The The - Soul Mining

Cooley

I listened to it three times. It started off rather well. Song one had a nice driving drum beat. Combined with Johnson’s pipes, off we go. Then came the highlight of the long player: track two. This is the Day. Lovely song.
Sadly, that was it for me. It soon descended into mediocrity, with an infuriating inability to use the EDIT button. It just didn’t have the songs. Very much in the Blancmange mode, very similar singers. Call it a poor man’s Happy Families.
6/10 from me. Track two was very good though.

EEPW

Cooley Uncertain smile a decent into mediocrity? how very dare you sir!

Under-the-ground

I really like this.

As said already Lloyd Cole ish, I love this early 80’s sound at the moment. This is very good.

how pertinent are the lyrics now, I think we are in a same sort of time. It has a lot of hope in this album, that’s what I took from it anyhow.
I woke up early & put this on. Very positive record & for my ears the best one so far.
90/100. Yes essential

hendersonjones

Under-the-ground
Love this album , i’ve always seen it as someone in a flat bedsit writing letters having ups and downs struggling with life , from the very start of the record to the end
100/100

fuzzy

On the cans and listening to GIANT. Too drunk to write a review now but I love this album.

Cooley

fuzzy Too drunk at 6.23pm, Mr Fuzzy? Throwing them back early doors? Good lad.

Harvest

Fuzzy there, wazzed up and not giving a fuck about Monday.

fuzzy

Cooley I was out with the Archer brothers last night. Only sensible thing is to get back on it 👍

Anchor

Really like this - my second favourite so far. One I am aware of but would I have have listened to this unless I was forced to by OMJ? No - no way. Certainly not the twenty or so times I have listened to it.

Love the intro to I've been waiting...A bit of oddness then the massive drums that go on for days. I don't mind the voice but the second half trails off for me - the drums get lost and his voice starts wailing a bit. Strong first half and second half could do better.

What came first 'Brand New friend' or This is the day. I don't really care - I love it. The keyboard is ace and the clap drum thingy. Cracker.

The sinking feeling - not so keen on this - the voice is OK and the keyboard intro is cool but it spirals into that god awful guitar - skip.

Uncertain smile - flipping heck, where has this song been all my life. Love it - very very 80's but no bad thing is it - I love the 80's. The acoustic guitar refrain is ace. This is classic Johnson vocal and lyrically strong. Then the bass run kicks in to lift it further. Then wow - that piano - it Holland then as I understand it, never much for his piano style but this is flipping ace. I love it. Bit of a shuffle round the kitchen to this for me.

The Twilight Hour - Like the intro, bit of weirdness and a bit of weirdness with the vocal - song jumps about a bit, some strings - lovely. Then it turns into something else - song of two halves and it's only 3 minutes long anyway. First good - second half bad - see 'I've been waiting' - I can listen to it though. No skippage here.

Soul Mining - Like the weirdness at the top again. What's going on here then. Then into his usual vocal style - not keen on the melody here, the way the vocals go. The lyrics - are the dated? Are they clichés heaped on clichés? Not overly sold on this one.

Giant - what a tune. Nearly ten minutes of aceness. I wonder what the 12" remix of this was like! 80's keyboards abound. Then it turns into a krautrockesque explosion of repetition. Bang on.

I am struggling as to whether this is essential. Probably not but a cracking bit of music. Loved it. Thank you for recommending.

7/10

Cooley

Anchor This is what it’s all about: discovering new shit we would otherwise have ignored. The best thing for me is that this thread’s a runner; it’ll last for as long as there is a OMJ. We’re gonna end up discovering - and listening to - all kinds of stuff.

Foxy_Dread

This swings between extremes for me, some songs I really like, others I dislike. The opening song is a shocker. Messy structure, with some awful rhymes*. The songs which were vocal dominated I tended to dislike, where the music was decent all was good.

*Awful rhymes can be tolerated but not when the singer sounds so earnest.

CharlieG

I've struggled with this. I don't like his voice, find the production sterile and the majority of the songs very.....erm........dull. This is the Day is OK but that's the best I can say.
For me, it's nowhere near essential.
5/10 for its lift music potential.

Kevin_Stapleton

A weird one this.
I have never knowingly listened to this album before (or any The The) but it all sounds familiar. Maybe it's the 80's sound to it.
Thinking about it it seems odd that no-one I have known has been into The The, or played their music, when if nothing else some of his lyrics would have been catnip to people I've known.
At the time I wasn't interested, had this idea from somewhere that yer man was a dull but worthy type, one for the NME readers.
But it's alright actually. Some bits jar, and he could have done with a producer telling him to keep it simple at times, but I'd listen this again.
One of those covers that seemed everywhere at the time, almost shorthand for 80's indie.

Non-essential though. 612/1000

otis

Kevin_Stapleton reminds me of the warehouse. I bought it in 80's but like CBIT prefer infected and mindbomb.

Harvest

Obligitary triple play done today as we've started the enormous task of attempting to decorate the house, tremendous.

I borrowed this off a mate years ago and was pretty underwhelmed then and my opinion hasn't changed an awful lot in the intervening years. Two or three good tracks. There was one where I thought I'd already heard it two tracks previous. Yeh, it was ok but I can't see me ever reaching for it again. It obviously means a lot to Sardine Tree.
5/10 non-essential.

SardineTree

Harvest
Yeah, means a lot to me for numerous reasons, so 'essential' - but I have a lot of 'essential' albums!!! It's what makes it a good thread - not everything is going to be everyone's cup of tea but a great nudge to discover something new to us or rediscover something old and maybe forgotten about. With that in mind, off to give The Sugarcubes some blasts.

Harvest

Good choice though, they all have been.

Under-the-ground

I will be buying this now. Great album . Thanks . Still haven’t listened to the sugarcubes yet

Jon

101/100. Missed this.

CBIT

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