Expecting To Fly

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In early 2006, Universal issued a comprehensive box set of all the Bluetones singles and B-sides released between 1995 and 2003, A Rough Outline. On 28 March 2011, the band announced they would split after a farewell tour in the autumn. On 13 April 2015, the band announced that they would reform for a new UK tour. a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.67. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. Expecting to Fly won't blow you away, even in its strongest moments, but it features enough great material to earn a "very good", 3.5-star rating. Marginally the strongest of the first three Bluetones records and the obvious starting point for one's investigation of the band.

The main problem is the production- the hissing, over compressed sound makes it a much harder listening experience that needs to be, and does the record a huge disservice, and the rhythm section is un noticeable, although the drummer seems like a good musician when you can hear him. In 2000 the Bluetones released their third album, Science & Nature, which again reached the Top 10 and featured the hit singles " Keep the Home Fires Burning" and " Autophilia". It includes the first three albums – Expecting To Fly (1996), Return To The Last Chance Saloon (1998) and Science And Nature (2000) – a collection of pre-fame demos, The Early Garage Years, 45 non-album A and B-sides and rarities, and three previously unreleased demos (mastered for this compilation by Nigel Clark of Dodgy!). A single, entitled " My Neighbour's House", was released in the UK on 18 September 2006. The single was taken from their self-titled album, which was released on 9 October that year. It failed to chart in the UK Albums Chart after its first week on sale. The album was also released in the United States, the first such occurrence since their debut. Although no reason was cited, on 1 October 2006, it was announced that a planned nine-date tour of North America and Australia had been scrapped. [4] However, on 1 November 2006, the band began a month-long tour of Europe in support of their new release, including two sold-out nights at Glasgow's King Tuts.Top 50 peaks: "Australian-charts.com". Australian-charts.com > The Bluetones in Australian Charts. Hung Medien . Retrieved 1 April 2016. The second Bluetones album, Return to the Last Chance Saloon, was released in 1998. While failing to repeat the commercial success of their debut, it reached the top 10 in the UK album charts and spawned the hit singles " Solomon Bites the Worm" and " If...".

Slight Return": "Australian ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 30 Jun 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA) . Retrieved 12 April 2018. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.Sexton, Paul (16 March 1996). "A&M's Bluetones 'Expecting To Fly' ". Billboard. Vol.108, no.11. p.117 . Retrieved 20 October 2020. Okay, so the gold on Cast's debut was primarily concentrated in its singles. Surely Expecting to Fly's trio of singles have the best chance of impressing me? To be honest, of the three, only one is obviously single material, and even then "Slight Return" is a relative lightweight number. In short, Expecting to Fly is pretty damn monotonous. After the release of two singles on Fierce Panda Records, the band signed to A&M Records and released Expecting to Fly on their own sublabel Superior Quality Recordings. [3] The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, and featured the singles " Bluetonic" and " Slight Return", with the latter climbing to #2 on the UK charts. Following the touring and promotional duties for Expecting to Fly, the band released stand-alone single " Marblehead Johnson" to bridge the gap between albums. [3]

In January 2008, the band began a mini-tour of Scotland, playing five cities ( Stirling, Dunfermline, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh) in as many nights. [4] In May 2008 a ten-date tour covered Cambridge, Whitehaven, Sheffield, Newcastle upon Tyne, Birmingham, London, Bristol, Manchester and Darwen, including one of the last few concerts at the Astoria. They also played a gig with Dodgy on 17 May 2009, at a secret London venue, to benefit the homelessness charity Crisis, as part of the charity's 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness. [5] Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. So, given some of Cast's best moments were unexpectedly able to drag me to a time before youthful optimism and career ambition were drained from me, could The Bluetones' debut album manage a similar miracle given my similar quarter of a century disregard for them?On 31 May 2010, the band released a new album entitled A New Athens. Despite moderate praise the album failed to chart in the UK Albums Chart. The band has scored thirteen Top 40 singles and three Top 10 albums in the UK charts. Although their commercial success waned in the post- Britpop era, they continued to tour and release new records. Their most recent album A New Athens was released in May 2010. As a British based guitar band who gained their success in the 1990s, The Bluetones often get lazily lumped in with a host of other bands under the Britpop banner. While I loved many of these bands, I detested that label and everything it seemingly stood for. I cringe every time I think of Britpop and everything that surrounded it, with the likes of Noel Gallagher rubbing shoulders with Tony Blair in Downing Street. It was like punk never happened. I always feel somewhat vexed and perplexed when bands as superb and distinctive as The Bluetones get lumped into that whole scene. All because that was the time they peaked and had their moment in the limelight. Melody Maker placed it at no. 19 on their list of 1996's Albums of the Year. [ citation needed] NME ranked the LP at no. 11 in their 1996 critic poll. [ citation needed] Commercial performance [ edit ]

In Summer 2017 they co-headlined the Star Shaped Festival tour run by the popular Britpop club of the same name alongside the newly reformed Sleeper. This took place in Birmingham, London, Manchester & Glasgow in July and August 2017. DeLuca, Dan (4 August 1996). "A guide to the explosion in pop music that's got the British all excited". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Donaldson, Brian (23 February 1996). "Bluetones: Expecting to Fly". The List (273): 46 . Retrieved 24 April 2019. One final surprise lies at the bottom of this box. A “bonus” 12” with demos of Time and Again, Cut Some Rug and Putting Out Fires. A completists dream. Top that with an elegant booklet with photos taken during the recording of the album and what you have is a superb looking, and it goes without saying, epic sounding document of a unique band at the height of their powers.What to say about an album I love as much as this? First of all: i do know I like it better as it actually is. The main reason is: I love The Bluetones' sound which is so familiar and unique at once. To me they are among the very few truly original "Brit-Pop" bands formed/ active in the 1990s/2000s. The 'Tones are the last truly great "The" band I am aware of. What makes them so special? First of all their unique and catchy songwriting. Also their remarkable musicianship. These guy really can play but never feel the urge to show-off. The Bluetones are a modest, brilliant band who can kill you without warning. Last of all: They do not sound anything like The Beatles, The Stones or The Who. Thanks Goodness! Also there is not the slightest hint of any The Smiths in their music. That makes me very grateful. They simply are original! Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4thed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.