WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK

We Want Our Money Back is the working title for the new James album, tentatively scheduled (you have to use these words when referring to James release schedules) for June 2001. 

The album has now been completed and will feature 14 tracks which will be presented to the record company on Wednesday March 14 by Brian Eno at an unnamed London studio.

Pre-production sessions took place at the House In The Woods Studio in Surrey for three weeks before the October 2000 tour. The band went back into the studio to record the album "live" to capture the spirit and energy of the new songs. It was hoped to have the album completed by Christmas.

Mixing sessions took place in London in the early months of 2001 with some finishing touches being added in early March following a well-deserved break.

20-25 sketches of tracks for the album had been put together by the time the band played the MTV show at Shepherds Bush Empire and festivals in Portugal and China in May 2000 with three songs Senorita, Everyone's A Junkie and Swell being unveiled at these shows.

Further sessions after these shows saw the potential single Coffee And Toast revealed at the V2000 performances in Chelmsford and Stafford. 

Nine more new songs were previewed on the tour.  There is also another new track entitled Nicola Louder, which was not be played on the tour.

The new tracks to date are listed below - click on the links to see a transcription of the lyrics :

Coffee And Toast - previewed at V2000 and described by Tim as a "scientific love song" about  a guy who blinds a girl with science on a date when all he wants to do is take her home for Coffee And Toast.

Daniel's Saving Grace - an upbeat romp and apparently one of Tim's favourites. This is very similar in style to 80s classic unreleased track Gregory's Town.

English Beefcake - premiered at the Norwich show, this track boasts a quickfire verse and a chorus dealing with the inability to break free from an obsession. 

Everyone's A Junkie - debuted at the Portuguese festivals in May 2000 and described by Saul as his favourite song at the time, this is a dark brooding number dealing with one of Tim's favourite lyrical themes - addiction.

First On The Tape / Give It Away - probably not the real name of the song and probably the weakest of the new songs, the tune is reminiscent of Inspiral Carpets circa second album.  Tim's main chorus line is "give it away, give it away" The lyrics seem to deal either with the Israeli / Palestinian or the Irish conflict as they deal with people clinging on to causes when the majority are looking for peace.

Gaudi - another uptempo song that was apparently written on the Tuesday before the tour started.

Pleased To Meet You - a slow building number with a climax of a repetitive "Pleased to meet you, where are you from and what's your name?" over a wall of guitars.

Scratchcard - another potential single, Tim advising sleeping with and taking drugs with the rich and famous to create an image of wealth. The chorus has a catchy "oh lordy, oh lordy" line that you will not be able to get out of your head.

Senorita - another love song, presumably for Kate in which Tim declares his addiction. It was debuted at James shows in May and has been given additional drum lines since.

The Shining - the pick of the bunch of new songs, a slow builder with a massively epic chorus  where Tim ponders sailing uncharted oceans and breaking through or being broken, and there being a fine line between success and failure and how appearances can be deceptive - "I could be an angel or the devil in disguise" and "I could be the Nazi or I could be the Jew."

Stand Stand Stand - perhaps intended as an antidote to Sit Down, it is an obvious single and is a retort by Tim to criticism of the band - "I've been wasting my time on doubts and failure, I've been washing my hand.  I've been focusing in on things I'm proud of. Stand, stand, stand"

Swell - a rant at an unnamed female celebrity who is "face of the year" and the associated lifestyle but whose popularity will be short-lived, with Tim waiting for "the hell of a drop" This was premiered at the Shepherds Bush show in May 2000 but was neglected on the Theatre Tour although it is still a contender for the album

Work It All Out -  a mid-paced number that opened all the shows on the Theatre tour with beautiful slide guitar from Saul. The lyrics appear to concern Tim's fear of losing a woman to a fiend.  The chorus refrain is "if you work your miracle, I can see."

The following articles have been published relating to the new album:

Saul at V2000 - Melody Maker 8.00

Tim interview - Melody Maker 10.00