GOLD MOTHER ALBUM REVIEWS

Q Magazine 6.90 by Martin Aston 3/5

James have long been one of Britain's favourite underground actions, even if two underproduced albums never met the potential of the early singles which had suggested that James weren't just Mancunian peers and favourites of The Smiths but nearly their equals. Gold Mother premiers the new seven-strong James, with keyboards, trumpet and violin on top of their traditional guitar-pop appeal. They still whirl like dervishes on Come Home and God Only Knows, their dreamier nature is reflected in the breezy pop of Hang On, the wayward turns of Crescendo and two shimmering ballads in Walking The Ghost and Top Of The World, plus the sound is crystal clear.

But for all that, nothing seriously challenges the highs of old, to wit the elongated and unfocused swirl of the title track, whose African hi-life undertow fails to ignite. The Stones-ish crackle of How Was It For You? may be their first chart single but it's one of their less memorable efforts while the sampled TV evangelist peppering God Only Knows is an old trick by now. Gold Mother bears all the signs of intelligence and sensitivity, but it's still not the totally rewarding album James are capable of mining.

NME 6.90 by Simon Williams 8/10

IF SYMPATHY votes counted as units, James would undoubtedly be chart-toppers the world over. Few bands have sustained such a remarkable level of credibility in the twisted face of adversity over the past five years, whether it be at Factory, Rough Trade or wallowing in the mire at Sire. Touched by the Hand Of Moz (but hey, so were The Primitives) they were perceived as leftie-veggies-gone-bonkers, odd sods who were more into chunky sweaters than funky jitters, liable to inspire intellectuals but seemingly destined for the kind of commercial acceptance which has polluted John Otway's tragic career.

Quite why James' fortunes have altered so drastically of late is open to endless conjecture: blame Madchester, blame the departure of drummer Gavan Whelan and the arrival of strings and brass, blame simple old fate, but 1990 finds these perennial outsiders nipping back into the majors' territory, sniggering at the endless rumours, scuttling into the Top 40, producing T-shirts with 'Come' cunningly smeared across the chest and promising their most direct, approachable long player yet. For sure, the euphoric 'Come Home' and 'How Was It For You?' bode extremely well, seducing instantly with their dizzying swirls and upfront melodies. Like the curiously absent 'Sit Down', these singles grasp a mood, a magnificent spirit which doesn't so much attempt to fit in with the times as convince time that it should bow down and fit in with James.

Yet for all their sales, even these are off-kilter, like dancing on one stiletto, while elements of the corkscrewing instrumentation are downright odd. Listen hard and prepare to be perplexed.

And these are merely the tips of a fascinatingly cumbersome iceberg. Whether they're nullifying accusations of wilful folkiness with gritty rawk licks, or swooning over deathly-paced Velveteen textures, James bond (Ha! - Ed) together manic and strange sources. And they flaunt (at least) three moments which ridicule pop's sorry status as dumb, brain-numbing nonsense: 'Government Walls' is destined to be employed in political documentaries for decades to come - "In Ireland they may shoot to kill without warning," intones a surprisingly blatant Tim Booth, while raging strings fuel the hypnotically rocky furnace. 'God Only Knows' is arguably the most savage condemnation of evangelist hypocrisy since The Shamen's 'Jesus Loves Amerika'. Incorporating samples of Jimmy Swaggart with crazed rhythms and, in "My Guru has been sleeping with adepts and sheep/while I was fucking celibate, self-righteous in belief," writing one of the lyrics of the year, without a devout doubt.

The title track meanwhile is a totally insane saucepan of scallops, a temperamental, yet maddeningly buoyant melee of barmy brass and nigh-on indescribable musical ideas which, in a nutshell, praises the birth-giving species via livid references to the "purple-headed alien" and such new-born like. Oh, and Inspiral Carpets sing backing vocals.

Throw in the plaintively downbeat 'Top Of The World', Andy Diagram's luscious trumpet and Tim's glasshouse-shattering whoops of 'Crescendo' and the splendidly-detailed romantic torture of 'Hang On', wherein Booth instils the simplest of concepts with an intelligent edge, and a most incorrigible jigsaw is damn near complete.

'Gold Mother' is a bold, brazenly confident fulfillment of promises made by 'Hymn From A Village', 'What For' et al, a multi-tiered extravaganza of organically upbeat intuition which challenges and chills with one hand and comforts with the other. James are playing the game, but they're using their own rulebook, creating pop as disposable as a test tube of panda sperm. Enter and enjoy.

The Tech 25.9.90

 UNLIKE THE SOUP DRAGONS, Manchester's James have yet to receive the recognition they richly deserve. Their start in 1983 with Factory Records led to a deal with Sire Records in 1985, generating two albums, Stutter and Strip Mine. They too left Sire, releasing 1989's One Man Clapping on Rough Trade. Their newest effort, Gold Mother, hopefully will propel these rock veterans to success.

Gold Mother is a well-crafted and splendid album. Much like that other Manchester band the Smiths, James explores the perversity of human nature. One could naturally progress from the Smiths to James without noting vast differences. Indeed, James' earliest claim to fame is the Smiths' cover of their single "What's the World" from the EP Village Fire.

One difference between the two bands might be the inclusion of trumpets. They add a melodic flair that is evident in "Crescendo." Amazingly, even though "Crescendo" is rather long (6:59), it is not even noticeable that there is only one discernable lyric -- aptly, "I'm afraid of loneliness swallowing me." James pulls this off better than the Smiths did in "Never Had No One Ever" from The Queen is Dead.

James has already garnered a club hit in the UK with "Come Home." The next single, the fantastic "How Was It For You," debuted No. 16 on UK charts and seems intent on following.

James' moody songs are a mixture of steady rhythms, pleading lyrics, and haunting melodies. "Hang On," an excellent track, is a dizzy cauldron of passions. Lead vocalist/songwriter Tim Booth asks, "Why are we fighting when we should be close to a wedding?/ . . . we should be in our hearts, not at our throats." In "Top of the World," Tim Booth achieves a tenderness Morrissey of the Smiths could never accomplish.

In "God Only Knows," a televangelist amusingly warns the listener about the Satanic influences in rock music. Later, after a barrage of anti-televangelist sentiment, the priest says:

I damn you all to hell 

I speak in the name of God 

I know him intimately 

I speak in the name of that 

White-haired old man in the clouds 

Always a man. 

Booth counters, commenting, "Is Heaven full, oh Lord, of these babbling preachers and God-fearing bigots?/ Well, I know where I'd rather be."

"Government Walls," equally cynical, calls for an end to censorship in societies, while "You Can't Tell How Much Suffering (On a Face That's Always Smiling)" addresses societal hypocrisy. "Walking the Ghost," another track, is sensitive and reflective.

The title track, "Gold Mother," is a departure from typical James form. With backing vocals by Inspiral Carpets, "Gold Mother" is more upbeat and pouncing.

All in all, James' Gold Mother is one album definitely worth checking out.