BUT WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE ALBUM?
My band once opened up for The Proclaimers. No lie. Okay, technically, it was a festival, and we were on a different stage, and the Proclaimers weren’t even the headliners, Cracker was. So it’d be more accurate to say that we shared the bill with The Proclaimers, but it’s more fun to say we opened up for them.
Youngsters today might have been introduced to “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” through a great running gag on How I Met Your Mother. Hipsters of the 80s might have been introduced to it from the Proclaimers performing it on David Letterman’s show in 1989. But most people from my generation were introduced to it through the 1993 film Benny & Joon. Of course, no one remembers the film itself these days, but everyone still loves these Scottish lads and their marathon endurance.
Confession: I actually owned this on cassette. I found it at a yard sale for a quarter. But I never got past listening to “500 Miles,” which is the first track. I just kept rewinding back to the beginning and rocking out again. Even listening to it now, I’m tempted to just put the song on repeat (convenience of technology, alright!). It’s that good and completely worthy of its ubiquitousness. But I will soldier on and give this album its fair shake.
“Cap In Hand” provides us more catchy Scottish folk but can’t live up to its preceding track. “Then I Met You,” though, almost rivals “500 Miles” and should’ve been a hit in its own right. But oh no! We’ve moved into a slow ballad, “My Old Friends The Blues,” which has killed all momentum this album was building. It might not be so bad a song if it appeared closer to the end of the album. I hope things pick up.
At first, “Sean” threatened to dredge, but then picks up energy and shows these guys are capable of doing a good slow ballad. A lesson not followed through on with “Sunshine On Leith.” What the fuck, guys? Enough with the ballads. Go balls out again.
Side two starts off more promising. Random thought: It’s impossible to hear a Scottish accent and not think of Mike Myers. “I’m On My Way” features more traveling for love. Was this released as a single? According to Wikipedia, it was. Naturally. They wanted to capitalize on the success of “500 Miles” with a song that hit similar lyrical themes. Except it was released 5 years before “500 Miles” finally became a hit. But it was used on the Shrek soundtrack, so maybe they were hoping to replicate the belated success.
Back to ballads. Ugh. Definitely not their strong point. Man, this album had such a promising start, but now, it just drags.
FINAL VERDICT: This album is the equivalent of walking 500 miles (and walking 500 more). At first, you’re optimistic about being able to complete it, but aside from a brief second wind, you spend most of the time wondering how exactly do people find Chuck Taylors comfortable.
