musicomh.com
album reviews
The Ordinary Boys - How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps (B-Unique)
UK release date: 23 October 2006
3 stars
The Ordinary Boys - How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps

buy this title


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

buy music
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.


  share with:  Facebook | Digg | other sites




ALBUM REVIEWS A-Z
A B C D E F G
H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z #
BUY CD ALBUMS
BUY MERCHANDISE
BUY GIG TICKETS
TOP ARTICLES NOW
RELATED ARTICLES
ALBUM:
The Ordinary Boys - How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted in Ten Easy Steps

ALBUM:
The Ordinary Boys - Brassbound

ALBUM:
The Ordinary Boys - Over The Counter Culture

GIG:
The Ordinary Boys @ Hammersmith Palais, London

GIG:
The Ordinary Boys @ Islington Academy, London

GIG:
The Ordinary Boys @ Brixton Academy, London

VIDEO:
The Ordinary Boys - Boys Will Be Boys

VIDEO:
The Ordinary Boys - Life Will Be The Death Of Me

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - I Luv U

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - Lonely At The Top

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - Life Will Be The Death Of Me

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - Boys Will Be Boys

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - Seaside

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - Week In Week Out

TRACK:
The Ordinary Boys - Maybe Someday

EXTERNAL LINKS
The Ordinary Boys



  more album reviews...


about us | staff | copyright | write to us | mailing list | home page

© 1996-2008 OMH. all rights reserved