When Original Pirate Material came out in 2002, many music listeners did not quite know what to make of it, me included. Here we have a Garage album that is distinctively different to anything else, thanks mostly to Mike Skinner's "no nonsense" singing style. Not sticking to any rules, we have in Skinner a somewhat of a maverick.
Because of this, Original Pirate Material quickly become an important album. Not many Garage albums had the longevity that Mike Skinner's debut had. At first, the album didn't impress me that much. I loved Don't Mug Yourself, an maybe one or two others. But over time I came to adore the album for it's themes and it's structure.
Now in 2004, we have A Grand Don't Come For Free, Mike Skinner's follow up to the highly successful Original Pirate Material.
A concept album, A Grand Don't Come For Free follows Mike's week from the day he loses a thousand pounds, to losing a Girlfriend, and finally finding the lost thousand pounds slid down in the back of his dodgy television set.
A Grand Don't Come For Free is an overall Simpler album than Original Pirate Material. Because of this, the lyrics are given more significance than it's predecessor. The melody only purpose is to gently push forward the story of the album - you listen to the songs as if Mike is telling you the story from a loosely structured poem.
The first song on the album, It Was Supposed To Be So Easy begins the musical journey with a big beat paced behind the narrative. We follow Skinner's day, running around trying to carry out some day to day tasks that he miserably fails to complete. The lyrics are simple, yet highly effective. Humour, anger, and disappointment flow easily through Mike's idiosyncratic singing style. He sings in a way as if he's singing his own experiences and feelings directly from you, bare and stripped down; it's so real.
All the songs on the album are excellent; there's no filler on this album. Every track has a distinctive different flavour and theme. Could Well Be In is a timid yet enchanting song that tells us about Skinner's first real meeting with story love intrest Simone at her house.
Blinded By The Lights is a great lightweight dance track, if someone remixed this and added a fast beat to it you'll have a surefire dance anthem. Wouldn't Have It Any Way ventures ever so slightly into the territories of R&B and Soul. Although given a backseat role, the music of the tracks are quiet yet diverse.
Current single Fit But You Know It is the strongest track on the album - a catchy melody with a great theme. What Is He Thinking brings the album back down a level with it's sinister beats where Mike is trying to work out whether his mate stole his grand or not.
Dry Your Eyes is the tear jerker song of the album - the track that brings the album down to rock bottom. The track is so effective that you feel as if your in the gutter with Skinner, that you're the one being dumped.
The last track on the album, Empty Cans turns the last page of the story in a fullfilling manner. Empty Cans offers two ending to Mike Skinner's story. The first ending tells us how Mike will end up. Just before your resigned to thinking that the album will end on a terribly sour downbeat mood, the track "rewinds", and an alternate ending starts.
His mate thingy arrives at Skinner's house, trying to make things up with him by offering to fix the TV and any general help. While inspecting the TV, thingy finds between the gap of the TV the thousand pounds that Mike had lost at the beginning of the album. Everything ends somewhat happily after all.
A Grand Comes For Free is a simple yet brilliantly crafted album. Everything on AGDCFF is sung with attention to detail. From an in-depth description of what Skinner's watching on the TV to the spliffs Simone's father smokes in his house .
I cannot stress how much you'll enjoy every word spoken on this album. You don't have to like Rap to enjoy this album, AGDCFF spans all genres not musically, but lyrically, from how everything said is all from the heart. And that what matters most.
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