SUEDE-A NEW MORNING.

dereksmusicblog ♦ July 18, 2011 ♦ Leave a comment

SUEDE-A NEW MORNING.

Sometimes towards the end of a band’s natural lifetime, they release an album that at the time, is underrated, and it’s only some time afterwards, that its quality is recognized. This is true of the band I’m going to write about today. They were formed in 1989, and by the time they released the album this article is about, they’d released four successful albums. However, after personnel changes and various personal problems, the band seemed to be on its last legs. With a new member onboard, and after two years in the making, Suede released A New Morning. On its release, critics weren’t particularly impressed,  with the new album, however, fans were. Fans were much more receptive, and welcomed the much warmer and minimalistic sound. In this article, I’ll revisit A New Morning, and see who was right, fans or critics. 

Suede’s previous album Head Music, had been a huge success for the band, and had cemented their reputation as one of the most popular bands of the 1990s. By the time its follow up A New Morning was released, the band’s popularity was on the slide, and the intervening three years had proved to be particularly turbulent for the band. After the release of Head Music, Neil Codling had to leave the band, as he was suffering from the highly debilitating illness Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. His departure angered Brett Anderson, even though he knew it was for the best. Anderson felt let down. Codling’s replacement was ex-Strangelove keyboard player Alex Lee. A New Morning saw a new Brett Anderson. By now, he’d sobered up, and said that this was the first Suede album that wasn’t influenced by drugs. Whilst writing the lyrics to the songs, he’d entered seclusion, in  a country house in Surrey. There he surrounded and immersed himself in literature, including books by JG Ballard and Albert Camus. At other times he took long walks in the country, marveling at the many wonders of nature.

Once the songs were written, the band headed to Stanbridge Farm Studios in West Sussex, in July 2000. They took a break to play just one concert, in Reykjavic, Iceland, where they played nine of their new songs.  Suede had originally chosen Tony Hoffer, an American producer for their album. It was with Hoffer that the band headed to Rockmouth studios in Monmouth, Wales. A three week trial run with Hoffer was tried, and although some members of the band weren’t happy with the results, they decided to hire Hoffer as producer. So to Parkgate Studios in Hastings, band and producer headed. Once there, Suede recorded ten songs with Hoffer. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out, and most of the recordings were scrapped. Next to fill the producer’s chair was John Leckie, who previously, had produced The Stone Roses. Two songs, Beautiful Loser and Positivity were recorded with Leckie, but Leckie had another commitment, and Suede had to look elsewhere for another producer. Stephen Street was their next choice, and over a period of two months, Suede and Street recorded the remainder of the album, which became A New Morning. Eventually, when the cost of the album was added up, it was estimated to have cost around one million pounds.

On the albums release, critics weren’t particularly impressed, and praise for the album was moderate at best. Some fans too, weren’t impressed, but other fans thought the album had a warmer sound, and that the more minimalistic sound was something to be welcomed. The two singles released from the album Positivity and Obsessions only reached numbers sixteen and twenty-nine in the UK singles charts. A New Morning was released in September 2002, reaching number twenty-three in the UK album charts. It proved to be the band’s final studio album. In October 2003, they released a compilation album entitled Singles, and in November the band announced that the band would members would work on their own projects from the following year, 2004. After fourteen years, and five albums, Suede were no more. 

Having given you some background into the making of A New Morning, I will now revisit the album, and decide whether the critics or fans were right about the album’s quality. Positivity is the first track on the album, and begins with a guitar playing, joined by drums and as the drama builds, Brett Anderson sings. His voice is strong and clear, as he sings some of the best lyrics on the album. It’s a song that sweeps along, the sound is impressive, and features quite a grandiose arrangement that suits the lyrics. The lyrics are about what sounds like an extraordinary woman, one with charm and charisma in abundance. It appears she’s a captivating woman, one who is enthralling and casts a spell on men. Positivity is a good start to the album, Anderson sings the song well, the almost grandiose arrangement suits the song and the lyrics are of the highest quality.

