Artist bio

The Charlatans UK are often tagged "survivors," which really suits them well. The group has never been a groundbreaking outfit, but it has consistently defied expectations to continue making albums with stylistic progressions throughout the '90s and beyond. The group was spawned by the Madchester scene of the late '80s, which brought indie rock and dance music together in the form of such Britpop progenitors as the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays.

Yet, the Charlatans outgrew their peers, turning in such legacy-breaking albums as 1994's Up To Our Hips and 1995's The Charlatans UK, which documented their evolution into a Stonesy throwback rock band who still worshipped and incorporated the dance rhythms and textures they assimilated in their early years. They became more reliant on the syncopated organ riffs of keyboardist Rob Collins, and their interplay with Mark Collins' (no relation) spider-fingered guitar work provided for a furious symbiotic bed over which singer Tim Burgess could exercise his melodic sensibilities.

The group made its biggest strides with 1997's Tellin' Stories, while dealing with tragedy -- a drunk Rob Collins wrecked his car heading to the studio one night during the album's sessions and died instantly, throwing a shadow over the group's bubbly creative resurgence. But over time, Collins' death lended weight to the "survivors" label, as the group closed ranks and Tellin' Stories triumphantly debuted atop the U.K. charts.

By 1999, new keyboardist Tony Rogers had gotten stuck in, and the group went old-school rock for Us And Us Only. Burgess' Dylan influence rose to the forefront, as the group seemed to be settling into middle age with dignity and great songs. Yet another right turn led to 2001's Wonderland, an electronically structured cocaine-and-ecstasy-fuelled party album, that just lent more credence to the group's ability to keep on truckin'; cranking out hit singles and tightly packed albums until they can't no more.

Albums by this artist

Wonderland (2001)

Us And Us Only (1999)

The Charlatans UK (1995)

Up To Our Hips (1994)

Between 10th And 11th (1992)

Concerts

August 1, 2001
Bowery Ballroom, New York

The Charlatans UK

The Charlatans UK

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

The Charlatans UK The Charlatans UK Beggars Banquet, 1995 RiYL: Rolling Stones, Chemical Brothers, Paul Weller

As baggy shoegazers in the early part of their career, the Charlatans UK were known for their dreamy soundscapes and lush production. Though the group began to break this mold on its third album, Up To Our Hips, it wasn't until this breakthough self-titled set -- which hit No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart -- that the Charlatans' music acquired its now-trademark immediacy and really connected fully with its audience.

From album opener "Nine Acre Court," it's abundantly clear the group's rhythmic sensibilities are going to take the forefront on the record. No lyrics accompany the raver, but it wouldn't really be called an instrumental, what with the band yelling a sort of anthemic chant over a powerful groove that reeks of foreshadowing.

And to be sure, track two, "Feeling Holy," starts with a strong Jon Brookes backbeat, before the rest of the group jumps in with fervor. Everybody in the band seems to be benefitting from the slick, in-your-face production (Dave Charles and Steve Hillage), that almost posits the group's sound as a cross between Blur and, say, Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys. Singer Tim Burgess spent time during the making of this record hangin' with the Chemical Brothers and their beat-mixing madness rubbed off just enough to make The Charlatans UK a real club-worthy britpop album, with songs you could fall in love to AND dance the night away to.

Highlights include first single "Just Lookin'," which boils a lot of the Charlatans' strengths into a pop nugget, the thrasher "Crashin' In," which brings the group's harder rock influences to the forefront with Mark Collins' scathing guitar line, and "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" -- yet another single -- which covers the band's acoustic side quite nicely, with a bit of Stonesy twang thrown in for good measure.

The Charlies get dark toward the end of the record, with the ominous, hammond-and-flanger-cut "Toothache" and the Neil Young-flavoured "No Fiction," before tossing out one of its best tracks in the penultimate spot. "See It Through" has a happy country-ride feel to it and reinforces the Charlatans' new career lease -- it almost reads as an announcement that they are here to stay. "It's getting better, someday it's gonna happen, and we'll see it through." Unfortunately, keyboardist Rob Collins was to perish in an alcohol-fueled car wreck during the making of follow-up Telling Stories.

But the Charlatans, true to their word, carried on to become the ultimate survivors of '90s Britpop, and would rock on into the next millenium. And through it all, this self-titled breakthrough remained a fan favorite, a disc you could always come back to to remind you why this band is here to stay.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.