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Grace/Wastelands | 
| Artist: Peter Doherty
Label: EMI
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £6.35
as of 20/11/2009 19:59 GMT details
You Save: £5.64 (47%)
New (39) Used (8) from £6.28
Seller: davidw_1212
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 3831
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5 x 0.4
EAN: 5099969532429
ASIN: B001QCJNN6
Release Date: March 16, 2009
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Arcady | | • | Last Of The English Roses | | • | 1939 Returning | | • | Little Death Around The Eyes, A | | • | Salome | | • | I Am The Rain | | • | Sweet By And By | | • | Palace Of Bone | | • | Sheepskin Tearaway | | • | Broken Love Song | | • | New Love Grows On Trees | | • | Lady Don't Fall Backwards |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Possibly never before has the expression "his reputation precedes him" become such a talisman of negativity around a musicianrsquo;s neck. In fact, it might be news to you that Peter (nee Pete) Doherty is a musician, given his primary recent standing as celebrity junkie and/or the ragtag down-n-out slumped across Kate Moss and newspaper gossip pages. The fact that his time in The Libertines is still so fiercely revered by the fans that follow him and attend his concerts says a lot about the dark days of Babyshambles, with true highlights and poetic accomplishments of the standard hersquo;s proved he was capable of few and far between. emGrace/Wastelands/em, his debut solo album, however marks a real wind change for his career, the early years included. These 12 tracks hold possibly the first recorded evidence of the man sounding entirely in control of his output. There are plenty of examples of him playing to the gallery, hamming up his debt to that English ideal in his head that refuses to die--or Albion as he quaintly refers to it--see the East-End boozer knees up of "Sweet By And By" for a manifestation of that. But there are further facets to this character (the Bond theme stylings of "A Little Death Around The Eyes", Waterboys-epic "Broken Love Song" or Kinks-esque ascent of "I Am The Rain"), delivered with a deftness of touch and a lyrical honesty. Itrsquo;s not the classic hersquo;s clearly striving for, but itrsquo;s a soberer shuffle in the right direction. --emJames Berry/em
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 Amazing March 19, 2009
Jeremy Crampin (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After having doubt whether Doherty would make a solo album, I bought it the day it was released. I was not disappointed. The album is nothing short of melodic perfection; upon listening to just the first three tracks I found myself lost in his songs, not an unusual occurrence when listening to his music. Of course, like all great music, the album's certainly a grower and I would highly recommend anyone who likes Pete's lighter stuff such as The Lost Art Of Murder or For Lovers with "Wolfman". Let's hope he goes on to write more phenomenally good music.
Waste/ Greatlands April 28, 2009
Alex DeLarge (Dublin, Ireland)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Shotter's Nation was a bit of a disappointment, I thought. Stephen Street's production didn't suit the record, which needed a much less of the celluloidy smoothness Street provided, and more of the dynamic sound that Mick Jones (genius) got out of the band.
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br /But that was yesterday and today is today. 'Grace/Wastelands' is pretty much a return to form for Doherty - I'm sure some will like praise the record and others will slate it. But I think it's a winner, and Stephen Street has really nailed it with the production, it doesn't sound pro-tooled or too polished, it sounds appropriate to the material. Like I say, it's a winner:
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br /First off, it's not a Babyshambles record, although the individual band members do appear on most of the tracks in varying numbers. Ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon plays guitar on nearly all of the tracks, and his playing works very well on every song. Coxon's mature enough not to want to dominate the sound, and basically adds a lot to this record - while all his playing is excellent, there are bits that are truly inspired.
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br /Songwise - and this is unusual for a Doherty record - there's nothing that really smacks you round the gob on first listen. But I wouldn't go judging Grace/Wastelands on first listen - there's a lot here, and not unlike the later work of Laughing Lenny, it's not going to go after you, you have to go after it. But if you do, it's a rewarding listen.
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br /How it breaks down for me
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br /Outstanding:
br /'A Little Death Around The Eyes'.Brilliant. Slightly filmic vibe here. Street's production gives the song a platform and a context, and it works very well.
br /'1939 Returning' guitar masterclass from Coxon, great title. Lyrics probably contain some anachronism, but hey, poetic license and all that...
br /Salomé - this is easily as good as (better than?) anything off Albion. Coxon brilliant here, (I didn't really know who he was before listening to this, as I have no Blur LPs, but I think I might check some of their stuff out now), a cracking tune. Just ace.
br /Lady Don't Fall Backwards - excellent. Some of this ('when the cold wind that blows in my heart/ was a summer's breeze') is like Linton Kwesi Johnson's 'Seasons Of The Heart'. Just excellent.
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br /Very Good:
br /I Am The Rain - almost a classic. But still very good, like looking at a UK sky during any season.
br /The Sweet by by - not enough trombones in rock, I say.
br /Broken Love Song - filmic again. Sometimes this record's like sitting in a cinema watching your own minds visual interpretations of the songs.
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br /Good, but take it or leave it
br /Palace Of Bone - hmmm, I'm not heavily into the lyrics on this. The whole Fagin/ Barnardo bit is too cartoonish, although full marks for the playing and the production.
br /Sheepskin Tearaway - again, still a decent track, but it's too much like Doherty by numbers and lacks the acuity of perception/description that you'd expect from a Doherty song.
br /New Love Grows On Trees - ok, some great production here, but the song is just a bit uninspired
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br /Strangely, for a solo record Grace Wastelands sounds remarkably collaborative, and not only that, very successfully so. I haven't marvelled at any of Street's productions since the Durutti Column's mighty The Guitar and Other Machines.
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honestly March 27, 2009
mike (newcastle uk)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
liked the album on first listen and does get better like most albums. went to see him in newcastle with my girlfriend who previously thought he was a joke with his daily star and sun appearances and she was well shocked how decent he was. especially like last of the english roses,1939 returning and sweet by and by could be from the 40s love it. buy itor download it illegally either way make sure you go to see it performed is very good
Beautiful March 11, 2009
Jr Teague (Warwick Uni)
11 out of 18 found this review helpful
The best album from Mr Doherty since the libertines were around. A much polished effort than many of his Babyshambles efforts but If you want an album of thrashing punk rock like The Libertines, Babyshambles or Dirty Pretty Things you're not going to get it. This album is full of raw acoustic melodies, reminiscent of French Romanticism yet full of English Patriotism.
building a legacy March 17, 2009
moody blue
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This record has to be seen in perspective as part of a body of work and a step in the right direction. There's enough flashes of brilliance here to suggest a continuing and developing career...something that is all too rare these days.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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