Obsessions, like Positivity, was one of the singles taken from the album. As Obsessions starts, you’re struck by the retro sound of the song. That’s not a criticism, just an observation. It’s a very different song to Positivity. Anderson sings the song very differently, his voice is higher, he’s almost straining as he sings the lyrics. Guitars play a big part in the song, the drums sit forward in the mix, and a harmonica plays. It’s a song that has its roots in another decade, and even reminds me of The Alarm, and some of their songs from the 1980s’. However, it’s roots go much further back than the 1980s’. Having said all that, it isn’t a bad song, it’s one that had it been successful, could have been anthemic. It has that sound. Sadly, it wasn’t successful, and that’s a shame, as it’s a good song, maybe just one that was released in the wrong decade.

Lonely Girls has a much different sound and feel from Obsessions. It’s a much slower, gentler song, one that brings out the best in Brett Anderson’s voice. Here, he’s singing within himself, and in doing so, brings out the best in what are, some intelligent and thoughtful lyrics about loneliness. The arrangement suits Anderson’s vocal and the lyrics. It has a lush sound, and it sweeps gently, never once threatening to overpower Anderson’s tender and thoughtful rendition of the lyrics. From the opening bars of the song when an acoustic guitar plays, to the bass, guitars and piano that accompany Anderson, the arrangement benefits from a subtly that allows the song’s beauty to shine through.

When Lost In TV begins, the sound is immediately distant and mysterious. For a short moment, you’re left wondering what’s about to happen. Thankfully, you’re in for a pleasant surprise, because what emerges, is another quality song sung by Anderson and played well by the rest of the band. The tempo is slower, and again, it’s a song that, had the album been released at a different time, has huge potential, and has anthemic potential. It’s a catchy song, with an infectious quality, one that you can imagine crowds singing along with. As the song opens, an acoustic guitar plays, Anderson sings, the lyrics have a strong narrative. The song has hooks galore, and as the song gets to the bridge, the rest of the band sing backing vocals and the drums play. It’s there that you’re really smitten by the song’s quality. Instantly, you’re enthralled, struck by it’s catchiness, and the beauty of the lyrics. Like many of the songs on the album, the arrangement is perfect, thanks to producer Stephen Street.

John Leckie produced the next track Beautiful Loser, and without looking at the sleeve notes, I could tell that this was one of the two songs he produced. The track starts with guitars playing, the sound is loud and bold, much rockier most songs on the album. There is a real retro sound here, and when Anderson sings, his voice is stronger and louder. Sometimes, his voice veers between this stronger style to a a near falsetto. Beautiful Loser shows a much different side of Suede, one which they carry off well. It’s quite a contrast from the much gentler songs on the album, here guitars shriek, drums are loud and Anderson’s voice is rougher and harder. For a moment, you wonder if you’re still listening to the same album. After having said all that, I really enjoyed Beautiful Loser. Producer John Leckie brought out a very different sound from the band, one that’s very different to the songs produced by Stephen Street.

Streetlife like the previous track a bigger, bolder sound. Again, the track looks backwards, and has a retro sound and feel. Like Beautiful Loser, the rockier sound returns. Here guitars are loud, they chime and shriek, drums pound and Anderson’s vocal is stronger and forceful. There is an intensity to the track, an intensity that wasn’t present on Beautiful Loser. On Beautiful Loser, the band sounder looser, here they sound almost strained. It’s as if they’re struggling to adapt to the change in style. Personally, I preferred Beautiful Loser, rather than Streetlife. That doesn’t mean Streetlife is a bad song, quite the opposite, it’s a good song, one that shows another side to Suede.

