3, theyāre alright but I cannot ever get excited about them.
Was pretty into them up to Tellinā Stories, but seeing them live around this time bored me to tears and I sort of just gave up on them. Certainly havenāt knowingly heard anything they released after that.
I occasionally return to Some Friendly from time to time, but thatās mostly for Sproston Green, which remains a banger. And I relistened to Tellinā Stories again fairly recently to see if it held up, but it didnāt for me. Just felt decidedly average.
Always get them confused with The Bluetones. Only really know One To Another. Tim Burgess is a top lad though, the Twitter listening parties heās been doing have been a fantastic idea.
Not really a fan of āoh youāre too young/old to be into themā in general but will be quite interesting to see the 30+/under 30 split on this one.
I really love How High, thereās a dirtiness and swagger to his voice which is more like a grunge artist but then all other singles leave me cold. Remember liking a Man Needs To Be Told and Love Is The Key in high school but never heard them since. 2
One of my favourite bands from 95-02: The S/T LP was one of the first albums I remember buying with my own money (Ā£3.99 on tape at HMV). Tim Burgessā 1995/6 hairstyle was definitely something I aspired to then.
Saw them at Doncaster Dome on the Tellinā Stories tour in 97, supported by Monaco. Gig made memorable for Peter Hookās opening Tap-esque couplet: āWeāre Monaco, youāre Doncaster. Letās F***ā
Listened to them less and less after Wonderland, as tastes changed, but will usually check out new stuff out of a sense of loyalty. Timās solo stuff is quite interesting too.
I always preferred the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses back in the early 90ās but obviously The Charlatans kept at it and have released some decent tunes over the years. Tellinā Stories was the last album of theirs that I listened to. That was a decent album. Couldnāt name much of their stuff since then. 3 seems to be a fair grade.
Wife and I often have Absolute 90s Radio on while we work, every time a Charlatans single comes on I go āoh man this is so good I really need to explore them moreā and then immediately forget about them afterwards.
Theyāre ok. Solid, mid-table indie fare. Iāve always been a bit mystified that quite a lot of people think theyāre absolutely amazing. Isnāt it weirder somehow when people rave about stuff that you quite like than when they rave about stuff you hate?