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The band are due in studio later this month, cutting a number of tracks I believe. Whether there are sufficient to warrant an album release in any format I don't know, or whether they will limit to adding to live set or just decide nothing is right for promotion/release I also wouldn't know, but confirm writing has happened, rough mixes worked on and studio booked, and that band are happy for that to be shared.
So as this doesn't get lost in the bad news of cancellations/postponements, some good news!
Hi Suss, how you doing ?,thats great news, lets hope as time has been taken that we hear a little more substance than the previous effort, mind you the news has brightened up an otherwise inglorious spring morning.
No news as yet on any more UK gigs ? . I am guessing that there will be some if a new album is released ?
I really don't know if an album is the end game as per above but there's obviously the intent to move on from and add to the back catalogue which is indeed good news.
Would make sense to air or promote at least some live without upsetting equilibrium of the set but guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Would make sense to air or promote at least some live without upsetting equilibrium of the set but guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I guess as Murray Lightburn from The Dears put it the other night, it will be a punishment/relief set with every new song followed by an old favorite. Makes a change from "here's one from the new album..." cue queue at the bar.
Judging by the comments in general on the forum i think that most people would like something new in the set , maybe they could add a few newbys in the middle somewhere ? . Although i suspect that if the new stuff is not up to much it would be better to throw in a few other old classics . Cant stop watching / listening to lots of you tube rats stuff at the mo, so many good tunes !!!
Would make sense to air or promote at least some live without upsetting equilibrium of the set but guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I guess as Murray Lightburn from The Dears put it the other night, it will be a punishment/relief set with every new song followed by an old favorite. Makes a change from "here's one from the new album..." cue queue at the bar.
Not sure if anyone has heard this before but it's legendary. The Troggs (from Andover, Wilts) argue in the studio sometime back in the sixties. Always makes me laugh.Now I just imagine Geldof, Briquette, Crowe and Roberts doing something similar soon. Though I can't see Bob saying 'we've got to put a little fairydust over the b***ard, y'know , make it a number one....' what p*** over the tapes?
This 'studio verite' was used to fantastic effect in Spinal Tap, but you can't beat the actual real sound of a band wondering how to make a single. The West Country accents probably make it a little more unintentionally comical though I love that accent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrXfK9Osmvs
-- Edited by noelindublin on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 01:33:46 PM
-- Edited by noelindublin on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 01:34:38 PM
I don't think anyone is expecting commercial success or a sudden explosion of Rats popularity, but who's to say there can't be any decent new stuff? Can only judge when heard, even if the EP didn't inspire everyone. That was, as mentioned many times on here, put out pretty quickly. Who knows what 3-4 years combined efforts will yield?
I might have thrown towel in after V Deep, as a fan, or even Mondo Bongo, but last album showed some of the old magic still possible. I'm reserving judgment before condemning anything new.
Agree with Suss. Let's not race to judgement. That said, I agree with Ron that some of the stage antics are becoming absurd and need dropping/replacing. Fed up of that damask suit (looks like my mother's quilt cover) and the story behind it. No more 'mega' and expletives and 'the Germans thought this number one (sic) was about them'. No more eponymous song titles like 'Boomtown means Boomtown' and the like.
More variety from the back catalogue. Songs from the first three albums have been done to death now. It's getting boring. Some decent new songs. Reduce the pause in Mondays.
Its great the reunion ever came about and even better it's lasted so long. But familiarity breeds contempt.
Keeping it fresh will be key in the next year or two.
I might have thrown towel in after V Deep, as a fan, or even Mondo Bongo, but last album showed some of the old magic still possible. I'm reserving judgment before condemning anything new.
A bit harsh! Whilst neither Mondo nor V Deep are great albums they do have some great songs. House on Fire, Guilty and Banana Republic all top 30 hits, and plenty of other gems like Go Man Go, Fall Down and He Watches It All. I reckon there was one great album there with the best tracks off both. Had it been me I would never have split up the band and just kept recording and touring regardless. They would have been big enough to do that to the end of the 20th century.
Geldof at his best both with the Rats and solo has come about when the albums had a coherent sound. The first two Rats albums, the last, Vegetarians and Sex Age & Death were less eclectic and the better for it. If there are new Rats recordings then they should have a common theme which given previous comments would akin to something like Systematic Six Pack. I doubt they will get an outsider in, but The Pretenders getting in Dan Auerbach of Black Keys fame did them no harm. Alone with its "classic R&B, Spector-ized 60s pop and mid-century blues with a dash of the dance-y modernity" doesn't seem to ba a million miles away from what I would expect a 21st Century Rats to be making.
