04:47) 6 I Feel Nothing (03:06) 7 Room at the Top (05:06) 8 Does This Hurt? (03:57) 9 Sparrow (01:51) 10 Smile Fades Fast (03:13) 11 Firesky (05:05) 12 Song for the Morning to Sing (02:31) 13 Lazy Day (01:35) 14 Paradise (05:51) |
| Everything's Alright Forever : Allmusic album Review : Happily settled on Creation Records -- their understandable spiritual home, given the My Bloody Valentine connection - on their second album, the Boos create a fine but limited ode to the icons of fuzzpedals, melancholy and hooks. At the time of release, Forever seemed little more than yet another blissout-by-numbers, but looking back on it theres more here than on first blush. Still, Forever is more an anticipatory release, signaling the great leaps forward to come rather than standing on its own. Carr in particular is still clearly enthralled by Kevin Shields groundbreaking guitar work, with queasy riffs and shadings plentiful throughout. Producer Ed Buller does a solid job in tweaking the then-standard Boo sound, capturing the groups straightforward rock side and its experimental tendencies with inventive, lush arrangements. Check out "Lazy Day," a brief but effective number where Carrs nuclear-strength guitars are interrupted by sudden shifts to vocals and acoustic strumming with a rapid, breathless pace. Sice is the groups secret weapon; his sweet, choirboy vocals add gentleness and serenity to the proceedings, particularly "Does This Hurt?," the albums most memorable number. Based on a fine all-around band performance and Carrs gorgeous feedback shimmers and skyward solos, Sices heavenly singing provides the perfect hook at the center of it all. Other high points include the opening "Spainard," with a lovely performance heightened by guest trumpet from Kick Horns member Roddy Lorimer. Forever lives up to its title well enough: everythings alright, but not yet truly astounding. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 14 Title: Boo! Forever Released: 1992-06-08 Tracks: 4 Duration: 14:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Does This Hurt? (03:27) 2 Boo! Forever (03:55) 3 Buffalo Bill (02:15) 4 Sunfly II (Walking with the Kings) (04:24) |
 | Album: 8 of 14 Title: Giant Steps Released: 1993-08-05 Tracks: 45 Duration: 3:07:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Hang Suspended (03:57) 2 Upon 9th and Fairchild (04:50) 3 Wish I Was Skinny (03:37) 4 Leaves and Sand (04:25) 5 Butterfly McQueen (03:28) 6 Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce) (02:45) 7 Thinking of Ways (03:48) 8 Barney (…and Me) (04:42) 9 Spun Around (02:31) 10 If You Want It, Take It (02:47) 11 Best Lose the Fear (04:12) 12 Take the Time Around (04:07) 13 Lazarus (04:38) 14 One Is For (01:36) 15 Run My Way Runway (02:20) 16 I’ve Lost the Reason (05:17) 17 The White Noise Revisited (05:02) 1 Lazy Day (01:38) 2 Vegas (03:48) 3 Feels Like Tomorrow (02:24) 4 Whiplashed (04:18) 5 Does This Hurt? (03:27) 6 Boo! Forever (03:55) 7 Buffalo Bill (02:15) 8 Sunfly II (Walking with the Kings) (04:24) 9 Rodney King (St. Etienne remix) (06:47) 10 As Bound as Tomorrow (04:54) 11 I Will Always Ask You Where Youve Been Even Though I Know the Answer (03:05) 12 Peachy Keen (03:39) 13 Further (05:53) 14 Crow Eye (02:57) 1 Tortoiseshell (04:03) 2 Zoom (04:04) 3 Cracked Lips / Homesick (02:36) 4 At the Sound of Speed (03:45) 5 Let Me Be Your Faith (02:51) 6 Petroleum (03:55) 7 Lazarus (7" version) (03:39) 8 Lazarus (acoustic) (04:08) 9 (I Wanna Be) Touchdown Jesus (03:44) 10 Lazarus (Saint Etienne remix) (06:24) 11 Lazarus (Secret Knowledge mix) (08:50) 12 Lazarus (Ultramarine mix) (08:50) 13 Lazarus (Augustus Pablo mix) (06:34) 14 Lazarus (12" version) (06:21) |
