Old Suede / New Suede

I absolutely loved Suede when they first started. Loved in a "buy everything they released" kind of way, from the Drowners right up to the singles from Coming Up. Those first three albums got a lot of plays. It went a bit quite good to average for a while after that as they started to sound tired of being Suede and, although they didn't release anything bad, there was a distinct feeling of having dialed it in for their last album. I was quite relieved when they packed it in, leaving some fond memories rather that tarnish things with ever decreasing quality with their output.

When the band reformed I was prepared for them to go through the motions and play a few arena gigs, but instead they sounded like a band reinvigorated. Bloodsports was a solid album, almost as if it was there to set the record straight and keep their legacy intact. What came next was a revelation. Night Thoughts and The Blue Hour have both been absolute cinematic stunners - two of their finest -  full of the pomp of and swagger of early Suede, but with an added mature and elegance.

Suede

Now this is very exciting, as I've just got the fantastic reissue of Suede's debut album - 2 CDs and a DVD packed full of goodies to remind you how essential the band were. It's been remastered and no doubt some people will say that it sounds far better than the previous versions, but I'll leave that judgement to others. I liked the sound of it first time round...

Anyway, it still stands as one of THE great debut albums; a flawed classic, which now comes packed with plenty of goodies - all the associated b-sides, which at times surpass many of the tracks that made it onto the album. To The Birds, My Insatiable One, The Big Time etc. are some of the strongest songs they ever did. You also get some serviceable demos and unreleased songs to pad out the two CDs.

Best of all (for me at least) is contained on the DVD - amongst other things is a newly discovered film of the incredible Leadmill concert from February 1993. If I was one to list my top fives then this would be in my top five gigs of all time. Rescheduled from the postponed date in late 1992, the gig took place a few days after Animal Nitrate was released and caught the band just as everything started going a bit crazy and top 10 - I remember queuing up from mid afternoon outside the Leadmill in the freezing snow to make sure we got in and the whole gig just blew me away. The band are wired, the crowd are wired and Brett Anderson had to perform most of the gig topless after his shirt (blouse?) was torn to shreds some fans (not me!)

Anyway, buy it, listen to it and watch it!

One a similar note, I've also got hold of the Dog Man Star reissue, which follows the same format and approach, and contains the stunning full length (7+ minutes) version of The Wild Ones - worth the entry fee alone.