Search - Charlatans UK :: Songs From the Other Side

Great CD For Fans

A. Klimas | Manahawkin, NJ | 08/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big supporter of the B-Side. In my opinion B-Sides tell the true story of a bands talent. Groups such as The Verve, Suede, Oasis, and The Cure have pacticed the art of the B-Side to perfection, as a matter of fact all of them have released B-Side albums and The Cure has recently released a 4 cd box set comprised entirely of B-Sides. the B-Side is the little heard song accompanied with the hit song on a single, they are usually unavailable on albums and, almost always, fan favorites. Given all of this The Charlatans B-Side album is bound to be just that, a fan favorite, however, I do have to make a few minor complaints.

"Songs From The Other Side" include some of The Charlatans best and most experimental work (not counting Between 10th and 11th). "Imperial 109" and "Happen To Die" highlight this set as songs we wish were included on "Some Friendly". The one gripe that i do have is the lack of some of the harder to find songs. Anyone that owns "Telling Stories" should already have the songs "Title Fight" and "Two Of Us" and the remix of "Feel Flows" just drags. Where is "Out" and "Withdrawn" from the "Can't Get Out Of Bed" single, "Way Up There" from "Over Rising" and, the fantastic "Normality Swing" from the "Tremelo Song" single. Also sorely missed are the single only A-Sides "Indian Rope" and "Me. In Time". Other than these slight oversights I feel that, overall, this collection is an accurate representation of a very good band that knows how to treat their fans.

High Points - "Happen To Die" - "Imperial 109" - "Stir It Up"

Low Points - "Feel Flows" - "Title Fight""

The real Charlatans

liang | Buenos Aires | 07/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i've been a fan of Charlies since i heard Us and Us only. and i collected all other ones,too. i consider the band the third best in its genre(just after Verve and Stone Roses,here i wanna point out that Stone Roses is such a huge fuent of influence that NO british band after them could escape their gravitation--at least up to date.but Charlatans has got their own points,obviously. i hate to ignore somebody's talent just because he takes some must-have influence)however,i've never purchased any single from them.
i think their best album to date is the last one: Wonderland. how this band can take the music stream and change itself(always in the best way,of course)is really out of my mind, and in every album i can see clearly what's the new point. actually i think a compilation just will not surprise me. but this album tells me that i could not be more wrong. why? because: the songs are from the other side(just as the titel suggests)!
yes, Charlies write pop-accesible tunes in Asides and what they do in the other side?i think here we may have the answer why they can change in every new album: because they experiment to the limit in their Bsides-writing. don't believe me? just have a little listening,and you will find that the bsides of an album will predicate the direction of the next one.
But the enjoyment of this compilation is not concentrated in that you can identify theri music traditon,but in that you can meet a Charlatans free of comercial presure and really have the talent and will to make really good alternative sounds!(intros are longer and jams are rarer,beats are cooler and grooves are dirtier...) i can't help myself to push repeat botton at least 20 times in the FIRST time of listening of the album. actually now i find out that generally the bsides songs are better than their asides mates, if the band is of Northen-Soul style. so, if you've never heard Verve's bsides, you may not have heard their best arts.
Just great album. thanx of what i know a lot more about Charlatans, can we call this the REAL Charlatans?
PS:just one disapointment: the remix of Feel Flows is not that great as i waited, but this could be compensated easily by the Chemical's remix art."

Phenomenal B-Sides Collection

Sakos | United States | 07/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a b-sides collection from the Charlatans spanning the years 1990-1997, and these songs are A-side quality, folks. In fact, it's a wonder some of these didn't make it onto albums at all. Staggering is the word to describe the best songs: Imperial 109, Subterranean, Back Room Window, the awesome Green Flashing Eyes, Two of Us, the phenomenal Title Fight, and the album closer and unbelievable Clean Up Kid. The rest of the album is of similar high quality, although I don't particularly care for the two remixes. If you're a fan of the Charlatans or just want to discover some new excellent modern British rock music, I would recommend getting this album along with all of the Charlatans stuff. Top notch."