• Voto:
Non mi andavano tanto a genio i Razorlight all'inizio, anzi, sono onesto nel dire che mi stavano addirittura un po' antipatici. Li consideravo troppo piatti, senza sapore, "bravi" a comporre canzoncine pop senza reale mordente e convinzione, quasi solo per vendere. Composizioni come "America", "Before I Fall To Pieces", "I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got" non avevano messo in buona luce la band ai miei occhi (tranne poche canzoni apprezzabili come "In The Morning", "Wire To Wire", "Hold On"). Certo gli album "Razorlight" e "Slipway Fires" mi avevano dato ragione nella mie considerazioni sulla band capitanata da Johnny Borrell, carismatica e spocchiosa versione light di Pete Doherty (tra i due rapporto di eterno odio): album mediocri con pochi buoni spunti.
Eppure non avendo mai ascoltato il primo album, decisi di provare a dare un leggero e senza pretese ascolto al primo disco del gruppo anglo-svedese: fu una rivelazione. Il CD in questione, "Up All Night" si rivela come un buon album, per non dire buonissimo che ai tanti qui forse parrebbe esagerato. Un rock-pop deciso ed energico che senza alcun tecnicismo all'avanguardia si dimostra facilmente ascoltabile ed accessibile a tutti, sia a chi è abituato al pop-pattume sia a chi ha spesso nelle orecchie rock più duro (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin ecc; senza ovviamente voler chiamare in causa il sacro). Johnny Borrell (famosa la sua relazione con la stupenda Kirsten Dunst, per intenderci, Mary-Jane di Spiderman) non è stato mai ben visto dalla critica, troppo arrogante, borioso ed antipatico (sua famosa citazione "Come song-writer sono meglio di Bob Dylan"), ma in questo album, e in ogni caso anche con i due lavori successivi, si dimostra un abile paroliere, oltre che discreto musicista ed assemblatore delle varie melodie, tanto che la sua presunzione di essere un nuovo leader del rock inglese può essere in parte giustificata.
Questo album mi ha sorpreso davvero molto, produzione curatissima, e davvero ben suonato, dove il basso e la batteria (formidabile il batterista Andy Burrows) non sono mai scontati. "Leave Me Alone" apre il disco con quell'inizio di pianoforte e poi la chitarra distorta a lanciare la prima traccia davvero godibile che è seguita da "Rock'n'Roll Lies", voce graffiata e rude e grande parte di batteria. "Vice" ricalca le prime due traccie mantenendo un'identità finora molto rock'n'roll del disco per cedere poi l'ascolto alla title-track "Up All Night", a mio parere la migliore dell'album, rilassata, tranquilla, accompagnata dal battere incessante della batteria e dalla voce sconsolata e malinconica di Borrell.
Con "Wich Way Is Out" ripercorriamo le stesse sonorità delle prime tracce, non togliendo nulla a quanto di buono è finora stato fatto, mentre il singolone trascinatore "Rip It Up" ha tutto quello che si chiede a una hit indie rock odierna: ritmo sconvolgente, energia ed incredibilmente dancefloor, per due minuti e mezzo di puro pop-rock senza pretese ed orecchiabile che passano in un baleno. Con "Don't Look Back To Dalston" e "Golden Touch" ripercorriamo le medesime sonorità riscontrate nella prima parte del disco, per poi giungere al piccolo capolavoro del disco "Stumble And Fall", brano davvero davvero apprezzabile. Il disco si conclude con l'anonima "Get It Go", le energiche "In The City" e "To The Sea" (gigantesca la voce di Borrell in quest'ultima canzone) e la più rilassata e mogia "Fall Fall Fall".
In conclusione un album particolarmente apprezzabile, che nella sua semplicità si differenzia da tanti altri primi album delle rock band inglesi d'oggigiorno. Testi belli, assoli di chitarra sorprendenti e voce graffiata ma spaventosamente ipnotica e trascinante. Peccato che la band si sia rovinata con il secondo album (a cui la sufficienza comunque arriva) e con il terzo (hanno voluto fare gli sperimentali ma hanno solo prodotto un album vuoto senza canzoni guida all'interno).