Agree with Suss. Let's not race to judgement. That said, I agree with Ron that some of the stage antics are becoming absurd and need dropping/replacing. Fed up of that damask suit (looks like my mother's quilt cover) and the story behind it. No more 'mega' and expletives and 'the Germans thought this number one (sic) was about them'. No more eponymous song titles like 'Boomtown means Boomtown' and the like.
More variety from the back catalogue. Songs from the first three albums have been done to death now. It's getting boring. Some decent new songs. Reduce the pause in Mondays.
Its great the reunion ever came about and even better it's lasted so long. But familiarity breeds contempt.
Keeping it fresh will be key in the next year or two.
I agree, stage show is well past sell by date. Maida Vale was all the better for having none of the usual antics. Rat and Boomtown should be banned from lyrics going forward unless they so a Rat Trap 2017. Would need a total rewrite with no ToTP, no 50p, no gasworks, no meat factories... How old would Judy and Billy be now? Probably ot a good idea though as Geldof has already made a fcuked up sequel to Waterloo Sunsetwith Love Like a Rocket.
More variety, yes, but I think there is still plenty of early material that could be dusted off to play in amongst the hits. Kicks, Howard Hughes, Living in an Island, Don't Believe What You Read, Blind Date et al haven't featured too much and I'd personally rather Joey be brought back ahead of much of the current set. I suspect the first nine singles are non-negotiable (though Diamond Smileswould not be in my set list), but there is more 1970s Rats that could be played.
I guess it will be fresh this summer cos they are only playing one date in mainland Britain! (so far - but read nowt into that as I know fcuk all)
A bit harsh! Whilst neither Mondo nor V Deep are great albums they do have some great songs. House on Fire, Guilty and Banana Republic all top 30 hits, and plenty of other gems like Go Man Go, Fall Down and He Watches It All. I reckon there was one great album there with the best tracks off both.
I agree, but point was after the heady heights the quality was perceived to be dipping so not buying ITLG would have been understandable. Whilst latter not in league of first 2 it was a more consistent offering. Great point you make about the coherence appeal.
I also completely agree that mixing up set a little more in recent times would have been refreshing, but so could some new stuff IF it hits the mark. We just don't know yet so on a charge of mediocrity I'm sticking with innocent til proven guilty.
Not many bought V Deep. And I suspect Mondo Bongo sold more in the first week it was released than it did afterwards.
I think it is a shame when bands stop making records and touring. On the last Rats tour in the 1980s they were selling out venues like The Dominion even if they weren't selling that many records. Post Band/Live Aid I reckon they could have cariied on a bit further into the 20th century, though of course there was the danger it would have been them making Deep in the Heart of Nowhere...
Anyone telling me In The Long Grass is better than Mondo Or V1 is surely talking plop,for me and I know it's only my choice but it's the worst album they did,if they go back to that with a new album God help us,I love these guys but Geldof needs to change it up on gigs it's being lazy,it's only the diehard that will keep coming back and for how long?
Anyway I'm off to listen to some Spandau Ballet lol
I agree with you Derek i love itlg fab album I don't think they really made any bad albums (ive heard some stinkers from other groups over the years) hope they do,record something even just a couple of new tracks would be great
So strange, pardon the pun , i have to agree with Ron the cabbie, the early stuff great but ITLG i cannot stand, gutted when they bought this album out and knew there and then that it was the end of the Rats as we know em, or so i thought.
Lets just be happy they are back , yes for sure the gigs are repetitive , but would rather have that than the ****e that is out there at the moment.
Wretched album cover and I have little time for Lucky or A Hold of Me but everything else on ITLG is pretty decent. I actually think Dave, Drag me Down and Another Sad Story are as good as anything from 77 to 81 aside from the chart toppers. Funny how we all perceive things a little differently. There was a brief moment in May 84 when DMD had leapt from 81 to 56, when I thought this is it, the second coming of the Rats was underway and unstoppable!
It had every chance with TV performances galore, buying sprees (!) and decent radio play. But the ship of cool and credibility had sailed and they were a couple of weeks later, it seemed to me, amid desperate seas. And Peter had told Pat not to come up (and put their records) on deck.
I can't think of many bands/acts who had a proper second coming. Sladeand The Damnedcome to mind, but otherwise bands generally rise, peak and fade away. Of all the Punk/New Wave acts I believe only The Stranglers and The Clash had top 20 singles in the 70s, 80s and 90s, though in the case of The Clash that was down to re-releases rather than new material. The Stranglers were doing covers to get hits.
Wretched album cover and I have little time for Lucky or A Hold of Me but everything else on ITLG is pretty decent.
