Suede were one of the great British bands of the early to mid-1990s. They’re often cited as one of the bands that kicked off the Britpop movement, along with the likes of Blur, Pulp and Oasis. This exhaustive 2-CD set serves to remind one, without all the hype that surrounded the band when they were initially at their height of fame, that they created some classic pop music in their time.
At the time of grunge, Suede were very much a breath of fresh air. Heavily influenced by the likes of David Bowie and The Smiths, both sonically and lyrically, Suede were like nothing else around in music at that time. The first CD in this 2-CD set spotlights the singles that the band is best known for, while the second CD concentrates on album cuts and B-sides that show off the range and style of the band over their initial career before their recent reformation and performances in the past year or so.
What immediately strikes the listener is how upfront, brash and personal the band are, especially on a lyrical level. Striking, androgynous frontman Brett Anderson was never afraid to explore issues such as sexuality and drugs on classic singles like “Animal Nitrate”, illustrating the band’s subversive side perfectly. All of the best known singles are included on the first CD of this collection, such as “The Beautiful Ones”, “Metal Mickey” and the utterly sublime “Stay Together” and “She’s In Fashion”.
It’s interesting to hear is how Suede’s musical direction changed, for both better and worse, when founding member and very talented guitarist Bernard Butler left the band. They lost some of their mystery and, at times, self indulgent tendencies showed on their second album Dog Star Man; but they also became somewhat more accessible at the same time once guitarist Richard Oakes joined the fold.
The second CD in this collection shines the spotlight on some great overlooked album tracks and B-sides from Suede’s back catalogue. Tracks such as “Killing Of A Flashboy”, the intense “My Dark Star” and “Heroine” deserve to be discovered, heard and appreciated to see how far the band evolved over their career and refused to be the same and complacent from album to album.
This remastered and beautifully presented 2-CD set is both a fantastic collection for rabid Suede fans and a wonderful introduction to those that want to discover what all the fuss and hype was about way back when.
– Neil Evans