| Giant Steps : Allmusic album Review : Titling an album after John Coltranes masterpiece may well seem the height of pretension, but heck, it never stopped the Replacements from a similar move vis-a-vis the Beatles. As it is, the title is perfectly justified -- Carr, a Coltrane aficionado among many other things, here finally leads his band from the promising to the truly inspired. With the inventive, groundbreaking Lazarus EP as a touchstone (the title track is included here in an unfortunately abbreviated form), the Boos self-produce themselves to new heights. The genius of the Boos definitely lies in their ability to adapt many a different touch and make it their own, taking what are often straightforward, hooky pop songs and turning them into something more, an ability Giant Steps shows in spades. The old fuzz blast is here, but less beholden to the likes of My Bloody Valentine, instead drawing on Carrs wide-ranging tastes (Beach Boys, psych-pop, Human League/New Order-inspired arrangements) to reach different, individual conclusions. From the near free-noise wash of "Run My Way Runway" to the soaring pop blast of "Barney (...and Me)," a poignant, nostalgiac lyric backed by a thrilling overall performance, the band does little wrong. Brown and Cjeka effectively incorporate dub/reggae rhythms, as "Lazarus" itself showed they could do, blending in loping, funky skank to "Upon 7th and Fairchild" and the fantastic "Butterfly McQueen." Carrs guitar work is much more distinctly his own throughout the album, with often volcanic, inspired soloing adding a huge, echoed sound to many of the songs. A number of guest performers help, notably Steve Kitchen on brass; his trumpet and flugelhorn parts and flourishes add jazzy touches throughout, at times reminiscent of Miles Davis work on Sketches of Spain. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 14 Title: Wish I Was Skinny Released: 1993-10-04 Tracks: 4 Duration: 16:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Wish I Was Skinny (03:37) 2 Peachy Keen (03:39) 3 Furthur (05:53) 4 Crow Eye (02:57) |
 | Album: 10 of 14 Title: Wake Up! Released: 1995-03-27 Tracks: 33 Duration: 2:24:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Wake Up Boo! (03:36) 2 Fairfax Scene (02:14) 3 Its Lulu (03:04) 4 Joel (06:10) 5 Find the Answer Within (04:34) 6 Reaching Out From Here (03:02) 7 Martin, Doom! Its Seven OClock (06:21) 8 Stuck on Amber (05:24) 9 Charles Bukowski Is Dead (02:39) 10 4am Conversation (02:43) 11 Twinside (04:45) 12 Wilder (06:56) 1 Janus (03:07) 2 Blues for George Michael (08:48) 3 Friendship Song (05:24) 4 Wake Up Boo! (Music for Astronauts) (08:55) 5 And Tomorrow the World (04:37) 6 The History of Creation Parts 17 & 36 (04:38) 7 Find the Answer Within (The High Llamas mix) (05:45) 8 The Only Word I Can Find (03:06) 9 Very Together (03:19) 10 Dont Take Your Gun to Town (03:52) 11 Wallpaper (04:03) 1 This Is Not About Me (04:02) 2 Reaching Out From Here (The High Llamas mix) (02:53) 3 Martin Doom! Its Seven OClock (Stereolab mix) (06:39) 4 Joel (Justin Warfield mix) (04:49) 5 Tambo (01:47) 6 Donkey (01:54) 7 From the Bench at Belvidere (04:23) 8 Hi Falutin (03:23) 9 Crushed (03:23) 10 Almost Nearly There (03:36) |
 | Album: 11 of 14 Title: C’mon Kids Released: 1996-09-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 52:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 C’mon Kids (04:10) 2 Meltin’s Worm (04:18) 3 Melodies for the Deaf (Colours for the Blind) (03:45) 4 Get on the Bus (03:12) 5 Everything Is Sorrow (04:38) 6 Bullfrog Green (04:41) 7 What’s in the Box (See Whatcha Got) (03:29) 8 Four Saints (04:26) 9 New Brighton Promenade (03:05) 10 Fortunate Sons (03:58) 11 Shelter (02:00) 12 Ride the Tiger (06:38) 13 One Last Hurrah (04:19) |
| C’mon Kids : Allmusic album Review : Wake Up! brought the Boo Radleys pop success that they werent sure what to do with. After embracing the albums number one success, the group eventually recoiled from the spotlight and Martin Carr wrote Cmon Kids as a direct response to the groups celebrity status in the U.K. Simply put, Cmon Kids is an attempt to scare away any of the fellow travelers who welcomed the sunny-sounding pop of Wake Up! Its a gnarled, twisted, and distorted album, as dense as Giant Steps and as loud as the Boos early EPs. And, if you can make it through the murky guitars, fragments of songs, altered vocals, and tape effects, some melodies and creatively crafted songs make the album nearly as rewarding as Giant Steps or Wake Up! It takes time to get into Cmon Kids, though. At first, its disarming to hear Sice scream his vocals and the Boos play heavy riffs. After a while the melodies begin to reveal themselves, as do the clever song structures and inversions of the bands psychedelic hooks and folk tendencies. Cmon Kids might not be as accessible as even Giant Steps, but it displays a feverish sense of purpose and a perverse willfulness to refashion their sound, making it an easy album to admire, if not love. