Down in Albion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Down in Albion
Down in Albion cover
Studio album by Babyshambles
Released November 14, 2005 (2005-11-14)
Recorded 2005
Genre Indie Rock
Britpop
Post-punk revival
Length 63:49
Label Rough Trade
Producer Mick Jones
Professional reviews
Babyshambles chronology
Down in Albion
(2005)
The Blinding EP
(2006)
Pete Doherty chronology
The Libertines
(2004)
Down In Albion
(2005)
The Blinding EP
(2006)

Down in Albion is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band.

Down in Albion was released on November 14, 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on October 19, 2005. Produced by Mick Jones, Down in Albion contains a rerecorded version of their second single "Killamangiro" as well as a reggae track, "Pentonville". The inclusion of "Albion" is controversial among fans, due to the song's history as a fan favorite from the days of The Libertines. Down in Albion is intended to be a concept album,[1] telling the tale of a beauty and a beast. The album received mixed reviews on release, with the general feeling that it sounded "lazy", suffered from bad production and failed to live up to the standard of Doherty's previous material[2][3][4] (a few of the tracks on this album made their debut on various sessions recorded by The Libertines). The first track, "La Belle et la Bête" (French for "Beauty and the Beast"), features the vocals of Doherty's then-girlfriend Kate Moss, and "Pentonville" was written by Doherty and The General, a friend he met whilst an inmate in Pentonville Prison.[5] The album was seen as a move away from The Libertines' style of music.[6] The artwork for the album was created by Doherty.[7]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "La Belle et la Bête" (featuring Kate Moss) (Pete Doherty, Chevalley, Peter Wolfe) – 5:05
  2. "Fuck Forever" (Doherty, Patrick Walden) – 4:37
  3. "À rebours" (Doherty) – 3:23
  4. "The 32nd of December" (Doherty) – 3:08
  5. "Pipedown" (Doherty, Walden) – 2:35
  6. "Sticks and Stones" (Doherty, Wolfe) – 4:51
  7. "Killamangiro" (Doherty) – 3:13
  8. "8 Dead Boys" (Doherty, Walden) – 4:16
  9. "In Love with a Feeling" (Doherty, Walden) – 2:51
  10. "Pentonville" (General Santana) – 3:49
  11. "What Katy Did Next" (Doherty, Alan Wass) – 3:07
  12. "Albion" (Doherty) – 5:24
  13. "Back from the Dead" (Doherty, Wolfe) – 2:52
  14. "Loyalty Song" (Doherty, Walden) – 3:32
  15. "Up the Morning" (Doherty, Walden) – 5:43
  16. "Merry Go Round" (Doherty) – 5:22

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Singles

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (2005) Providers Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[8] BPI/The Official UK Charts Company 10
French Albums Chart[8] SNEP/IFOP 72
German Albums Chart[8] Media Control 46
Irish Albums Chart[8] IRMA 28
Swedish Albums Chart[8] GLF 46
Italian Albums Chart[9] FIMI 99
Swiss Albums Chart[8] Media Control 93
Chart (2006) Providers Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[8] Media Control 52

[edit] References

  1. ^ O'Keefe, Alice (2005-10-16). Doherty reveals his sensitive side. The Observer. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
  2. ^ Poletti, James (2005-11-22). Babyshambles - 'Down In Albion'. dotmusic. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. “Many of The Libertines' finer qualities are made all too apparent in their absence on "Down In Albion"”
  3. ^ Phares, Heather. Down in Albion. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. “Mick Jones' "production" duties seem to consist of just sticking a few microphones into the fray”
  4. ^ Schild, Matt. Babyshambles: Down in Albion Aversion.com Review. aversion.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. “Down in Albion doesn’t eclipse either of The Libertines’ two gems”
  5. ^ Doherty Raps with Cellmate. contactmusic.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
  6. ^ Schild, Matt. Babyshambles: Down in Albion Aversion.com Review. aversion.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-24. “Dropping the punked-up hysteria of The Libertines for a more laid-back sound”
  7. ^ (2005) Album notes for Down in Albion by Babyshambles [booklet]. Rough Trade Records (RTRADCD290).
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Babyshambles - Down In Albion. acharts.us. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  9. ^ Classifichi Artisti - Archivio (Italian). FIMI. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.