When Astrogirl starts, the sound is hesitant, you wonder what direction the track will take. When Anderson sings, his voice is strong and loud, sitting proudly at the front of the mix. Around his vocal, the sound is big, yet isn’t overpower you. Apart from the usual guitars, bass and drums, Suede add piano and mellotron to the mix. Together, this combines to produce a slower song, one with some futuristic lyrics. Anderson’s vocal is strong and clear,Astrogirl reminds me slightly of David Bowie. Maybe it’s the lyrics or maybe, sometimes, momentarily, his vocal sound a bit like Bowie. Overall, Astrogirl is another change in style for Suede, but this time, it’s a change in style that works and is one that I welcome.

Untitled… Morning starts distantly, a piano gently plays, it sets the mood. A mood that is tinged with sadness. The song starts quietly, it’s subtle, just Anderson singing and the piano playing, but quickly the song opens up. When it does, a glorious track appears. Anderson’s accompanied by the lushest of backing vocals, and on this dramatic and heartfelt song, the band produce an outstanding performance on the first part of the song. After a short interlude, the track begins again. When it does, Anderson sings, accompanied by an acoustic guitar played gently. You can hear every chord change. The rest of the band provide backing vocals, on what’s a short, happy song. Of the two songs, Untitled is the best of the two, it’s a much stronger song, one with moving lyrics and a great performance by the band. Morning, too, is a good song, but lacks the depth of Untitled.

Guitars play, their sound loud and confident, drums fearless, matching the guitar’s intensity, join the guitars at the front of the mix. On One Hit To the Body the sound is a bold, harking back to several similar tracks on the album. When Anderson sings, he’s reserved a peerless performance for this song. His voice is strong and clear, and during the song, he’s backed by thunderous guitars and pounding drums. It’s an impressive sound, Suede in full flow. Here, they don’t sound like a band at the end of their career. Quite the contrary, on this album they visit various styles of music. The sound here is contemporary, still popular today. At the end of the track, the song ends with a crescendo. I’m left impressed by this track, one that’s quite a contrast to Lonely Girls and Lost In TV.

A New Morning ends with When The Rain Falls, a much gentler track than the near raucous One Hit To the Body. Anderson’s voice is much more subdued, as is the arrangement. He’s backed by a piano, guitar and drums. This is a much more minimalistic arrangement on the track, which allows Anderson’s voice to shine, and the lyrics to take centrestage. It’s a romantic song, one about being in love, and how even when you’re doing the mundane things in life, it’s special if you’re doing it with the one you love. Again, Brett Anderson’s voice sounds slightly similar to David Bowie when he sings some of the lyrics. Sometimes it’s momentarily, other times it’s more noticeable. For me, When The Rain Falls is the ideal song to end the album. It shows Suede at their best, playing a much gentler song, a song which brings out the best it Anderson and the other band members. This song demonstrates what a talented group of musicians Suede were.

Whilst writing this article, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time revisiting Suede’s career and listening to their albums, especially A New Morning. It was an album that was two years in the making, had four producers and cost nearly one million pounds. However, having listened to A New Morning several times, I’m of the mind that it was a much better album than the critics suggested. Of the ten songs on the album, most of them are good quality. There aren’t really any really poor songs on the album. It’s a highly listenable album. Granted, it might not be the band’s best album, but it didn’t deserve to be panned by critics they way it was. Many of the band’s fans welcomed the change in the band’s music. They liked the warmer and more minimalistic sound. I also liked this change. Much as I liked their “old” sound, this, to me, was a welcome change. It was Suede’s music evolving. What was sad, was that this album marked the end of the band’s career, it was the last studio album they released. What we should not forget, is that between 1989 and 2002, Suede were one of the biggest British bands, who released five albums, and sold countless millions of records worldwide. They outlasted many of their competitors, and until the end of their career, sought to reinvent their music. Not for them churning out formulaic music, or singing in a faux cockney voice. No, there was always more to Suede than that, and for that, we should be grateful. Their legacy is some wonderful music, music that still sounds good today, and music that is still enjoyed my their huge legion of fans worldwide. Standout Tracks: Lonely Girls, Lost In TV, Beautiful Loser and When The Rain Falls.

SUEDE-A NEW MORNING.