The Libertines (album)

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The Libertines
Studio album by The Libertines
Released	August 30, 2004
Recorded	Spring 2004
Genre	Punk rock Garage rock revival Indie rock
Length	42:04
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Mick Jones
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Blender Magazine link The Guardian link NME (9/10) link Pitchfork Media (7.1/10) link Q meta-link Rolling Stone link Spin (A-) link Uncut meta-link Yahoo Music UK link
The Libertines chronology
Don't Look Back into the Sun/Death On The Stairs EP (2003) The Libertines (2004) What Became of the Likely Lads EP (2005)
Pete Doherty chronology
Up The Bracket (2002) The Libertines (2004) Down In Albion (2005)

The Libertines is the second, self-titled and final album by the British punk rock band The Libertines. Released on August 30, 2004, it is particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. The album instantly reached #1 in the UK and is on its way to achieving platinum certification. It sold 72,189 copies in its first week. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[1] Though this is debated since the list calls the album (first album) leading some to believe that the list meant to list the more critically praised album "Up The Bracket" instead of "The Libertines."

The Libertines, like its 2002 predecessor, Up the Bracket, was re-released with a bonus DVD on November 22, 2004. The DVD, entitled Boys in the Band, is a collection of live shows, band interviews, and the "Can't Stand Me Now" promotional video.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Singles 3 Freedom Gig 4 Press quotes 5 In pop culture 6 Trivia 7 Chart performance 8 References

[edit] Track listing

1. "Can't Stand Me Now" (Peter Doherty, Carl Barât, Hammerton) – 3:23
2. "Last Post on the Bugle" (Doherty, Barât, Michael Bower) – 2:32
3. "Don't Be Shy" (Doherty, Barât) – 3:03
4. "The Man Who Would Be King" (Doherty, Barât) – 3:59
5. "Music When the Lights Go Out" (Doherty, Barât) – 3:02
6. "Narcissist" (Barât) – 2:10
7. "The Ha Ha Wall" (Doherty, Barât) – 2:29
8. "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Doherty) – 1:13
9. "Campaign of Hate" (Doherty) – 2:10
10. "What Katie Did" (Doherty) – 3:49
11. "Tomblands" (Doherty, Barât) – 2:06
12. "The Saga" (Doherty, Paul Roundhill) – 1:53
13. "Road to Ruin" (Doherty, Barât) – 4:21
14. "What Became of the Likely Lads" (Doherty, Barât) / "France" (Barât) (Hidden track) – 5:54

Japanese bonus tracks

15. "Don't Look Back into the Sun" (New Version) (Doherty, Barât)
16. "Cyclops" (Doherty, Peter Wolfe)
17. "Dilly Boys" (Doherty, Barât)

Japanese bonus DVD

1. "What a Waster" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
2. "Death on the Stairs" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
3. "Up the Bracket" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
4. "I Get Along" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
5. "The Boy Looked at Johnny" (Live at The Factory, Japan)
6. "The Boy Looked at Johnny" (Live at Moby Dick, Spain)
7. Busking for Beer + Assorted Covers and Song Segments (Live at Filthy McNasty's Pub, London)
8. "Can't Stand Me Now" (Video)
9. Photo Gallery
10. Extras (Footage of Band, Interviews and NME award footage)

As well as the songs listed above, there is a hidden track, titled "France", which starts at 3:28 of "What Became of the Likely Lads". A re-recording of an old Libertines song which originally appeared on one of their first demos, recorded at Odessa Studios, "France" was written and performed by Carl Barât. The final listed track is a nod to the British sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?.

[edit] Singles

• Can't Stand Me Now (9 August), (2004), (Rough Trade) #2
• What Became of the Likely Lads (25 October), (2004) (Rough Trade) #8

[edit] Freedom Gig

The album cover was taken by Roger Sargent during the emotional "Freedom Gig" at the Tap 'N' Tin, Chatham, Kent, on October 8, 2003, when Pete Doherty reunited with the Libertines for a gig just hours after being released from jail. [2]

[edit] Press quotes

• "This record, produced by The Clash's Mick Jones, is brimming with character, easily surpassing their debut." and "...its energy ] like a battery charge..." – 'Q magazine (official site)
• "Forget the drugs, the bad vibes, the estrangements—The Libertines' second album is a masterpiece of life-changing rock 'n' roll." and "...an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime album..." – New Musical Express (official site)
• "...with this album you get an excitable sense that you're hearing the beginnings of a good band becoming a great band..." – King magazine (official site)
• "...Nice demos lads, when will the album be ready?..." – Planet Sound August 2004
• "...an explosion of dizzy pop and punk fury..." – The Guardian August 2004 [3]
• "...An extraordinary record..." Mojo Sep 2004, p.94

[edit] In pop culture

• The band Half Man Half Biscuit recorded a song called "Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo" about the picture on the cover of this album. It appears on their 2005 album Achtung Bono.
• The song "Arbeit Macht Frei" was featured in the dystopian 2006 film "Children of Men".

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The song "Arbeit Macht Frei" takes its title from the phrase placed above the entrances to Nazi concentration camps.
• The song titled, The Saga was inspired by a letter sent to Pete Doherty by his associate Paul Roundhill, warning him of his growing drug problem. The share with Roundhill of the writing credits marked the first time that Doherty and Barat had not shared the writing credits equally and alone.
• Parts of the song "Last Post on The Bugle" bear a striking resemblance to the 60s song "War or Hands of Time" by The Masters Apprentices.
• Doherty and Barat apparently came to blows while recording the track "Music When the Lights Go Out", reportedly the only time they did so during the recording process, despite several near misses, and the underlying tension between the two frontmen.

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (2004)	Peak position[1]
UK Albums Chart	1
Austrian Albums Chart	31
Belgian Albums Chart	24
Dutch Albums Chart	53
French Albums Chart	27
German Albums Chart	20
Irish Albums Chart	5
Norwegian Albums Chart	34
Swedish Albums Chart	18
Swiss Albums Chart	51
United World Chart	14

[edit] References

v • d • e The Libertines Carl Barât · Peter Doherty · John Hassall · Gary Powell Anthony Rossomando · Johnny Borrell · Paul Dufour · Steve Bedlow Studio albums Up the Bracket · The Libertines Extended plays I Get Along EP · Don't Look Back into the Sun/Death on the Stairs EP · What Became of the Likely Lads EP Singles "What a Waster" · "Up the Bracket" · "Time for Heroes" · "Don't Look Back into the Sun" · "Can't Stand Me Now" · "What Became of the Likely Lads" Compilations Time for Heroes - The Best of The Libertines DVDs Boys in the Band · Who the Hell Is Pete Doherty? Related articles Discography · Babyshambles · Dirty Pretty Things · Yeti · The Libertines Bound Together · Bootlegs