Tag: Album Review

Upon putting Hard-Fi’s greatest hits disc into my CD player I was immediately reminded of why I am such a fan of the band. As one of great underdogs of the music industry in modern times, I have frequently willed them on to succeed. Sadly the commercial success of their early days has not been sustained, but that hasn’t stopped the band releasing some great music.

Although seeing Hard-Fi’s first album Stars of CCTV as their first collection of greatest hits, I welcomed the forthcoming release of the official best of album. It begins at the start of Hard-Fi’s career with the first few songs being the releases from Stars of CCTV. I can recall becoming a fan of the band and championing them, but it took some time for the rest of the public to realise their greatness. Eventually the album sold well and the band were critically acclaimed. With songs that people can relate to, such as ‘Cash Machine’ and ‘Living for the Weekend’, Hard-Fi seemed to come along at just the right time. Forward to ten years later and all of the songs from Stars of CCTV still sound great and relevant to the times we live in.

From there the songs move on to Hard-Fi’s second album Once Upon a Time in the West. Another strong album that reached number one in the charts, spawning hits including ‘Surburban Knights’ and ‘Can’t Get Along’, this section of the hits collection is a further reminder of the band’s ability to craft songs that are real and relatable.

Hard-Fi’s third album Killer Sounds is actually full of just that. Although not as commercially successful as previous efforts, it was still another strong album from the band. Although the singles were not as big as past chart entries, they were critical hits. ‘Good for Nothing’, ‘Fire in the House’ and ‘Bring it on’ are all worthy of their position on the album and demonstrate the band’s skill of crossing genres in their songs. Reggae, dance, rock, and pop are all present here. Perhaps it shouldn’t work, but somehow it works.
The album ends with new song ‘Move Over’, which is a promising taste of things to come as the band work on their fourth album.

Hard-Fi are masters of social realism in their lyrics and this collection of hits is a reminder that the band provide a great soundtrack to the streets of urban Britain. It’s music for working class people that has clearly resonated over the years. Hard-Fi may be underdogs of the music scene, but their songs are better than many other indie-pop bands and this is a five star collection worthy of investing in.

The first noticeable thing about the album is how instantly recognisable the track list is and on a quick glance you will probably recognise most of them. The title track is first on the album and sets the tone of what is to follow perfectly well. From thereon in, the album contains a number of classic songs such as “Moon River”, “Do You Love Me?” and “Pretty Woman” all of which are well executed and put together.

Using their tight and polished vocals, the group reinvigorate the classic tracks and introduce us to some new ones – “Miss Hollywood” and “Superstar” in particular were unexpected pleasures. The album is mainly upbeat and catchy with you finding the songs feeling familiar even upon first listen. However, the group have managed to add something just different enough to the songs to ensure that the album never comes across as just straight covers, but equally that it does not stray too far from the originals to make them unrecognisable or overblown. There is also a pleasant balance between music and vocals, which allows the group’s vocal strengths to shine through.

With the right mixture of upbeat numbers and slower ballads, this collection is easy to listen to and is, in the majority, likeable and fun. That said; there are a couple of songs which seem a little out of place and don’t really fit with the rest of the track list. Whilst “The Bare Necessitates / I Wanna Be Like You” and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” are good enough as standalone tracks, they don’t seem to sit well with the rest of the songs and interrupt the flow of the album.

Album highlights included “It Had To Be You”, “Runaway”, “Superstar” and “Shake A Tail Feather” and the whole thing was enjoyable enough. As with all music, you have to appreciate the style and genre of music, so this is not going to be an album that suits everyone. If you love your hard-core house or death metal, then you should steer well clear.

However, if this is your kind of music, the overall flavour of the album is very much peppered with a 50’s tinge and fans of Do-Wop, rock ‘n’ roll and swing music will find a lot to enjoy in this album. It has a genuine feel of nostalgia to it and a pleasant, foot tapping, sing-along charm of its own.