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 14 Title: Kingsize Released: 1998-05-25 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:05:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Blue Room in Archway (04:28) 2 The Old Newsstand at Hamilton Square (04:33) 3 Free Huey (03:07) 4 Monuments for a Dead Century (05:58) 5 Heavens at the Bottom of This Glass (02:15) 6 Kingsize (04:41) 7 High as Monkeys (06:22) 8 Eurostar (03:53) 9 Put Your Arms Around Me and Tell Me Everythings Going to Be Fine (02:49) 10 Adieu Clo Clo (04:10) 11 Jimmy Webb Is God (03:36) 12 She Is Everywhere (04:10) 13 Comb Your Hair (03:51) 14 Song From the Blueroom (04:07) 15 The Future Is Now (07:14) |
| Kingsize : Allmusic album Review : The band that was hoping for a fresh start on Mercury Records in the interview herein has been dropped instead. They promise an eventual U.S. release for their new opus, but I wouldnt bet the ranch house. The Boos U.K. success has oddly never translated here, and it seems as if, like Columbia before them, Mercury gave up before they even started. Bastids. Too bad, too, for what might become the first import-only Boos record is one hell of a return from the OK but somewhat confusing Cmon Kids. The once-again self-produced Kingsize manages to perpetuate its predecessors predilection for peculiar surprise, but reinserts the crucial missing piece, the very strength of the band throughout its history: basic songwriting. Cmon Kids was wonderfully schizophrenic, and it had its moments like the Cheap Trick-ish title track. But MARTIN CARR is really best when absorbed with the sort of starry-eyed melodies that seem just crafted for SICE to croon, in his leisurely, crying voice that enchanted on so many of the bands finest outings, from "The Finest Kiss" all the way to "Reaching Out From Here." Carr and his three mates arent trying so hard here, either. They let each song breathe, like on Giant Steps, instead of mildly suffocating the animal with their own eagerness. It starts right from the onset, with the bands two best songs in four years. Punctuated by a thick background forest of four violins, two violas, two cellos, and four brass players, the stomping "Blue Room at Archway" soars celestial-bound on a hook so clean, and a vocal so effortless, it screams the "pop" theyre so roundly loved for but have been neglecting. The 12 strings n horns folks stay on for "The Old Newsstand at Hamilton Square," their dulcet and jazzy tones slotting perfectly with the bands supple, firm playing on another hands down winner. (Theyre a knockout on "JIMMY WEBB is God" too.) Ahh, reverie. And so it goes from there. Its as if Carr was a hot-streak gold miner who emptied out his strike, briefly tapped out, and then suddenly-presto!-hit on a vein as bountiful as his previous (Boo) run. Some of the golden nuggets hit stride running, such as the whimsical but lovely "High as Monkeys" and "Comb Your Hair"; others, such as the flute and keyboards soaked "Monuments For a Dead City," take their damn sweet time fermenting. Singing along with the chorus of "Adieu Clo Clo" is likewise compulsory. No Boos LP is 100% perfect: "Free Huey" is about as awful a choice for a single (why!!!???) as can be conceived. Boo! indeed. Not because its a spastic, hard-dance tune, but because its a well-below average one that underachieves like, say, "Ride the Tiger." Massive Attack is not nervous. That and a few of the more slow, psychedelic numbers in the middle can be a little numbing. Other than that, the Boos are still too fresh-faced on the outside, and too full of complexity and depth in the inside, not to reclaim their spot as one of the great bands going. Welcome back, boys, glad your march towards oblivion back home was such a short one, because your prospects here suddenly seem so dim. Spend the bucks, buy the import! | ||
