Christ - ten years! It can't be that long can it? It's taken the timely reminder from www.bravecaptain.co.uk who have a micro site up to celebrate the event to make us sit back and re-appriase what an ace album this is. For those of you who don't know BRAVE CAPTAIN is Martin Carr's solo project since the BOOs, and showcases both his current stuff and allows a look back at his past too.
It's 15 years since W&H first came acroos the BOOS in the subterranean confines of THE PLANET X in Liverpool - host to the nastiest toilets outside of Trainspotting and the largest stock of Newcastle Brown outside of - well - Newcastle!
We were witness the them participating in the great Liverpudlian musical tradition of "doing a Besty" or "sacking the first drummer" as it's also known. I can't remenber his name but I think I bought him a pint at the bar afterwards by way of commiseration at being replaced by Steve (who now drums in Placebo fact fans!) before Rob came on the scene. Having seen them expand from playing The Planet to out of town venues to TOTP in later years it's good to be able to look at an album like Giant Steps or it's predecessor "Everything's Alright Forever" and be able to see the foundations on which they built their ascent - weird and wibbly foundations built on loud guitars, dubby bits, horns, beer, Wild Turkey and some industrial strength pharmecutical products - but solid foundations nonetheless. The Radleys were always more than the sum of their parts or influences - something some of todays bands should bear in mind.
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From the sonically gymnastic opener "I Hang Suspended" through the Cure like "Barney and Me" and the amazing "Lazarus" to closer "The White Noise Revisited" this album stands the test of time - it is franky "The Bollocks" and it's all I can do to say that you should have a gander at the www.bravecaptain.co.uk site, click on the link to the Giant Steps part - pop out and buy the album and discover what - in my opinion at least - is one of the Creation labels finest moments (and that's saying something boys and girls!)
Expect us to produce a shamefacedly tardy reappraisal of the Boos back catalogue perchance with some help from the boys themselves in the not too distant...
Cheers la!
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