McAlmont & Butler "The Sound of... McAlmont & Butler" (1995)

The Sound of... McAlmont & Butler [debut]
release date: Nov. 27, 1995
format: box-set (2 lp vinyl + 2 cd + 1 dvd) (2015 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Bernard Butler
label: hut Recordings - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Yes (Full Version)" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Although" - 6. "Disappointment / Interval" - 9. "How About You" - 12. "You Do"

Collaboration debut by McAlmont & Butler by the project-band of David McAlmont and Bernard Butler (ex-guitarist of Suede). McAlmont is songwriter and vocalist and Butler guitarist and keyboardist, and he has arranged, composed and produced the album.
After McAlmont's overlooked but great debut, McAlmont (1994), he found together with Butler on this project, which was received with mostly positive reviews and peaking at number #33 on the UK albums chart list. The album features a huge blend of genres and styles of pop / rock, art pop, r&b and neo-soul in a Dusty Springfield-kind of way. I do think that the huge mix of styles and what at times feels like a multi-layered sound are what keeps this from being a truly great pop album. The great "Yes" was quite a big hit, reaching number #8 on the national singles charts and together with "Disappointment" and "You Do" (second single from the album peaking at number #17) they are the finest tracks on what at a first glance may appear as a somewhat varied album, but after accustomising to the layered sound, it does resonate as a fine coherent album with strong bonds to productions of the '60s.
The duo, however, soon split after this release and individually they went back to pursue their solo careers; however, in 2001 they came back together again to release the sophomore Bring It Back (2002).
The 2015 remastered boxset on Edsel is a mighty fine issue which also includes a 12'' maxi single, the original album on cd with a bonus cd, a dvd containing music videos, live recordings, an interview, as well as a nice book.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

Suede "Dog Man Star" (1994)

Dog Man Star
release date: Oct. 10, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Ed Buller
label: Nude Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "We Are the Pigs" (4 / 5) - 3. "Heroine" - 4. "The Wild Ones" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "The Power" (4,5 / 5) - 9. "The 2 of Us" - 11. "The Asphalt World" (4 / 5) - 12. "Still Life" (4 / 5)

2nd studio album by Suede introduces a new sound, although, it's made with the same producer. It has a more subtle, less glam rock production, and it's more orchestrated with horns and strings, making it more of a chamber pop release than its predecessor (e.g. "Still Life" exits with strings and horns playing Ravel's "Bolero"). With this, it appears that the band wanted to distance itself from the britpop hype and the album wasn't launched with the same pop hit videos, which may or may not be the reason to its fine reception among music critics.
I find Dog Man Star an even better release than their praised debut, and it's a highly acclaimed follow-up to a fine and original debut. It has a conceptual feel but failed to sell as rapidly as the debut. To me, this is their best studio release, and it's by many considered their masterpiece, but it also marks the end of the original line-up as the band's main musical composer and guitarist, Bernard Butler (who had already been labelled the best guitarist of a generation) left the band after the release due to disagreements on the band's musical direction. Like the debut this is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, NME 4,5 /5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Suede "Suede" (1993)

Suede [debut]
Release date: Mar. 29, 1993
format: cd (2011 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Ed Buller
label: Edsel Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "So Young" - 2. "Animal Nitrate" (4 / 5) - 3. "She's Not Dead" (4 / 5) - 5. "Pantomime Horse" - 6. "The Drowners" - 7. "Sleeping Pills" - 9. "Metal Mickey" - 11. "The Next Life" (4 / 5)

Studio album debut by Suede originally released on Nude Records is a glam rock and britpop release. The album is produced by Ed Buller, who would go on to produce all their first three albums and the 2013 comeback album, Bloodsport. The sound of the band is slightly different here compared to their successive albums as guitars and Brett's voice are more distorted - especially on their single hit tracks ("So Young", "Animal Nitrate"), which is a kind of a shame, I think. Beside that, I think it's quite a strong release with really fine songs. Suede is known as a britpop band alongside Blur, Pulp, Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, The Verve, and several other artists of the '90s but Suede has a distinct glam rock style that distinguishes it from the others.

Suede was rather well-received by the British music press, as it was nominated to a lot of prizes, and also won the Mercury Music Prize in '93 ahead of Sting, PJ Harvey, and New Order, among others.

I purchased the album shortly after the release but had a difficult time getting accustomed to the British glam rock revival and actually resold it a year or two later in a stack with other cds in order to finance new albums. In the mid-90s I simply found it too extravagant; however, I got hold of the album again at some point in the late 90s, and when the remastered 2-disc Deluxe Edition was released in 2011, I simply purchased the album to see if the process of the remastering would improve the sound. The release contain an additional 7 bonus tracks (demos) and a disc consisting of B-sides (and 'Extras') with two single releases from the album, which makes it a fine bargain. However, I'm not fully convinced that the remaster makes that big difference. Edsel has made it a bit of their 'virtue' to harvest the market - and especially the independent music industry - for small record labels that have ceased to exist. Edsel then buy a specific record label's back catalogue with all master recordings, and then engage an engineer to 'remaster' the original releases, add (unedited) bonus material and resell the whole lot as 'Remastered Deluxe Edition'. Now who's to blame? Fact is, they make big profit from it, and we all help Edsel to exist. Naturally, a remastered edition with (the right) people involved in the original recording, mixing or mastering process, as well as say: central band members, would serve as a more adequate setup, which is not the case here. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]