I quite like the cover. I like the album as it sounds more back to basics without the over production of The Fine Art of Surfacing. Dave and Drag Me Down are great songs that would/should have stood alongside the other top 30 hits, but the rest is all pretty good. That said avoid the pi$$ poor US remix. That is generally sh!te.
Bob should listen to fans and revamp the whole thing,the setlist they keep and kept playing you would have thought they released 3 albums,hardly anything gets played fr the last 3,what exactly was the reason for the reunion was bob skint lol.
It's like others say music is a great devider I personally don't think they will go back into the studio other than to turn the light off,I would suggest throwing in a few covers some b/sides and tracks from the last 3 albums then perhaps I may go see em again.
Some rare rats vinyl went for a few quid on ebay recently wonder who bought it
I can't think of many bands/acts who had a proper second coming. Sladeand The Damnedcome to mind, but otherwise bands generally rise, peak and fade away. Of all the Punk/New Wave acts I believe only The Stranglers and The Clash had top 20 singles in the 70s, 80s and 90s, though in the case of The Clash that was down to re-releases rather than new material. The Stranglers were doing covers to get hits.
Not many at all. Though Blondie pulled off a 90s number 1 with Maria and a further top 30 hit from the album No Exit.
Wretched album cover and I have little time for Lucky or A Hold of Me but everything else on ITLG is pretty decent.
I quite like the cover. I like the album as it sounds more back to basics without the over production of The Fine Art of Surfacing. Dave and Drag Me Down are great songs that would/should have stood alongside the other top 30 hits, but the rest is all pretty good. That said avoid the pi$$ poor US remix. That is generally sh!te.
The group look washed out and dejected and as if there is no fight left in them. Part of the appeal for me was the 'local lads having a laugh' vibe intermingling with some dark themes and witty lyrics. The pyjamas had gone, to be replaced by raincoats, string vests and Garry's feet. Hardly a mid 80s look. Which is fine, why should they have sold out to a commercialised look and feel?
I can't think of many bands/acts who had a proper second coming. Sladeand The Damnedcome to mind, but otherwise bands generally rise, peak and fade away. Of all the Punk/New Wave acts I believe only The Stranglers and The Clash had top 20 singles in the 70s, 80s and 90s, though in the case of The Clash that was down to re-releases rather than new material. The Stranglers were doing covers to get hits.
Not many at all. Though Blondie pulled off a 90s number 1 with Maria and a further top 30 hit from the album No Exit.
A bit different as that was a reformation as Blondie ceased to exist in 1982 and reformed in 1997 just prior to Maria. But it is rare for a band to keep going through lean times and to come back strong. In the case of The Damned, they were bigger in the mid 1980s than they were in the late 1970s. Slade never quite returned to their early 1970s heyday, but they did have 3 top ten hits in the early 1980s. My Oh My was their 2nd biggest selling single (amazingly kept off #1 by The Flying Pickets) and they had their biggest US hits with that and Run Runaway. All went downhill for them after they released Do You Believe in Miracles? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_You_Believe_in_Miracles
All opinion as we know, but I think DMD is improved in the US mix. The other two tracks aren't.
I think the two US mixes (Drag Me Down and Lucky) are awful. I am a bit more forgiving of Rain as it was just replacing Dave and although it removed the whole point of the song it still sounds fine.
Imho in the long grass cover was quite cool they look genuine not like the others of the80s who are so up,themselves the rats look quite col now considering they've all aged in the last 30 years long live king rat ha ha ha
All opinion as we know, but I think DMD is improved in the US mix. The other two tracks aren't.
I think the two US mixes (Drag Me Down and Lucky) are awful. I am a bit more forgiving of Rain as it was just replacing Dave and although it removed the whole point of the song it still sounds fine.
That Dave was butchered into Rain is a travesty but it's the same backing track so it still sounds decent but it's ultimately daft when you know the intended lyrics.
I put the US vinyl version on to CD and Lucky US mix kept going round my head in the early days but having recently started playing the UK cd again, for comparison purposes, the UK version is better. The song is still weak compared to the company it keeps. Hard Times is brilliant and should have been a single in its own right.
Not sure.I'll be looking out for new songs on Saturday, and of course Belfast on Friday, though I won't be in Belfast.That may be an indication of their intentions.
Presumably the supposed new songs have already been written, possibly need tweaking and that may mean a live performance of them at the two gigs. It's just as likely the set will remain the same then Bob can rightly claim that nothing has changed (esp the Rats set and his suit and his worn out jokes and his Brexitdodging)
But I'm still going.
-- Edited by noelindublin on Wednesday 22nd of March 2017 01:08:15 PM
Pete says today on Facebook that the band are going into the studio on Monday.Geldof and Briquette and Pro Tools apparently in Pete's attic.Seems they have 15 songs to work with.