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Leave Me Alone (03:48)
Oh when did you decide
To start living like it's suicide
And wasting all my time
And messing up my mind
Oh now darling please leave me alone
I'm so tired I wanna be on my own
But you come on calling on my telephone
And I wish I could show you somewhere better
Better to go
And when you get there
Well if you freak them all out
With your sweatshop charm
You'll leave them in no doubt
And when you get challenged
You'll only lie about your age
But it's the distance you travel
And the fields you unravel
And all the bars on your cage
Oh now darling please leave me alone
I'm so tired I wanna be on my own
But you come on calling on my telephone
And I wish I could show you somewhere better
Better, better, better to go
To somewhere else
Somewhere else, somewhere else
Oh you've got to...
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Oh just leave me alone
What don't you understand
Just leave me alone
What don't you understand!
What is there to understand?
Just leave me alone
Just leave me alone
Just leave me alone
Just leave me alone
02 Rock n Roll Lies (03:08)
There's too much silence in her night
She calls herself an angel, and she comes to town, and that's
(L-O-N-D-O-N)
Yeah, just so she can fall
(L-O-N-D-O-N)
There's something about the way she walks, you know
It suits the city streets so well and
Nobody's heard her band yet, and no one will
And here it comes now, there's nothing to say
There it goes again but no-one cares anyway
What's in your eyes, your rock'n'roll eyes
'Cause it's all just the lies, just the rock'n'roll lies
You see that man, he calls out for a drink, but you're all
You're all tied up in your backstage lines
And you, you just can't move a muscle
Six in the morning so you rise and you fall, you've got to
You've got to grab what you can
And your blue-blood man, baby, he's a winner, yeah
What a gunslinger!
Oh now, here he comes yeah, there's nothing to say
He must be someone to someone, but no-one cares anyway
He sees your eyes, your rock'n'roll eyes
We know it's all just lies, just the rock'n'roll lies
Oh!
But oh baby, when you say my name, I get such a thrill inside
She says there's something in the way that I look at her
I guess it's right here in my eyes
I can't lie
And here it comes now, there's nothing to say
Here it comes now, but no-one cares anyway
He sees your eyes, your rock'n'roll eyes
Just a bit like mine
Yeah, rock'n'roll eyes
It's just the lies, it's just the rock'n'roll lies
Oh it's just the lies, it's just the rock'n'roll lies
Oh...
Yes it is, oh, yes it is
Lies and the lies and the lies and the lies
03 Vice (03:14)
Wild is the wind that strips away our sins
Yours is the night, but you don't know where to begin
But I heard you say
You've got a feeling that it's just around the bend
I heard you say
Sometimes you fall into the arms of no-one at all
I mean to say that that's alright
I did what I could!
Oh, sometimes I run
Yeah, sometimes I fall
L O V E, I'll see you later
L O V E, I'll see you later
Yours is the fire that gets in my head
Mine is desire, so let it burn down your bed
Cause I heard about those stories, yeah
I guess everyone has
I heard them say sometimes you fall
Just on your own with no-one at all
I mean to say that that's alright
I did what I could!
Oh, sometimes I run
Yeah, sometimes I fall
L O V E, I'll see you later
L O V E, I'll see you later
Oh, sometimes I run
Yeah, sometimes I fall
L O V E, I'll see you later
L O V E, I'll see you later
L O V E, L O V E
LOVE LOVE
I see you later
I'll see you some time
I'll see you there, I'll see you there
And you know, you know you can't touch love with a cynical feeling
No you, can't touch love unless you do believe in, oh lover, lover
There's no cynical feeling, I'll see you later, I'll see you some time, some time
You know its just like that
Sometimes you run
Sometimes you fall
Sometimes you crawl
Sometimes you hide
Ring my number back its 07761010233
Oh ring it off the wall, we'll ring it right back
We'll ring it right back, we'll ring it right back
That's just life
04 Up All Night (04:03)
I lost the sacred feeling but I
Made a couple of friends and now
Our things have never looked so good
Our things have never been so clear
And now I'm alone with you
I'm always up all night
And I get music running in my head
And I, I lose the strength to fight
Cause I, I've been up all night
She's been up all night
We're, we're just up all night
This town is for the counterfeit dreamers
And maybe I'm one too, well I
I keep my hand behind my back when I
I don't know what else to do
The streets that I grew up in, they might mean
Nothing to you, but I
I'll show you where I come from if you please
Just tell me what I'm supposed to do
Cause I, I've been up all night
She's been up all night
We're, we're just up all night
That sweet and sacred feeling you know
Will never last long
Every time you turn around you'll see
One more part of you, yes it's gone
I need your spirit darling
And lend me your helping hand, and I
I'll meet you in the morning
When I've broken up the band
Cause I've been up all night
She's been up all night
We're, we're just up all night
And I've been up all night
She's been up all night
We're, we're just up all night
I've been up all night...
