Mechanical Wonder

by

Ocean Colour Scene

Edit

After the slight disappointment of One From The Modern, OCS return to full form with an album that accurately reflects their blistering live shows. While maybe not of the same status as Mosley Shoals or Marchin Already, this record deserves a place in the serious music-lover's collection able to see past the blinkered 'why don't these people use a drum machine?' criticisms.

The band start with their customary killer opening three. Up On The Downside is an upbeat, funky summer track with good old fashioned dancing shoes on. This is followed quickly by the amazingly produced pastoral Who sound of In My Field. Sailing My Boat may not be over imaginitive lyrically, but it's joyous chorus can't fail to lift.

Things slow down a little with the tender and fragile Biggest Thing, and the accoustic ballad We Made It More, both benefitting from superb choruses, and the latter a great string arrangement from Rosie Wetters. Give Me A Letter is Memphis blues combined with grunge (accoustic Nirvana springs to mind here for some reason) featuring some sterling keyboard work from former Style Councilor Mick Talbot.

You Are Amazing is OK, but doesn't quite keep in with the rest. Although atmospehric, it's not quite up to standard. However If I Gave You My Heart is a fantastic love song, again benefitting from some great string arranging from Rosie. The psychadelic rush of Can't Get Back to the Basline sounds like a track that should have been on the 1992 album, and is better than a lot of the stuff there. This leaves us with the 'parting shot' song Something For Me. More formed than it's One From the Modern equivalent, it's still kind of off key with the rest, yet still satisfying.

Get yourself a Mechanical Wonder today. You know you want to!

I find it unfair to class this album as a 2 star rating when in reality it has 6 really good songs that could stand up with other OCS material, so I gave it a 3 star.

Fans of the band were expecting another even more acoustic oriented album after One From The Modern due to the trend the band seemed to be taking... and they weren't wrong either. There are 3 songs that could be classed as electric, those being "Up On The Downside", "Give Me A Letter" and "Can't Get Back To The Baseline" the rest are of the relaxed variety with acoustic over-tones. But the sound of the whole album is very fresh compared to the stale sound that was repeating from producer Brendan Lynch who had worked on their 3 previous albums, that was a plus point of the album... finally breaking away from the sound that they were being expected to do by the music press so that they could get even more slated for it.

"Up On The Downside" is an exhilarating rush of 70's sounding funk/soul/rock that you can't help but smile when you hear. A great first single and really pointed that OCS were not just a riff making rock band, but could take their hand to any style, perfect slice of music that is ideal for the night and going out in style.

"In My Field" sounds very Who-esque in it's vocal melody and style, from the synth intro to the "Won't Get Fooled Again" style vocal melody. A good song and works very well live, it's cool to hear the mandolin kick in halfway through and bring it into more folkier rock territory. The bass playing in this song is spot on too, turn the bass up and check it out. The one thing that OCS fans were seriously calling out for was the Steve Cradock flash guitar solos of the earlier albums, but this didn't happen in this song (and album in fact) and it would have benefited greatly from it too.

The third song "Sail On My Boat" could very well have been a single if only the label had released a third from the album. It and the following song could very well have made single material but alas it never happened. Great harmony vocals and brilliant lead acoustic guitar playing from Mr Cradock add the icing to the cake with an anthemic chorus that kicks in with a louder guitar than the relaxed verses which feature subtle synths.

"Biggest Thing" is an exquisite song that really complements the album well and has some amazing piano playing and slide guitar touches that glide over it. A chorus that promises to be huge but drops to minimalistic simplicity that works so well it's un-true. Cymbals roll through highlighting the songs ethereal quality, but it's when the piano break comes in and soars skyward at the 3 minute mark that you really feel this songs greatness. Never over-doing any of it's parts it fits so perfectly with lyrics that you can't get away from.

"We Made It More" seems Beatlesque with it's string section, it isn't a bad song but is quite forgettable to most. Makes a great album track and I wouldn't have excluded it from this album because it is a good song.

Here is the funky thick and chunky bass driven song "Give Me A Letter" that in it's 2 short minutes fits in a screaming slide guitar solo and a boogie-woogie style piano solo, what a little stomper this one is indeed and a very rare site on this album. Again hiding underneath it all is a subtle use of synthesizer which is in a number of songs on "Mechanical Wonder".

The 2nd and final single to be lifted from the album was indeed the title track "Mechanical Wonder", although the single version is a slight improvement to this album mix it is still a great song. Fitting into the folk/rock bracket well the song plods along with the bass dictating the pace and some low harmonica playing adding depth that usually would be reserved for the synth on the album. The lyrics are very strong too and were apparently inspired from a walk with a dog by a canal in Birmingham.

"You Are Amazing" is a big ballad type song with piano, crisp electric guitar, bass and more of the slide guitar that Steve Cradock had grown more fond of over the last 2 albums. Again I wouldn't exclude it from the album, I think that the album itself as 11 songs deserves no replacements... with the exception of 1 song, that I shall get to.

"If I Gave You My Heart" is another love song but of a higher quality than the previous song, with some string playing that really works well with the mood, in the verses it is simply an cello that plays then in the chorus the violins begin and the mood rises. Powerful lyrics and a perfect delivery from Simon make this song something that shouldn't be un-heard.

The only song on this release that I would have replaced would have to be "Can't Get Back To The Baseline". If only the band had replaced it with the "Mechanical Wonder" b-side called "I Was" this album would have been that much better. It is a good album track and is upbeat, but there isn't much to it and it shows through quite easily.

"Something For Me" is the final song and a simple 12-string acoustic folk song, this is probably the most forgettable of all the "Mechanical Wonder" songs, which is a shame because the final song should always be remembered. Maybe "Free On The Wind" would have been a great ending afterall?

In short this album is NOT a bad album, but it is by far not the best album by Ocean Colour Scene and it's a shame that 2 b-sides from the album were better than most album tracks... I think that if you buy this album you should invest in the "Mechanical Wonder" single too because the 2 b-sides I mentioned are both on this, I also reviewed that item too so if you're interested check it out.