The Lightning Seeds Album: “Sense”

Hey all you Blur "Great Escape" fans...if you liked that, you'll love this album, plus anything by this great, fun, bubbly Brit band. They provide us with great lyrics, and they are oh-so-fun to sing along to. I wasn't a big Brit music fan until I heard The Seeds, and now I'm hooked! "The Life of Riley" is my favorite. I listen to this CD in my car on road trips. Give it a chance, you will not be disappointed!

This has to be one of the best pop/alternative releases ever made! I was amazed how complex the music is - it is very layered and the lyrics are very intellectual. I was even more amazed when I found out that 'Lightning Seeds' is really just one guy - he mixes all this music himself... it's just incredible! It's a very fun, summer day CD and got very heavy play in my music store as well as my home.

I discovered the Lightning Seeds after seeing the "Life of Riley" video. A catchy, upbeat little number, but nowhere near as catchy as the title track. The first two tracks, right out of the gate, off and running. And it doesn't stop, either, but it does occasionally slow down here and there.

The album as whole pretty much covers the ups and downs of life. "A Small Slice of Heaven" is my personal favorite of the bunch ("Life's a trial, but who did you leave behind when a small slice of heaven's all you could ever hope to find"). "Tingle Tangle," "Blowing Bubbles," and "A Cool Place" are also very good songs. Not that there's a bad song on the album, though - some just take longer to come around.

"Thinking Up Looking Down," an excellent title and life theme, completes the compilation in style ("You've shed that skin, it's lying there. Where are you now, I hope it's heaven there. They touch you with that magic touch... and you shine"). I love listening to the entire album just to finish it off with this song (I realize that CD players have a track selection button, but like the rug from "The Big Lebowski," it ties it all together, man). It starts strong, finishes strong, and it provides a pleasant ride in between.

It all makes Sense.

Ian Brodie, Liverpudlian melody master and king of the rif, presents his finest work. 'Sense' is less well known than 'Jollification,' but this really has to be his finest album. Many of the best songs here start with the catchiest rifs you'll ever hear. He builds up the sound, layering his instruments with accomplished ease and adds the smoothest vocals in the business. Try 'Sense,' 'Tingle Tangle' and 'Marooned' for starters, but most of this album is five star stuff. It finishes with one of the all-time classic ballads in 'Thinking Up, Looking Down.' Why are you sitting there still reading this, when you could be clicking away and ordering it?!

Some of the best tracks, by the way, are not on Lightning Seeds compilations.