06 Rip It Up (02:24)
Hey girl, get on the dancefloor
And rip it up, yeah
That's what it's there for
That's what it's there for
So rip it up, yeah
Ah rip it up and tear it up
Until you really don't know why
Until you don't know why
I seen a man there
Down at the station
He's got a head of ideas
Has just too many reservations
It turns me round, yeah
It breaks my heart, yeah
It rips me up and tears me up
You know I really don't know why
You know I don't know why
She says love is the law
Why don't you come round no more?
She says I loved you so much more
When you were down on the floor
I said well well
That ain't nothing
You got to rip it up
You got to pick a stitch
And turn me round, yeah
And break my heart, yeah
And rip me up and tear me up
You know I really don't know why
I really don't know why
Hey girl, get on the dancefloor
Just like I told you
That's what it's there for
That's what it's there for
So rip it up, yeah
Ah rip it up and tear it up
Until you really don't know why
Until you don't know why
So rip it up, yeah
And tear it up. yeah
And just please don't stop
And rip it up
07 Don't Go Back to Dalston (02:59)
It's a big big world
And you can do what you like
You can do anything you want
Because darling, it's your life
But don't go back to Dalston
Don't go up the junction
Don't go round the houses
But just come back to me
Come back to me
Come back to me
Come back to me
It's a big big world
And you can do take your time
You've got your friends
And I've got mine
Don't go back to Dalston
And no, don't go up the junction
Don't go round the houses
But just come back to me
Come back to me
Come back to me
Come back to me
Come back, come back, come back
Come back, come back, come back
08 Golden Touch (03:25)
I know a girl with the golden touch
She's got enough, she's got too much
But I know, you wouldn't mind
You could have it all if you wanted
You could have it all if it mattered so much
But then all they know is how to put you down
When you're there, they're your friend
But then when you're not around
They say, "Oh, she's changed"
We know what they mean
Well they mean, they're just jealous
Because they never do the things
That they wish that they could do so well
That kind of girl, yes she's never alone
You leave a thousand messages on her phone
But you know you never get through
And you could have it all if you wanted, girl
You could have it all if it matters to you
But then all they know is how to put you down
When you're there, they're your friend
But then when you're not around
They say, "Oh, she's changed"
Oh we know what that means
Well it means they're just jealous
But they'll never do the things
That they wish that they could do so well
I saw my girl with the golden touch
Give 'em a taste but not too much
I just can't listen to the words of fools
I don't give away too much
Someone will need your golden touch
Because all they know is how to put you down
When you're there, they're your friend
And then when you're not around
They say, "Oh, she's changed"
And we know what that means
Well it means they're just jealous
But they'll never do the things
That they wish that they could do so well
(repeat)
11 In the City (04:50)
Well it's a close one, a real close one
And no-one gets hurt, but she's got twice the fun
But now they kiss in the rain
And did someone call out someone's name
From a white cadillac on a wide wind
To her white dress across the great divide
Into the warm moonlight
And she's been reading Bukowski for days
And she leans over, spits her name in my face
And says "Well now you know how it feels"
Well now you know how it feels
And I was looking for you
Looking for you
Looking for you in the city last night
The boys in the band steal a kiss in the mystery of the night
11:59 to zero, live a blonde hair in jeans, holds her tight
Turns on the heat and starts to fight and sayin' "that's my man"
Well the myth of love must have been there
The spirit of possession was there
And the boys over at the bar
Yeah they're mixing up their medicine
The girls were on their mobile trying to get reception
Johnny's shadow's getting long but he keeps on singing
His shadow getting long but he keeps on singing:
And I was looking for you
Looking for you
Looking for you in the city last night
And people so strange
People so strange
People just keep talking in the city last night
Take off your shades and scroll down to number nine
You're living on the guest list, up against the big rack
Head back, hand highs, it's getting loud in here
Think you're going to have to shout
And she's tearing off her clothes
He's stirring all his drinks, oh yeah
Streets divide them
It's an empire of signs
Honey say she can read
And it looks like trouble
And it tastes like chocolate if you want it
It looks like trouble
And it tastes like chocolate if you want it
Still I was looking for you
Looking for you
Looking for you in the city last night
And people so strange
People so strange
People just keep talking in the city last night
And I was looking for you
And I was looking for you
And I was looking for you in the city last night
And I was looking for you
Yeah I was looking for you
Yeah I was looking for you in the city last night
It's alright!
