Texas Album: “Southside”

In the past four months the song "I Don't Want A Lover" has been playing on a radio station in Paris, France where I live. I did not know the band's name until I visited USA this month and was happy to find it with the help of a store in Montpelier VT. I am buying 2 copies to bring back with me to France. Sharleen's voice is beautiful and the music is soooo good! Hope my comments help someone learn about this album.

Texas' debut is still their best album. The band never again matched the memorable hooks and melodies present in abundance on this album. I remember when I first heard "I Don't Want a Lover" on the radio, I thought it was the Eurythmics. This was their sound in the Revenge album era. Sharleen Spiteri has a strong singing voice (much more listenable than her speaking voice - yikes!) But it's on the strength of Spiteri and Johnny McElhone's songwriting and Ally McErlaine's guitar riffs that this album is so aurally pleasing. They followed the simple rock formula of guitar-bass-drums and were very successful at it.

At least six of the tracks here were released as singles around the world. Besides the first single "I Don't Want a Lover," there was "Thrill has Gone," "Tell Me Why" (excellent riff!), "Everyday Now," "Prayer for You" and "Fight the Feeling." Many of the songs are low-key, bluesy tracks that suit Spiteri's voice. Other highlights are the instrumental "Southside" and the bonus track "Faith," which I only heard for the first time when I bought the CD. It wasn't on the cassette.

As debut albums go, they either contain one hit single and a fair amount of filler, or they are a group's most inspired and consistent work. In Texas' case, "Southside" is not only their best album, it is one of the best guitar rock records ever made. Sharleen's sense for pop melodies and Ally's playing (especially on the slide guitar) are exceptional, while the rest of the band provides a tight and strong rhythmic background. "I don't want.." and the album were major successes in Germany, the two subsequent albums "Mother's Heaven" and "Rick's road" were bad flops, but Texas recently recovered with "The Hush", which seems to become their biggest selling record ever. But I still think "Southside" remains the only must-have Texas album. Great songs and absolutely no filler--what do you want more?

One of the rare albums to come out in the last 20 years you can listen to all the way through without feeling the need to skip any of the tracks. An interesting mix of southern rock with obvious rhythm and blues influence tied together with the haunting lead vocals of Sharleen Spiteri give this band a sound altogether refreshing and still relevant today. Very impressive effort for a debut album that took risks by adding an instrumental guitar title track.

To say that Texas is an enigma is an understatement. Ultimately, this band's desire to crack the American market proved to be their undoing as they lost their soul and their way. Their first 3 albums are so different than their "successful" European-orientated efforts that it's impossible to please everyone with either the music or a review. That said, this album unlike "Mother's Heaven and "Rick's Road" requires a few more listens to appreciate the talent that's always been there. This band was built around Sharleen Spiteri's awesome, soulful voice and the band's slide guitarist and I think they had this great vision which materialized in the next 2 albums, but not this one. The production lacks in the sense that the album plays the same throughout so some of the better songs start to melt together and lose their identity which is a shame. The lead song "I Don't Want A Lover" has historically received the most notoriety, but its kind of formulaic, IMO. The real kickers are "Everyday Now", "Prayer For You" and "Thrill Is Gone". The rest is more or less alright, but with their follow up album "Mother's Heaven" there's no reason to buy this album unless you get it cheap and/or really love their early stuff.