The Ordinary Boys - How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps (B-Unique)
UK release date: 23 October 2006
track listing
1. Introducing The Brand
2. Lonely At The Top
3. Great Big Rip Off
4. Club Chez Moi
5. I Luv U
6. Nine2five
7. Commercial Breakdown
8. Ballad Of An Unrequited Self-Love Affair
9. The Higher The Highs
10. Shut Your Mouth
11. We've Got The Best Job Ever
12. Walking On The Faultlines (The Ultimate Step)
13. Thank You And Goodnight
14. Who's That Boy?
15. Boys Will Be Boys
Step one: "You gotta be in it to win it". It's this
approach that's got Samuel Preston and his gang
of four further up the musical ladder than they might
have expected - a sad reflection of a
celebrity-obsessed climate for sure, but full marks to
him for playing the game and coming out on top without
losing credibility - yet.
Lonely At The Top, with the step one catchphrase,
is an appropriate place to start. It's not Preston
having a celebrity tantrum, more a catchy,
observational pop song with a memorable hook. As is
Nine2five, a similar blueprint with its breezy
acceptance of hard work boosted by Lady
Sovereign's cameo.
Preston's lyrics on this album make the point of
musing on how his life has changed over the past year,
but at no point does he lapse into self pity. We've
Got The Best Job Ever refutes that emphatically, and
while Preston's throat aches and ears are ringing,
he's quick to say he's sure he doesn't deserve his
lot.
Crucially, the songs and their lyrics are good
enough to justify the hype. The singles are the
obvious start points, but punchy songs like The Great
Big Rip Off, a pertinent set of observations on
today's society trends, quickly win the listener over.
Dance With Me Tonight, with raucous sax and giddy
bluster, is a great going out song.
It's easy to imagine Preston serenading Chantelle
with I Luv You, but it's far from soppy - a touch of
music hall and Phil Spector reverberation (he
gets a name check too) but it's nicely done, slightly
whimsical in turn.
There's a strong sense of Englishness about The
Ordinary Boys, manifested in their influences. But
Preston's voice makes all the difference - well spoken
but with a rounded lilt.
We shouldn't forget the other three Boys of course,
and though it sounds like stating the obvious,
William J Brown's guitar work is sharply
delivered, while James Gregory enjoys the odd
flirtation with a dubby bass line. Simon
Goldring, meanwhile, is the rhythmic lynchpin, the
spring in The Ordinary Boys' step.
The only spoiling factor is the record company's
inclusion of Boys Will Be Boys as a bonus track. It's a
dubious tactic at best - this album stands on its own two feet without that sort
of meddling, and confirms the boys as players in the
big league.
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