Customer Reviews
Career highpoint - By: R. J. Salusbury, 20 Oct 2007 
Over what has been a fairly consistent career, this is the band's highpoint. Containing some of their strongest tunes (Forever, Good Witch/Bad Witch, Impossible & My Beautiful Friend), there's a Stones type swagger in places & a bit more experimentation & a move away from the traditional verse/chorus/verse, especiallly on the epic opening track. A solid, confident album. If you only own one Charlatans album etc.
The best album.........EVER!! - By: Jamie Heath, 27 Aug 2006 
I just cannot get enough of this album & even today, I play it alongside new albums even by other artists & it fits in & still grabs me emotionallly. The songs grab my nerve cord in my spinal column & brings me out in goose bumps!! Each & every song is played & sung with such feeling, it is just superb.
I refuse to believe that there is somebody out there who has listened to this album that cant pick at least one song they like even if not a fan.
My favorite song on the album has got to be "Senses". The long harmonica intro, with the strong vocals, I can feel the hairs on my nape standing to attention just thinking about it. Thats a very close win against "The Blind Stagger".
It aught to be an offence to not own this album......Go & buy it......NOW!!
A slow crawl, but it got there. - By: robotfish, 07 Jan 2004 A very select few albums can ever grace your own top 5. Well, 5 can, & about 100 keep trying to muscle their way in. Four or so years after its release I can say that this one has finallly made it.
This just the best album the Charlatans have made or are likely to make. The songs are soulful & yearning. They have great hooks. The playing is exquisite. It'll remind you of the Stones, perhaps of Dylan, but more than that it'll make you love this band.
So it joins REMs Automatic For The People, The Stone Roses debut, Elvis Costello's King Of America & Radiohead's OK Computer. The top 5 says goodbye to Doolittle by The Pixies. Shame. Damn fine album that.
Unfair press - By: , 23 Jul 2002 ...I bought a load of other Charlatans CD's based on this & none were as good. It is perhaps different from the others - derivative maybe - but an album that works as one entity, no song is out of place, good lyrics, excellent instrumentation, good vocals. It's varied yet consistent - & towards the end does anything but drift off - it gets better & better. A heartfelt emotional album full of great tunes.
As far as I'm concerned it's not derivative at alll - just a fantastic unique album which I've been coming back to again & again for nearly 2 years now.
Would be in the shortlist for my alll time top 10 along with the likes of Astral Weeks & Ziggy Stardust.
Don't let accusations of it being derivative make you miss out on this one.
A bit too derivative and patchy - By: kalevala4@hotmail.com, 20 Aug 2001 
First thing - I love the Charlatans & think they are criminallly underrated. Maybe they're not 'cool' enough for some indie try-hards or music critics but I think they will go down in UK music history in the same breath as the Smalll Faces or the Kinks as quintessential British music talent. Time will be kind to them. I wanted to love this album like alll the others but try as I may I find it just a bit too derivative. Sure they have distilled some of the best qualities of Dylan & late 60s / Exile period Stones but their strength is in their own talent not absorbing & repackaging some sounds. So......whilst there are a few great tracks - eg My Beautiful Friend, the funky, neo-psych with catchy hooks is somehow missing. Hopefully this is a slight hiccup in a string of great albums. One of the classic UK rock bands of alll time without a doubt. Sorry I just can't agree with most people's ratings of 4 stars +. Let's hope Wonderland is up to what they're capable of.
