Alright (Supergrass song)
| "Alright / Time" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Supergrass | ||||
| from the album I Should Coco | ||||
| A-side | "Time" | |||
| B-side | "Condition" | |||
| Released | 3 July 1995 | |||
| Format | CD, 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded |
Sawmills Studio 1994 | |||
| Genre | Britpop, power pop | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Supergrass | |||
| Producer(s) | Sam Williams | |||
| Supergrass singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Alright" is a song by British alternative rock band Supergrass. It was released with "Time" as a double A-side single, from their début album I Should Coco on 3 July 1995.
Music and lyrics
"Alright" received a great deal of airplay in the United Kingdom. The "bona fide teen anthem",[1] with its upbeat lyrics and cheerful piano tune, seemed to epitomise British youth culture at the time, when Britpop was at its height. The band's youthful appearance (lead singer Gaz Coombes had only just turned 19 when it was released) added weight to the lyrics.
However, Coombes himself argued in an interview around October 1995, "it wasn't written as an anthem. It isn't supposed to be a rally cry for our generation. The stuff about 'We are young/We run green...' isn't about being 19, but really 13 or 14. and just discovering girls and drinking.
It's meant to be light hearted and a bit of a laugh, not at all a rebellious call to arms." with Danny Goffey also saying: "It certainly wasn't written in a very summery vibe. It was written in a cottage where the heating had packed up, and we were trying to build fires to keep warm."[2]
The second A-side "Time" is a slower, more blues-driven track, with the song even incorporating a harmonica solo. The B-side, "Condition", is a cover of "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Mickey Newbury and originally a hit for Kenny Rogers. "Je Suis Votre Papa Sucre" (I Am Your Sugar Daddy) is a short instrumental.
Reception
"Alright" was the fifth single to be released from I Should Coco. While "Caught by the Fuzz", "Mansize Rooster", "Lose It", and "Lenny" all charted (with "Lenny" even scraping the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart) and were warmly received by the critics, it was "Alright/Time" – the final release from the album – which proved to be their breakthrough single, largely due to the popularity of the song "Alright", which still receives airplay in the United Kingdom.
"Alright/Time" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart,[3][4] making it Supergrass' highest charting single to date, along with "Richard III". It remained in the Top 3 for one month. The song became a huge hit with school leavers within the United Kingdom that summer, leading to a huge demand for the track back in the United Kingdom.
"Alright" peaked at #96 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in October 1995.[5] In 1999, in an interview, Coombes joked "We don't play 'Alright' anymore. We should play it in a minor key, and in the past tense."[6]
Track listing
 |
"Alright"
24-second sample from Supergrass' "Alright". The song's opening verse. |
| Problems playing this file? See media help. | |
| CD | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Alright" | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Time" | 3:09 |
| 3. | "Condition" | 2:43 |
| 4. | "Je Suis Votre Papa Sucre" | 1:46 |
| 7" vinyl | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Alright" | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Time" | 3:09 |
Music video
The success of the record was helped by a lively promotional video directed by Dom and Nic, featuring the band joyfully messing around on bicycles and a bed on wheels at Portmeirion in North Wales. Having seen the video, Steven Spielberg approached the band and proposed that they work together on a television series in the style of The Monkees.[7]
The group turned him down,[7] preferring to work on their second album In It for the Money. Troy Carpenter, co-director of Nude as the News, claims "the gesture says a lot about the band's personality — one which has stuck with the group throughout its career — which is basically that of a fun-loving rock group whose undeniable musical talent is sometimes overshadowed by the sheer ebullience of its music."[8]
Covers and other versions
- In 1996, a parody music video was created for an episode of Spitting Image, featuring the puppets of The Labour Party, playing the members as young and fun loving.
- In 2007, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song with a few lyric changes, for their video game Alvin and the Chipmunks.
- In 2010, Travie McCoy sampled the song for his single "We'll Be Alright", from his first solo album Lazarus.[9]
- In 2011, the French band BB Brunes covered the song in the album Nico Teen Live.
References
- ↑ Review of I Should Coco from allmusic.com by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
- ↑ Maconie, Stuart (October 1995). "Hey! Hey! We're The Cheeky Monkeys!". Q.
- ↑ The Strange Ones Supergrass Site
- ↑ Supergrass biography : beginnings, career, success Archived 24 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ↑ 1999 interview with Johnathan Cohen from nudeasthenews.com
- 1 2 Everdell, Abby (2008-06-06). "Artist of the Day: Supergrass". Spin. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ↑ Bio of Supergrass at nudeasthenews.com
- ↑ "Music Video Premiere: Travie McCoy Says ‘We’ll Be Alright’ (Plus Poll)!". cbslocal.com. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2015-05-13.