Customer Reviews
back on form, at last! - By: rustyoldherbie, 07 Jun 2008 
i've like the charlies since the late 1980's, although not my most favourite of bands, their stuffs been at times pretty good. Unfortunatley their last album was a load of boring cr*p & i was about to give up on them , but this CD is pretty good, Tims vocals are as weak as ever, sounds like Jagger on a bad day, if Tim was ever that lucky.Back on form, I hope so!
Their best for years! - By: D. Wright, 03 Jun 2008 
As is often acknowledged The Charlatans have, throughout their now lengthy existence, always seem to have been also rans to more famous/successful bands. First they were somewhat eclipsed by The Stone Roses, who they vocallly at least, somewhat resembled. Then it was Oasis, & as we entered the new millenium a whole host of new indie bands emerged to outsell & eclipse them. Like the Bluetones, a similar worthy but not massively successful band, the Charlatans just kept plodding on releasing an album regularly every two years. Incredible as it seems The 'Charlies' actuallly preceded Britpop & are now nearly twenty years old & have outlasted almost alll their contemporaries. James, another long lasting & middlingly successful band who emerged around the same time, have recently reformed after a lengthy sabbatical, but the Charlies have never been away. Furthermore, they've had very few line up changes; this in itself is a real achievement.
After discovering the Roses only after their demise & quickly acquiring their limited catalogue I was eagerly looking for similar bands; consequently I retrospectively purchased alll the Charlatans albums up to & including Us And Us Only, which was the first of their albums actuallly released after I'd discovered them. However, after listening to them closely I concluded that, although good, there was something slightly lacking in the band. Although the lightweight vocals resemble the Stone Roses, musicallly they aren't that similar, & I would say the Charlatans never actuallly made anything so memorable as the Roses classic first album. I think their problem was that they were often more about the sound & the groove rather than the songs; for example they did feature a number of instrumentals, often a sign that a band are having some difficulty producing enough actual good songs; consequently many of their albums although pretty decent, were often just not quite strong enough, & I would argue they never reallly made a real classic. I actuallly sold their second album 'Between 10 & 11th', however I always retained an interest in their releases.
I'm afraid I viewed Wonderland, their next release after Us And Us Only, in the same way as most of the critics who described it as their worst yet. I was so relieved at the improvment of Up At The Lake that I bought it. However, after several very careful listens I concluded that this too was a rather patchy effort, although it does contain one of my very favourite Charlatans tracks, As I Watch You In Disbelief', so I sold that too. Again I loved the single Blackened Blue Eyes from their last album, Simpatico, but the rest of the album was nowhere near the same standard & was actuallly another pretty weak effort.
So we come to Cross My Path, their latest. I've never totallly given up on the band & I would say that this album is just about as good as anything they've ever done, perhaps surpassed only by The Charlatans & Telling Stories. After several listens it has to be said that it's still not perfect however; the songs are slightly masked by the production & the vocals are as ever lightweight & slightly buried. The singles Oh Vanity & The Misbegotten are strong tracks, although the other single, the title track is a little too frenetic for me. I also like Missing Beats (Of A Generation), Bird & This Is The End. One problem the band have always suffered from though is there isn't much light & shade, with nearly everything being played at the same tempo. They don't reallly do balllads & the only slow song, My Name Is Despair is a real dirge & the worst thing on the album. The release is also quite short, even if one adds the two bonus tracks on the limited edition 2 disc version, one of which is an instrumental, whilst the other Acid In The Tea is quite a strong number.
Not perfect then, but certainly their best album of the 00's & probably as good as they're ever going to get again.
If only Blackened Blue Eyes & As I Watch You In Disbelief had been released on this album!
The best Charlatans cd ever - By: alexvanp, 25 May 2008 The Charlatans have made their best album yet.
Back to the glory 80-s, I hear samples of The Cure ('the more we know the less we show' is taken from Primary) & New Order's fab Brotherhood album (title track). Buy the one with the bonus album, has extra tracks, live tracks & two clips.
A pleasure to listen to...awesome! - By: tonto, 23 May 2008 This is Charlatans best since their second album 'between 10th & 11th' (1992!) in terms of 'tightness' & 'cohesion'this is the best...the longevity of their sound is rare, this is their 10th studio album, yet sounds so fresh...An amazing mix of darkness, despair & simmering love underneath...'Bad Days', 'Mis-takes' & the beautiful (shoegazingly beautiful!) 'Bird' are standouts...but the whole album is a pleasure, any newcomers start here!!!
Back to top form - By: Ceezo, 23 May 2008 I've followed The Charlies since the good old days of Madchester. Their hammond sound made them stand out from the crowd & although over the years the sound has taken a few strange paths (notibly the falsetto & regge years) it still can produce goosebumps. This album is a band back to the top of their game. Not since their 3rd self titled album have I listened to an album repeatedly for weeks. If you get a chance to see them tour this album or at the summer festivals, go see them - I promise you will not be disappointed. Whether you have downloaded this for free or bought the album you have made the right choice. The Charlatans have survived some of the greatest bands this country has produced over the past 20 or so years & on this form will outlive even more over the next 20.
