The Boo Radleys Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
Wake Up! brought the Boo Radleys pop success that they weren't sure what to do with. After embracing the album's number one success, the group eventually recoiled from the spotlight and Martin Carr wrote C'mon Kids as a direct response to the group's celebrity status in the U.K. Simply put, C'mon Kids is an attempt to scare away any of the fellow travelers who welcomed the sunny-sounding pop of Wake Up! It's a gnarled, twisted and disorted 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, there's a number of melodies and creatively crafted songs that make the album nearly as rewarding as Giant Steps or Wake Up! However, it takes time to get into C'mon Kids, though. At first, it's 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 band's psychedelic hooks and folk tendecies. C'mon Kids might not be as accessible as even Giant Steps but it displays a feverish sense of purpose and a perverse willfullness to refashion their sound that makes it an easy album to admire, if not love. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With their third album, the Boo Radleys abandoned the overt noise that obscured the pop sensibilities of their early work and scaled back the ambitions of Giant Steps. The result is Wake Up!, a glorious, brightly colored gem of a pop record. From the Beach Boy harmonies and trumpet fanfares of the opening "Wake Up Boo!" to the closing epic, McCartney-styled ballad "Wilder," the group winds through many styles of British pop. Much of the darkness -- both musically and lyrically -- of their previous music has been lifted; in its place is a sterling piece of pure pop, with all the big choruses, bright melodies, and simple hooks that word implies. Giant Steps had elements of this grand pop, yet it tried too hard. Wake Up! doesn't try for as much, and in doing so, it achieves more, both musically and commercially -- upon the release of the album and the "Wake Up Boo!" single, the Boos became genuine Top Ten pop stars in England. The Boo Radleys were always a band with ambitions. The only difference with Wake Up! is that they finally fulfilled them. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Titling an album after John Coltrane's 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 Carr's 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." Carr's 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. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Everything's Alright Forever'
Release Date 1/1/1991
Tracks 14
Label Creation/Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
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 there's 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 group's straightforward rock side and its experimental tendencies with inventive, lush arrangements. Check out "Lazy Day," a brief but effective number where Carr's nuclear-strength guitars are interrupted by sudden shifts to vocals and acoustic strumming with a rapid, breathless pace. Sice is the group's secret weapon; his sweet, choirboy vocals add gentleness and serenity to the proceedings, particularly "Does This Hurt?," the album's most memorable number. Based on a fine all-around band performance and Carr's gorgeous feedback shimmers and skyward solos, Sice's 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: everything's alright, but not yet truly astounding. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Boos' first album was never officially reissued or reprinted after its initial low-level release, while the band consistently downplayed it in later years, describing Ichabod as being little more than rough early sketches by Dinosaur Jr. wannabes. While there's no question Ichabod is thoroughly derivative of J. Mascis and other musicians besides, by no means is it a disaster -- in fact, it's quite entertaining, good fun. Just under half an hour long, its eight songs rip right along through mountains of feedback, buried-but-still-there melodies and Sice's sweet vocalizing. Sometimes the production is astoundingly murky, but whether the low roar of "Hip Clown Rag," for one, is meant to sound like that or just simply an accident is a mystery. Carr and Sice's combined guitar work is actually well along its way to achieving the heights of later releases, with shuddering solos, acoustic/electric mixes and strange pauses, stops and starts breaking up what might otherwise be a general if not generic indie-pop rush at points. Various flecks of the Boos' incipient talents crop up throughout -- the lovely vocal arrangement on the chorus of "Catweazle" (named after a legendary British TV kids' show character) is a clear sign, though the nuclear-strength guitar distortion Carr ends the song with is as distinct. "Walking 5th Carnival" stands out for its initially restrained sound and crisp, hip-hop tinged drumwork. One song from Ichabod actually ended up being rerecorded later -"Kaleidoscope," which though shorter and rougher sounding here still has the great combination of grit and soar from the more familiar version. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