 | Album: 13 of 14 Title: Find the Way Out Released: 2005-07-04 Tracks: 35 Duration: 2:31:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Catweazle (03:22) 2 Happens to Us All (02:58) 3 Hip Clown Rag (demo) (02:38) 4 Kaleidoscope (05:39) 5 The Finest Kiss (05:17) 6 Everybird (04:21) 7 Lazy Day (01:36) 8 Spaniard (04:03) 9 Does This Hurt? (03:58) 10 Sunfly II: Walking With the Kings (04:25) 11 Buffalo Bill (02:15) 12 Lazarus (06:23) 13 Let Me Be Your Faith (02:52) 14 Best Lose the Fear (04:12) 15 I Hang Suspended (04:00) 16 Ive Lost the Reason (05:19) 17 Wish I Was Skinny (03:39) 18 Cracked Lips / Homesick (02:37) 19 Barney (...and Me) (03:46) 20 Its Lulu (03:04) 1 Wake Up Boo! Music for Astronauts (08:54) 2 Blues for George Michael (08:45) 3 Find the Answer Within (04:33) 4 Joel (06:10) 5 Reaching Out From Here (03:02) 6 From the Bench at Belvidere (04:23) 7 Almost Nearly There (03:36) 8 Whats in the Box? (See Watcha Got) (03:31) 9 Four Saints (04:28) 10 CMon Kids (04:09) 11 Ride the Tiger (06:38) 12 Tomorrow (04:43) 13 Blue Room in Archway (04:28) 14 Free Huey (03:08) 15 Kingsize (04:41) |
| Find the Way Out : Allmusic album Review : By 2005 -- in America, anyway -- hearing the story of how the Boo Radleys didnt make it was more common than hearing any of their actual music. The recap: the Liverpool band came up shoegazers, became pop songwriters, and blew up with a single that shone like gold. But then they tore stardom to shreds with a brilliantly noisy follow-up, and disbanded soon after releasing a frustrated swan song. Since that awkward end the Boos have been a footnote for some, a pleasant memory for others, and a reason for fanatical devotion to still more. So ideally, Find the Way Out pleases all parties. Its a two-disc, fully remastered, 35-song chronological recap of the bands eight-year career, painstakingly compiled by guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr both to tell the Boo Radley story and satisfy the diehards. It begins with two songs from Ichabod & I, the noisy (and rare) 1990 debut that shoved American alternative rock into a wall of Kevin Shields-ian distortion. The dynamic between Carrs roaring guitar and Sices effortless songbird vocals on "Catweazle" would define the groups sound. "Happens to Us All" is here too, as is a demo version of "Hip Clown Rag." There are highlights from the Boo Radleys Rough Trade singles and EPs, including the incredible funky blister of "Kaleidoscope" and "Everybird"s blend of pedal stomp crunch and twining acoustic strum. The set includes the lengthy 12" version of the 1992 Creation single "Lazarus," as well as its B-side, "Let Me Be Your Faith"; devotees might wonder where "At the Sound of Speed" is, but theyll have to make do with the creaky, gentle "Cracked Lips/Homesick" -- a Giant Steps-era B-side -- or any of the five songs from that album. The brassy, handclapping "Wish I Was Skinny" and "Best Lose the Fear"s fuzzy psych-pop are highlights, showing off the Boos songwriting development. Of course Find the Way Outs second disc starts with "Wake Up Boo!" -- its their career definition and ultimate death knell tied up in an unstoppably glorious pop experience. The nine-minute version here -- subtitled "Music for Astronauts" -- trips out at the end in a way Super Furry Animals would soon perfect. Its flip, "Blues for George Michael," is another epic, and "Find the Answer Within" (from the Wake Up! LP) rarefies Carrs guitar to a conventional jangle. 1995s "From the Bench at Belvidere" is a breezy masterpiece of lilting piano and dripping guitar notes; theres even a flute solo. (Pray that Teenage Fanclub someday covers this.) Cmon Kids, the blaring fame freak-out album that followed the popular embrace of Wake Up!, is represented here by four tracks, and the finale Kingsize gets three. (The previously unissued "Tomorrow" is a faraway trumpet, rainy streets meditation with the gem lyric "trap set in the slums.") By Find the Way Outs end youre either convinced of the Boos place in the U.K. music canon or mad at Carr because he didnt include your favorite song. But either way youve walked the bands creative arc with one of its creators. And thats way better than just hearing about it. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 14 Title: The Best Of Released: 2007-05-07 Tracks: 15 Duration: 59:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Wake Up Boo! (03:36) 2 From the Bench at Belvedere (04:23) 3 Lazarus (04:40) 4 I Hang Suspended (03:57) 5 Leaves & Sand (04:27) 6 Barney (…and Me) (04:42) 7 Spun Around (02:33) 8 I’ve Lost the Reason (05:17) 9 Find the Answer Within (04:34) 10 Its Lulu (03:04) 11 Reaching Out From Here (03:02) 12 Stuck on Amber (05:24) 13 4am Conversation (02:43) 14 Cmon Kids (04:09) 15 Get on the Bus (03:14) |