Some Friendly

Some Friendly
Studio album by The Charlatans
Released 8 October 1990
Recorded 1990 at The Windings in Wrexham, Wales
Genre Alternative rock, Madchester
Length 47:54
Label Dead Dead Good Records, Situation Two, Beggars Banquet Records
Producer Chris Nagle
The Charlatans chronology

Some Friendly
(1990)		 Between 10th and 11th
(1992)
Singles from Some Friendly
  1. "The Only One I Know"
    Released: 14 May 1990
  2. "Then"
    Released: 10 September 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Robert Christgau (C)[2]
Entertainment Weekly B+[3]

Some Friendly is the debut album by the British alternative rock band The Charlatans, released in 1990 (see 1990 in music).

Recorded at The Windings near Wrexham, Wales in 1990, the sessions proved somewhat fraught - the band fell out with the owners of the studio; "it was one of those studio bust-ups ... Rob and Martin were up to their old tricks, smashing stuff up and that" said singer Tim Burgess later.

However, lack of songs proved to be the major problem. Having been together for less than a year, the band hadn't had the opportunity to stockpile songs. The album suffered as a result, featuring a few tracks that "had to go on there just to make up the numbers" (Burgess again).

The band also felt that some songs (especially "White Shirt" and "Polar Bear") were overproduced, with the bass being lost in the mix and that the whole album sounded rather 'thin'.

Both "The Only One I Know" and "Then" provided the Charlatans with hit singles, peaking at #9 and #12 respectively in the pop charts. In the UK the record went straight in at #1 in the album charts.

Track listing

1990 Original edition

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "You're Not Very Well"  Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins 3:31
2. "White Shirt"  Blunt, Burgess, Collins 3:25
3. "The Only One I Know" (Not included on original LP versions)Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins 3:58
4. "Opportunity"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess 6:41
5. "Then"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 4:11
6. "109 Pt.2"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 3:18
7. "Polar Bear"  Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 4:56
8. "Believe You Me"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 3:41
9. "Flower"  Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins 5:27
10. "Sonic"  Brookes, Burgess, Collins 3:32
11. "Sproston Green"  Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins 5:08

The original vinyl release of Some Friendly did not include "The Only One I Know", as it was the band's wish to take only one single from each album.

2010 Deluxe edition

A 2CD Remastered Deluxe Edition of the album was released on 17 May 2010. The tracklisting for this release included a remastered version of the original album as well as a disc of outtakes, radio sessions and B-sides.

All songs written and composed by Baker, Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins; except where noted. 

CD one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "You're Not Very Well"    3:31
2. "White Shirt"  Blunt, Burgess, Collins 3:25
3. "Opportunity"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess 6:41
4. "Then"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 4:11
5. "109 Pt.2"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 3:18
6. "Polar Bear"    4:56
7. "Believe You Me"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, Collins 3:41
8. "Flower"  Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins 5:27
9. "Sonic"  Brookes, Burgess, Collins 3:32
10. "Sproston Green"  Baker, Blunt, Burgess, Collins 5:08
CD two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "The Only One I Know"     
2. "Imperial 109"     
3. "Everything Changed"     
4. "Then (Peel Session)"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins  
5. "Always In Mind (Peel Session)"     
6. "You Can Talk To Me (Peel Session)"     
7. "Polar Bear (Peel Session)"     
8. "Some Friendly (Mark Goodier Session)"     
9. "Indian Rope (Mark Goodier Session)"     
10. "The Only One I Know (Mark Goodier Session)"     
11. "White Shirt (Mark Goodier Session)"  Blunt, Burgess, R. Collins  
12. "Then (Alternate Take)"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins  
13. "Taurus Moaner"     
14. "Polar Bear (12" Mix)"     
15. "Over Rising"     
16. "Way Up There"     
17. "Happen to Die"     
18. "Opportunity Three"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess  

Tracks 1-3 on the bonus disc were originally released on the single The Only One I Know; Tracks 11-12 appeared on the single Then; Tracks 15, 16, 18 and a shorter version of Track 17 appeared on the EP Over Rising. "Opportunity Three" is a remix of "Opportunity" from the original album. "Some Friendly" is an early version of "You're Not Very Well".

CD two - Digital download
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "The Only One I Know"     
2. "Imperial 109"     
3. "Everything Changed"     
4. "Then (Alternate Take)"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins  
5. "Taurus Moaner"     
6. "Polar Bear (12" Mix)"     
7. "Over Rising"     
8. "Way Up There"     
9. "Happen to Die"     
10. "Opportunity Three"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess  
11. "The Only One I Know (12" mix)"     
12. "Then (7" mix)"  Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, R. Collins  
13. "Taurus Moaner (Instrumental)"     
14. "Sproston Green (Instrumental)"  Baker, Blunt, Burgess, R. Collins  

For contractual reasons, the digital release of this reissue omits the BBC session recordings: however, it adds four additional versions which were omitted from the CD at the band's request:[4]

Personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Peak Position
1990 The Billboard 200 (U.S.) 73 [5]
UK Album Charts 1 [6]

Single

Year Single Chart Peak Position
1990 "The Only One I Know" UK Singles Chart 9 [6]
"Then" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 4 [5]
UK Singles Chart 12 [6]
"The Only One I Know" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 5 [5]
1991 "Sproston Green" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 25 [5]
"White Shirt" Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 18 [5]
"The Only One I Know" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 37 [5]

Certifications

Organization Level Date
BPI – UK Gold 11 October 1990 BPI[7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  4. ↑ http://archive.beggars.com/articles/84/the-charlatans-some-friendly-to-be-re-issued#comment
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "allmusic". Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  7. ↑ "BPI Certified Awards". Retrieved 2008-05-22.

http://www.reaxmusic.com/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=75260

External links

Preceded by
In Concert by The Three Tenors		 UK number one album
20 October 1990 – 26 October 1990 		Succeeded by
The Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon