CD Odyssey Disc 87: The Streets

This week we return to one of my favourite musical sub-genres; the concept album! I'm even going to add a tag so that I can easily look up other ones along the journey.

Disc 87 is...A Grand Don't Come For Free

Artist: The Streets

Year of Release: 2004

How I Came To Know It: My friend Nick discovered "The Streets" and introduced them to me one night when we were sharing some music appreciation. I went out and bought it shortly thereafter.

How It Stacks Up: I only have this one Streets album. Nick has another, but it doesn't grab me the same way. I like this one though.

Rating: 3 stars.

This album is a hard one to pigeon-hole in a genre, which speaks favourably to how innovative it is. On the one hand, it has a rap-quality, as our 'hero' tells a tale of a typical week in the life of a twenty something slacker in London.

However, while rap-like, the album is really more a spoken word performance, that has as much in common with Beatnik poetry as it does with early rap. Laid on top of this spoken word stuff each song has a chorus with a groovy hook. It is these hooks that are very hip hop, and I think if you have to put it into a box, that's the one I'd put it in.

Having said that, the thing I like most about the album is that it is a concept album - if there are other hip hop albums of like spirit, I don't think I've heard them.

As I noted above, the story is basically a series of 11 songs (thank you for the brevity!) covering a week in the life. Let me tell you it is action packed.

We begin with "It Was Supposed To Be Easy", in which our hero bravely ventures out of the house with four goals in mind:

• return a DVD
• get some cash out of the ATM
• call his Mom to say he couldn't come over for tea
• deposit some savings

Instead, he is unable to do any of these, as he leaves the DVD in the player, encounters "insufficient funds", finds his cell phone has a dead battery and misplaces a thousand quid that he's supposed to deposit. His response? A lament that he got out of bed.

As things go along, he has other epic adventures, including:

• meeting a girl over beers
• placing some bets with the bookie
• doing some drugs and going to a night club
• hanging out on the girl's couch and watching telly
• arguing with the girl, and then with his buddy
• breaking up with the girl and,
• having a fight with the TV repairman, but then making up with his buddy, who agrees to repair his broken TV
  

It is hard to believe, but Mike Skinner (the real name behind "The Streets") writes these songs with such a raw emotion, that not only do you find these mundane tasks interesting, you actually find yourself identifying with the slacker protagonist.

Not only is it interesting, but the chorus' are sung beautifully, with Skinner doing most of the work, with help of a number of guest vocalists. The hooks for most of the songs are surprisingly catchy. I found myself at work today humming along to the chorus to "Could Well Be In":

"I saw this thing on ITV the other night
Said if she played with her hair, she's prob'ly keen
She's playing wif her hair most regularly
So I reckon I could well be in."

Following this slackabout around his rounds is funny in many places, and the strong English accent and liberal use of street slang makes it even better. I particularly like "You know what you can do with your life, introduce it up your jacksee". I don't know entirely what that means, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest it isn't polite.

There are also moments of genuine pathos. In particular, the one song I've heard as a single, "Dry Your Eyes" which is a very poignant break up song. I like how this song conveys complex emotion with simple street talk and broken English.

In closing, this isn't an album I put on a lot, but when I hear it I enjoy it. I'm glad the Odyssey took a week's shore leave in urban England.

Best tracks: Could Well Be In, Blinded By the Lights, Fit But You Know It, Dry Your Eyes