It's alright!
If you say my name
It's alright!
12 Hang By, Hang By (03:33)
I just got off the plane about ten minutes ago
And I'm nine drinks down, I've got nowhere to go
But I ride a single star
That generates no heat in your hand
And I'm a boxer bucking on the back of the beat
I'm a jet plane rising, turning on the heat
And I'll swagger and sway
But I'll find my feet hang around me
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by me
Iron Man's sick of being Tony Stark
And the Silversurfer's lost his silver heart
But you can see my secret identity
Just slipping off the page into your hands
And receivers ring and telephones buzz
And the lines get tangled and they'll quicken your blood
But the taste of your skin is always enough
So hang around me
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by me
From Weavers Field to Central Park
Oh ours is the time that turns life into dark
And the evening strips away
And I forget to say what I meant to say
I forget to say what I meant to say
But I'm always arriving ten minutes too late
An there's too much on my mind, too much on your plate
And you know, and you know...
You should really stick around
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
Hang by, hang by
...
Hang by, hang by me
13 To the Sea (05:45)
Away and away, over bridges and sighs
And on and on, on and on
She keeps it all locked up right inside
While up above, where the looking glass skies
Go on and on, on and on
She can't say a word, she keeps it inside
To the sea
To the sea
Oh down into the sea
Yeah, what about me
Yeah, what about me
Yeah, what about me?
So go away, for a year and a day
Come back to me, oh you will see
Throw it away, there's money to be made
Oh darling you will make it in the sea
Yeah to the sea
Yeah to the sea
Oh down into the sea
Yeah, what about me
Yeah, what about me
Yeah, what about me?
Just pick me up, put me down
We all just get out of this old town
And leave it all, to the sea
So go away and then shut your mouth
Cause darling, you'll see how it all turns out
Ha!
Throw it away, for a year and a day
And then... come back to me!
Down to the sea
Down to the sea
Oh down into the sea
Yeah, what about me
Yeah, what about me
Yeah, what about me?
Just pick me up, put me down
We all just get out of this old town
And leave it all, to the sea
To the sea...
No more, no more
14 Fall, Fall, Fall (02:41)
Midnight’s calling
Are you close behind?
Midnight’s calling
Are you close behind?
Trees without leaves and notes that don’t ring
Wine left to rot and a voice that can’t sing
And hours of making love in silence
And a light that just won’t shine in the darkness
Could I be any clearer?
Could I speak any plainer?- I need you here
Just to lean my way
And fall, fall, fall
She scolded me for my sinful and wicked ways
Towered above me – do you follow?
And watched with concealed pleasure
As I ripped out my heart and said
I’m just bad, I can’t help it
But I tr-tr-tr-try to be good
And trees without leaves and notes that don’t ring
Wine left to rot and a voice that can’t sing
And hours of making love in silence
And a light that just won’t shine in the darkness
Could I be any clearer?
Well could I speak any plainer?- I need you here
Just to lean my way
And fall, fall, fall
'Cause people make you lonely
People make you lonely sometime.
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Altre recensioni
Di Alberto Giordano
Ecco a voi i Razorlight, il vostro prossimo gruppo preferito.
Ogni canzone vive di vita propria, c'è anche spazio per i cazzeggi sia vocali che strumentali.
