Album Of The Week #79: Dog Man Star by Suede

Dudess

Released: October 1994

I wasn't a Suede fan at the time (although I was blown away by their single The Drowners, but after that, meh). I felt one Smiths was enough and that there were plenty of floppy-fringed, angsty, moody, self-obsessed bands in light of shoegazing (and I don't mean that in a bad way :pac:). Clever lyrics and "Englishness"? Well there was Blur and Pulp.
Suede seemed to me a hodge-podge of all of the above, with more than a dash of Bowie thrown in. They even had the frickin' monosyllabic name! I found that hard to respect at the time and viewed them as uber bandwagon-jumpers.

However, with hindsight, I've grown to like them more. This album is considered their masterpiece. Not bad for a bunch of "bandwagon-jumpers" .

The Hustler

This was the first Suede record I ever bought, albeit somewhat belatedly as a 17 year old in 2002, and fell completely in love with them. While it may be a bit pretentious and overblown in certain places, it still has the pop sensibilities of the first album (We Are The Pigs, New Generation, The Wild Ones). I love the fact that it's not afraid to wear its influences on it's sleeve, especially the nod to Bowie with the glam rock synths and killer guitar hooks.

One thing I will say though, the comparisions with The Holy Bible gets right on my tits :-/

Red Sleeping Beauty

The Hustler wrote: »

One thing I will say though, the comparisions with The Holy Bible gets right on my tits :-/

Hah, what nutter compares the two albums ? Chalk and cheese, jaysis.


here :

Motorcycle Emptiness with Bernard Butler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6GMKywoFr0

ludwit

I was a big Suede fan the time this came out, all the reviews prior to its release were unanimous in praise ; I was down the shops first thing in the morning to buy it and rushed back home to listen to it. It didn't disappoint and I knew it wouldn't as the b-sides to 'We are the pigs' were class. Suede were so good on the first 2 albums that they must have had a serious problem deciding which songs to leave off the albums.

ludwit

Alan Rouge wrote: »

Hah, what nutter compares the two albums ? Chalk and cheese, jaysis.


here :

Motorcycle Emptiness with Bernard Butler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6GMKywoFr0

If I remember right they did a version of the Drowners too.

Red Sleeping Beauty

Yeah the Manics did it at that gig but not with Butler. I think there were a few people talking about Butler replacing Edwards after he moved to Timbuck2 but I don't think either the Manics or Butler was doing any of the talking.

Ontopic: I got both albums on CD in a pack a few months ago in Glasgow for a song. Well not a song, for £3. I've always liked the first album, never gave the second a proper go.

Who wants to persuede me to give it a good listen ?

The Hustler

Alan Rouge wrote: »

Yeah the Manics did it at that gig but not with Butler. I think there were a few people talking about Butler replacing Edwards after he moved to Timbuck2 but I don't think either the Manics or Butler was doing any of the talking.

Ontopic: I got both albums on CD in a pack a few months ago in Glasgow for a song. Well not a song, for £3. I've always liked the first album, never gave the second a proper go.

Who wants to persuede me to give it a good listen ?

Do yourself a favour and give it a spin mate, you'll not be disappointed! You're probably familiar with the singles (We Are The Pigs, The Wild Ones, New Generation), but some of the darker stuff towards the end of the album is absolutely incredible, especially 'The Asphalt World'

Red Sleeping Beauty

Ah yeah I know the singles . Pigs is a deadly one.

Hmm, weird, there used to be a time when I'd go seeking out "dark stuff" but I think you can become desensitised to it and just need to put on a Springsteen record or something.

The Hustler

Alan Rouge wrote: »

Ah yeah I know the singles . Pigs is a deadly one.

Hmm, weird, there used to be a time when I'd go seeking out "dark stuff" but I think you can become desensitised to it and just need to put on a Springsteen record or something.

Not Nebraska I hope!:P

ludwit

I'm re-listening to it now. Suede were trying to make a classic all time album, they ended up with something flawed and really non-commercial . All anyone at the time wanted was more pop songs ala Blur and Oasis.

Its really hard to imagine any band trying to make an album like DMS ever again, the record company would go mental. Suede took all the goodwill and acclaim that was around them after the first album and first 4 singles and b-sides and went bonkers both musically and personally.

Brett's personal life is laid bare and Bernard's anger and sorrow drips off every song. It's a difficult listen and one I shy away from too often. Sometimes I am too harsh on it especially if people are knocking the first album.

DMS is partly what Suede set it out to be, it is a coherent album not merely a collection of songs but what they failed to achieve with was down to it coming out into an environment that really didn't want what they saw as Suede's histrionics; people just wanted some good old fashioned pop songs sung by some guy who looked like the bloke down the pub or like one of their mates. What they would have got if they bothered to listen to it was probably the most intelligent album of guitar music of the early nineties on this side of the Atlantic, an uncompromising album with both singer and guitar player at the height of their talents and full of hate for each other. An album that surely all new bands are told to listen to and then told "don't do what Suede did here". If only they did then guitar music might be a little more interesting today in that big bands might be more willing to try to be different or do something different.

God I can't believe I wrote all that. The songs are good too, especially this hollywood life and the asphalt world.

ludwit

ludwit wrote: »

I'm re-listening to it now. Suede were trying to make a classic all time album, they ended up with something flawed and really non-commercial . All anyone at the time wanted was more pop songs ala Blur and Oasis.

Its really hard to imagine any band trying to make an album like DMS ever again, the record company would go mental. Suede took all the goodwill and acclaim that was around them after the first album and first 4 singles and b-sides and went bonkers both musically and personally.

