Peter Doherty: Grace/Wastelands
Peter Doherty: Grace/Wastelands
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Thursday, 09, Apr 2009 11:41
EMI, out April 13th.
In a nutshell.
Mr Doherty attempts to regain fans.
What's it all about?
Pete, sorry Peter, Doherty finally decides the time is right to release a solo album. The world doesn't hold its breath for sparkling results.
Who's it by?
Peter Doherty. Him out of the Libertines and The Sun. You'll know him. Went out with that Kate Moss. Used to make records people bought.
As an example...
"But the closing moved by, coming of age, coming alive/All the boys together, and all the girls together"
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Actually possible. If the Grammys fancy courting the tabloid media then its highly likely they may fling open the hallowed doors to the heroin addict it's ok to sanction.
What the others say
"An honest and genuine outpouring of Doherty's soul." - BBC Music
"Peter Doherty has finally made the album that all of us who fell in love with the early Libertines felt that he was capable of." - Observer
So is it any good?
'Is a Pete Doherty record any good?' is a hell of a question. The world has largely forgotten the man ever produced any musical output, with even the hardest fans suffering by trawling way through the shoddily-recorded musical gruel of Doherty's two albums under the Babyshambles name. Seemingly jettisoning fans at a rate not seen since the Darkness released their second album, it would appear all over for Doherty, destined to be remembered for drugs and a brief relationship with Kate Moss.
To hear Grace/Wastelands then is nothing short of a treat. Getting Graham Coxon and producer
Stephen Street onboard, Doherty seems to have turned out the most coherent album of his career. Eschewing the self-obsessed lyrics that have so bogged down his previous output, Doherty focuses on a quaint Englishness, one of war heroes and lost love, and succeeds in being romantic rather than simply desperate or needy.
Whilst the Babyshambles albums had a reek of 'will this do? where's the cash?' to them, Grace/Wastelands appears to be a simple attempt by Doherty to redefine himself in the eyes of a fan-base that have mostly shrugged their shoulders and moved on. Despite this the record never feels like it's trying to please. Understated and subtle, Coxon's guitar works fantastically, providing the perfect backdrop for Doherty's battered voice.
Sheepskin Tearaway works perfectly, Doherty exchanging vocals with Dot Allison to beautiful effect, whilst album highlight Last of the English Roses throws up an unexpected loping beat, which gives an added depth to the album.
Although the record is largely acoustic and the mood laidback, it never becomes dull or bland, thanks to a refreshing range of variety and ideas.
In many ways Grace/Wastelands arrives way too late. It's the record Doherty should have made on leaving the Libertines, but was seemingly incapable of. Sadly, it is hard to distance the Doherty you find here from the pathetic tabloid creature you have grown to despise over the past few years. Not overcoming this hurdle though is the listener's loss. This is a record that deserves to be heard on its merits alone.
8/10
Tom Williams