According to Geldof the new album has been recorded and will be called 'Mega'. That is what he told the Irish Sun, so presume he was telling the truth.
Well he's being using the word mega in relation to the Rats at gigs for a while now so the title seems apt and fitting.I kinda like it but equally it is open to ridicule by the doubters and if the album doesn't live up to expectation.
Reported asks Bob why album is called Mega? Bob: Can you think of any band over the last forty years that are 'as mega' (laughs).So with a title like that it better be good.
-- Edited by noelindublin on Monday 10th of April 2017 11:44:51 AM
-- Edited by noelindublin on Monday 10th of April 2017 12:08:56 PM
Could be interpreted as naff. Bit 1980's, Wham's new album is Fantastic etc.
Still, interesting to hear what it will be like. Is there a likely release date?
Haven't heard anything about release date yet Mark. Interestingly the album was recorded sometime between late March and 7 April as Geldof tells the reporter that the album was finished 'yesterday' ie day before the short Sun interview. I make that about two weeks, so it seems quite short. No idea if a big name producer was brought in either.I'd think not.
I suspect it will have a very big Pete influence as he was working on songs on Pro Tools .Geldof said in another interview that he was fascinated by Pro Tools as it allowed ideas to be formulated that would not have been possible in the old days and when bands in general could not get together .Andy Partridge of XTC has recorded brilliant sketches of songs on Pro Tools and then gets real people to play them with real instruments. It's down to the musical imagination of the artist to realise their vision, technology is just an aid but cannot replace talent and ideas.
Maybe the short turnaround time will mean a kind of Vegetarians of Love live takes album.I've no idea really. The album title is probably not the most imaginative but I prefer to let the songs to the talking.It's a bit like worring about the cover- it's not that important but after 33 years and the almost impossibilitly of the Rats ever recording again we should just be happy and wait to see what emerges.
As regards touring maybn autumn/winter might be on the cards?
its gone deadly quiet, anyone got any whispers about the new tracks/album/release date/tour ?
Absolutely no news.Even the latest Geldof interview does not mention new album.Interestingly Geldof talks about guitar music being dead and passe and almost irrelevant. Hardly fighing talk for his own sound.
Very much not my cup of tea but Bob seems to be into his grime particularly Stormzy and Giggs. Complaint rock or rap is hardly new-there is enough misery in the world without having to listen to rappers and 'grimers' telling us how bad they've got it and getting well paid in the process.
Absolutely no news.Even the latest Geldof interview does not mention new album.Interestingly Geldof talks about guitar music being dead and passe and almost irrelevant. Hardly fighing talk for his own sound.
Very much not my cup of tea but Bob seems to be into his grime particularly Stormzy and Giggs. Complaint rock or rap is hardly new-there is enough misery in the world without having to listen to rappers and 'grimers' telling us how bad they've got it and getting well paid in the process.
I get Geldof's point, but he seems to have a outdated mindset. All new music is irrelevant to a large degree. I don't know Stormzy or Giggs, who seems to have joined Keane, Fergie, The Neville Brothers and Franz Ferdinand in torturing many of us who like music by adopting Manc monikers, but that's the most damning thing isn't it? I don't know them. And I have a bit of an interest in music. If Stormzy was playing the local music festival I suspect neither I nor anyone else over 30 would have a clue who he was. 70,000 copies doesn't seem impressive to me. Maybe he is the artist of the moment, but in my opinion the moment is long far gone.
My kids mainly listen to Radiohead, Velvet Underground, Bowie and Joy Division rather than anything new. So proud of them
Maybe I should go and listen to Stormzy so I can give a proper opinion, but frankly I can't be ar$3D!! Can't even be ar$3D to listen to the new offerings from Royal Blood or Kasabian and I like them. I wonder if I will even listen to a new Rats album. Maybe once. On Spotify.
Thanks Noel/ Arrgee, its weird the frenzy for a short period and then total silence, yes must admit struggle to get in to much new stuff , fingers crossed that all is well and some positive news is released soon, was hoping for some smaller venues on the list. haven't seen them since Brentwood which i found really funny, Grannies swooning at Tony Hadley before getting the hump at having their dress sense ripped to pieces and swiftly leaving. to my way of thinking that was great cos it left a hardcore of Rats fans of which there were quite a few i might add.
Yes my kids are between 25 and 32 and sounds like they listen to similar stuff, they also listen to the Strokes a bit of Blondie, Ramones etc which is all good by me
... my kids are between 25 and 32 and sounds like they listen to similar stuff, they also listen to the Strokes a bit of Blondie, Ramones etc which is all good by me