Brett's personal life is laid bare and Bernard's anger and sorrow drips off every song. It's a difficult listen and one I shy away from too often. Sometimes I am too harsh on it especially if people are knocking the first album.

DMS is partly what Suede set it out to be, it is a coherent album not merely a collection of songs but what they failed to achieve with was down to it coming out into an environment that really didn't want what they saw as Suede's histrionics; people just wanted some good old fashioned pop songs sung by some guy who looked like the bloke down the pub or like one of their mates. What they would have got if they bothered to listen to it was probably the most intelligent album of guitar music of the early nineties on this side of the Atlantic, an uncompromising album with both singer and guitar player at the height of their talents and full of hate for each other. An album that surely all new bands are told to listen to and then told "don't do what Suede did here". If only they did then guitar music might be a little more interesting today in that big bands might be more willing to try to be different or do something different.

God I can't believe I wrote all that. The songs are good too, especially this hollywood life and the asphalt world.

Previously posted on this album when in a bad mood.

" 08-06-2009, 16:34 #68
ludwit
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Dog Man Star by Suede.

Seriously bloated with its own self importance. Some pretty crap songs on it too. "new generation,black or blue,daddys speeding," I could mention at least 2 more. Reasonably well produced filler, despite Butlers assertion that it is one of the worst produced albums ever.

And I disagree with Loveissucide, I think suede by suede is a better album.
Last edited by ludwit; 08-06-2009 at 16:38. Reason: adding"

The first I heard of DMS was on a free 'flexi-disc' (remember them?) in October 1994. They played snippets of about 5 songs, with Brett talking over each one. It was with the NME.

Liked what I heard, and picked up the album. Loved it, and saw them in the SFX Jan 1995. Was also a member of the suede fan club for 4 years, as you do

Have cooled a lot on Suede in recent years, maybe overdid it as a teen! Of all their back catalogue though, I think the first two albums stand up the best today. DMS in particular was always out of step with the then-emerging Britpop scene, and sounds all the fresher for it.

Funnily enough, my favourite tracks today would be ones that I wasn't so keen on back in the day, and vice versa. For example, the wild ones never quite grabed my attention at the time, but I think it sounds absolutely beautiful now. Maybe I'm just getting older... On the contrary, something like 'Still Life', which used to blow me away, now sounds a bit overblown. Too much going on in the arrangement. It was the fashion at the time though to pile layers and layers of strings etc onto tracks.

Introducing the Band still sounds fantastic, as does heroine and daddys speeding. The album should be heard by more people.

ludwit

ND 1978 wrote: »

The first I heard of DMS was on a free 'flexi-disc' (remember them?) in October 1994. They played snippets of about 5 songs, with Brett talking over each one. It was with the NME.

Liked what I heard, and picked up the album. Loved it, and saw them in the SFX Jan 1995. Was also a member of the suede fan club for 4 years, as you do

Have cooled a lot on Suede in recent years, maybe overdid it as a teen! Of all their back catalogue though, I think the first two albums stand up the best today. DMS in particular was always out of step with the then-emerging Britpop scene, and sounds all the fresher for it.

Funnily enough, my favourite tracks today would be ones that I wasn't so keen on back in the day, and vice versa. For example, the wild ones never quite grabed my attention at the time, but I think it sounds absolutely beautiful now. Maybe I'm just getting older... On the contrary, something like 'Still Life', which used to blow me away, now sounds a bit overblown. Too much going on in the arrangement. It was the fashion at the time though to pile layers and layers of strings etc onto tracks.

Introducing the Band still sounds fantastic, as does heroine and daddys speeding. The album should be heard by more people.

Yeah I over did them in my teens/early twenties too. Never joined the fan club but caught Bernard's 2nd last gig with the band, Blackpool about the time of Stay together was released. Saw them plenty after that but glad I saw Bernard play with them once.

Pighead

One of my favourite albums of all time. Absolute classic! Bar Black or Blue I love each and every song on the album. And as typical of Suede even the B-Sides of the singles were quality. Killing of a Flashboy is probably the best B-Side I have ever heard.

Shame Butler left when he did as lord only knows what the 3rd album would have sounded like. Although from a commercial point of view Coming Up was probably what was needed at the time(Great album as well)

Well deserved Album of the Week and everybody should get themselves a copy of it quicksmart if they haven't heard it before.

The Hustler

Pighead wrote: »

One of my favourite albums of all time. Absolute classic! Bar Black or Blue I love each and every song on the album. And as typical of Suede even the B-Sides of the singles were quality. Killing of a Flashboy is probably the best B-Side I have ever heard.

Shame Butler left when he did as lord only knows what the 3rd album would have sounded like. Although from a commercial point of view Coming Up was probably what was needed at the time(Great album as well)

Well deserved Album of the Week and everybody should get themselves a copy of it quicksmart if they haven't heard it before.

'My Dark Star' would be my favourite

indiewindy

Its the sound of a band at their peak, if stay together had have been on it, I would give it a perfect 10. Love the b side my dark star too, killing of a flash boy is some song too, especially the live version. At that time their b sides would have been most other bands a sides

nyarlothothep

Classic album, I like the way they mixed a hollywood noir aesthetic into the songs, which Pulp did a few years later albeit in a different way with This is Hardcore. In any case DMS is where they got heavyweight and while I like Coming Up, I listened to DMS on repeat a few years back. It was an album that had greater depth and was light years ahead of their debut. Another thing which appealed to me were the guitar histrionics and the updated and darkened classic rock vibe. If Butler had stayed I'd say Suede would have gone on to some incredible stuff and would probably still be around today.