Milestones # 3: James – Laid
As my stay in the Hotel Toadifornia draws to a close, I’m leaving you with something very special indeed.
It really was a shame that James found themselves lumped in with the silliness of the ‘Madchester’ scene of the early 1990s. Okay, so they released a couple of crowd-pleasing little pop songs such as Sit Down and Come Home, but there was always so much more to the band than that.
I used the word ‘masterpiece’ in the Swagger review, and even as I typed it I wondered what word I was going to use today to describe Laid.
I can’t think of anything better.
James have recorded a lot of good music in their career, but they haven’t released another album that approaches Laid in terms of consistency, craftsmanship or creativity; and a great deal of the credit for that has to go to Brian Eno for his exquisite production of the record.
The album was largely recorded late at night in candle-lit studios, and that’s exactly how it sounds. There’s an enveloping darkness to the sound of this record; and a quiet, eerie stillness at it’s core.
That’s not to say these songs aren’t dynamic, they very much are; but they don’t achieve their power through mere volume, but instead by paying close attention to minute details in the arrangements. Most of what we hear is acoustic; guitar, fiddle, percussion. There are some clean electric guitars, and even the odd synthesiser flourish, but the instruments are blended and layered so that the overall effect is organic, artisan and quite haunting.
To see what I mean listen to the interplay between the fiddle and slide guitar on Five-O as they entwine and swirl around each other. It’s actually incredibly complex as each instrument takes its turn in the foreground, and the result is quite hypnotic.
Which brings us to the songs I’ve chosen. Each one is subdued at the beginning, but builds incrementally to a thrilling climax. Without getting too academic, the intricasy of each arrangement is highlighted by a particular moment in each song as the arrangements build. (Here’s where the trainspotting starts!) At 2:32 in Out To Get You, listen for the faint ‘ting’ of a small bell, possibly a triangle, that signals the swell to the final choruses, it’s barely auidible, but it heralds the lift that’s about to happen in the song. There’s a chord change at 2:01 in Dream Thrum that instills an already dark and brooding song with a palpable sense of menace; and, on One Of The Three listen for the tambourine on each downbeat from 2:33 that drives the song towards its conclusion.
You get the picture. This is a record that means a lot to me, I’ve listened to it more than once or twice over the past fifteen years. However, despite all that wonderful detail in the arrangement, it’s the mood and emotion of these songs that still gets to me. There’s a contradiction to this record that’s irresistible, the album is by turns dark, chilling and ethereal; but then it’s warm and reassuring. Maybe there’s something primal and universal in the themes of longing and loneliness that are reflected in both the music and the lyrics.
Or maybe it’s just a fucking excellent album.
James – Dream Thrum
James – Out To Get You
James – One Of The Three
James – Five-O
Fucking excellent album. Start to finish brilliant.
I agree that this record is subdued (with the exception of Liad and Somtimes) and has a tension to it that gives it depth and character. Five-O is also a brilliant track for its use of harmonies on the vocals. what suprised me was how well it translated live. I would have thought it would be harde but the band managed to harness the intimacy and apply it to the stage.
Great Choice!!
Genius. I think this may have been the last of the great Brian Eno productions. I’m a particular fan of Skindiving.
Agreed. LAID would be on my desert island connection. It is inexhaustibly brilliant — their finest hour, in my opinion; and a finest hour that any band should aspire to, but few will ever achieve. Whether it’s Eno, the studio food, their love lives, the weather — whatever that “something” is that makes things outside ideal for things inside, LAID has it. And we have it, too, now.
Stutter is the best James album – by far….
Rich
I agree that Laid is a great album but to fully appreciate it’s uniqueness you really have to listen to its companion cd, Wah Wah. These two albums were recorded at the same time using two studios. Wah Wah is the unedited improvisations that lead to the songs that ended up on Laid.
Wah Wah highlights the true brilliance of the James/Brian Eno pairing. Listening to these sessions and knowing that these songs are totally improvised humbles you.
Well I think I might just disagree here. I heard the exact same thing, SheilaW, and bought Wah Wah on the strength of it, but I just wasn’t that impressed. It seemed a mile away from the tight, direct pop of Laid, as far as I could tell.
I kind of fall between you guys regarding Wah Wah.. Listening to it is fascinating in an academic way – as Sheila says it really is incredibly impressive that most* of these tracks were being born as we hear them
(*Pressure’s On and Tomorrow had been written and rehearsed before recording.)
However, you don’t get the same emotional reward from Wah Wah that Laid offers.
It’s also interesting how such a complex record generates different responses in people. I wouldn’t dream of referring to it as ‘pop’. I think the ambition, maturity, ingenuity, accomplishment and undeniable beauty of Laid elevates beyond mere pop.
Rich, I spent two days composing that article, and fifteen years before that being blown away on a regular basis by Laid.
If you’ve got a coherent argument to explain why Stutter‘s better, let’s hear it. If not, fuck off. Don’t drift through here with half a sentence and expect not to get shot down. Are you pissed? Stutter‘s certainly an intriguing album and a fine debut. It has a couple of my favourite James songs aboard, but it’s not better than Laid by any measurement. And even if we’re talking personal preferences and not sensible arguments, I prefer Strip-Mine to Stutter anyway.
I called it pop in the sense that everything is pop to some degree. I wasn’t trying to pigeonhole or denigrate the album, which is a masterpiece.
Stutter is very good though. And that Rich seems like a nice chap – he is actually a semi-frequent commenter here Dylan, so be nice to the chap. Not that he presented much of an argument of course!
I’m loving Stutter right now, having just picked up a new copy after having lost my old one. It’s so different from Laid, with such a naivete and youthful exuberance to it, that I just don’t really find much basis for comparison. Laid is without question a more mature, more complex record, but does that make it better? It’s sort of like comparing Rubber Soul to Abbey Road and asking which is better. Who cares? I’m just glad to have a chance to enjoy them both.
I did say if anyone slagged off Laid I was going to go round and punch them in the eye.
Oh, hang on, I thought about saying it.
Either way, if anyone genuinely believes Stutter is a superior work to Laid; fair enough, let’s hear your argument.
If, on the other hand, you simply happen to like it better, then that’s a matter of personal taste, but make sure that’s what you say.
Stutter is better because it’s exactly 39 minutes and 51 seconds long. I mean, Laid is good, but I think we can all agree that it’s not 39:51. Damn! 39:51! That’s off the hook! (snigger).
Stutter is vastly better, it’s just obvious.