Product description DIRTY PRETTY THINGS Waterloo To Anywhere (2006 UK 12-track CD album - the debut album from Carl Barat Gary Powell [The Libertines] and co including the singles Bang Bang Youre Dead Deadwood & Wondering picture sleeve) .co.uk His former Libertines bandmate may grab all the headlines, but Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things seem to have grabbed all of the tunes on Waterloo To Anywhere. Like The Jam, The Clash and even The Kinks, the Dirty Pretty Things have an innate ability to take their basic guitar-bass-drums setup and make them sound unmistakeably English. Of course, frontman Barat's laconic London accent helps, but it's more than that. The music, with it's mixture of punk rock and ska, owes a large debt to the aforementioned Clash--and, like them, the Dirty Pretty Things also know how to write a catchy tune, as anyone who's heard the single "Bang Bang You're Dead" will attest. Moreover, the lyrics are as reflective of contemporary Britain as anything by The Streets (particularly "You F*cking Love It"). Best of all, like the best punk albums, Waterloo to Anywhere is short, sharp and possessed of a tangible urgency--the album's 12 songs clock in at just about 36 minutes. Considering the shambles that Barat's former colleague Pete Doherty has become, it's particularly encouraging to hear something as good as Dirty Pretty Things rise from the ashes of the Libertines. --Ted Kord P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review Carl Barat wastes no time in admonishing the ghosts of his past on Waterloo To Anywhere. On rampant opener "Deadwood" he scolds: "You got the world, boy / This all you make it? / You had the choice, lad / You wouldn't take it". But if you get caught up digging for allusions to Pete Doherty, a fine debut album will pass you by."Bang Bang You're Dead" is a killer track - as good a single as the Libertines ever produced - while the band pack so much vitriol into the Hives-esque "You F***ing Love It", you can actually feel their pain as it ends.In stark contrast to the sense of impending collapse surrounding Babyshambles' debut Down In Albion, Waterloo... sounds remarkably tight. The jangling guitars and Dave Sardy's production provide a real sense of urgency.After the Libs split most believed Babyshambles would be blunt without Carl's axe, that DPT would be lost without Pete's lyricism and that neither could spawn another Up The Bracket. In hindsight, this is only two thirds correct. This album might not reach the heights of the Libertines debut but it's proof that Mr. Barat is getting along just fine, thank you very much. --Richard Banks Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off in a new window See more
W**M
GOOD LISTENING
GREAT ALBUM.
S**D
Five Stars
Grateful band great album thanks
W**A
Familiar sounds.
Well... sounds familiar.. but i like it
S**J
Superb
Superb album , can't fault it
R**E
Carl Barat is a very clever man...
This is a really, really good album, and it follows Babyshambles' debut by being basically how you'd expect the relevant Libertines to make music on his own.In Carl Barat's case, the songs are stomping, with the guitars loud, the rhythm of the words as fascinating as the melodies, and the words a little poeting, and quite a lot angry.The highlight without question is the brilliant single, Bang Bang You're Dead, with its infectious chorus and excellent lyric. Alongside that, though, are a number of songs which would comfortably have slotted in alongside most of the Libertines' work. My particular favourite is probably the opener, Deadwood, which breeds a lovely sense of excitement and sets the tone as Barat flexes his songwriting skills. Alongside this, though, are a number of other songs which don't deliver to the same high standard - Doctors and Dealers, for instance.I suppose the question which I asked myself after I'd bought this album, and which many of you will be asking yourselves is - is this like another Libertines album. And the answer is yes - although it lacks what Doherty added to the band, the element of weird and wonderful. And it lacks what the Libertines as a group brought, which is an originality and instantaneous infectiousness. This is a very good album, but you will need to listen to it for a bit first.
D**H
good album
Good album but not one I would 'scream and shout' about... By that I mean it is no libertines album (hense the 'boys in the band' reference).
J**S
Five Stars
Carl Barat's such a talentuous guitar player and such a sensitive writer. You must have this album at home.
C**N
Damn fine
Given that I disliked The Libertines as shambolic idiocy that rode on the coat tails of Doherty's drug abuse, I was amazed when I heard this. Yeah, it punches all the right 'Englishness' buttons, but the urgency of the performances is compulsive. I have a particular destestation for people who claim that a band sounds 'too commercial'. These people equate raggedy-assed, half-baked songs ie.The Libertines, with passion or truth. They don't want their bands to be a success or widen their fan base, they want them pinned and mounted in amber as their personal little treasure. This album is a hundred times better than any of Barat's previous incarnation, which would suggest a certain 'tortured genius' was more of a dead weight than others might be willing to admit.Oh, and since nobody seems to have mentioned it, 'Enemy' is bloody fantastic.
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